Sounds From a Safe Harbour to Share Film Honoring Eoin French, Announce SIRENS Tour
Ólafur Arnalds, Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds feature in the film and festival releases.
Sounds from a Safe Harbour has released THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP, a short film marking the second anniversary of the death of Eoin French, known professionally as TALOS, a musician closely tied to the Cork-based biennial festival. The film revisits the making of WE DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE READY, a piece composed during the festival's 2023 residency by Ólafur Arnalds, French, Niamh Regan and YE VAGABONDS. Alongside the film, the festival announced its first vinyl release, SFSH25 MIXTAPE, capturing highlights from a sold-out orchestral performance featuring Jon Hopkins, THE STAVES, Amanda Bergman, Sam Amidon, Sean Carey, Leif Vollebekk and Angie McMahon with the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra and the SFSH Choir. The festival also detailed an international tour of SIRENS, hosted by Lisa Hannigan, set to begin in Inis Oírr before traveling to Dublin, Cork, Cardiff, Berlin, London and San Sebastián.
THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP offers a peek behind the curtain of the residency at the heart of the festival's 2023 edition. Every other year, SFSH turns Cork into a place of gathering - musicians, writers and thinkers brought together not just to perform, but to make something new in the room.
The film follows the making of WE DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE READY, composed during the residency by Ólafur Arnalds, Talos, Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds. First performed in the lobby of The River Lee, the song journeyed from there to the Festival Finale hosted by Ye Vagabonds at Cork Opera House, and onwards to national television on the Tommy Tiernan Show, and beyond. THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP documents that process directly, and reaches beyond it too - into the wider festival's performances, passing exchanges, and its sense of a city briefly reshaped by the people gathered in it.
Threading the film together are words by Max Porter, written after having his first experience of the residency himself that year - an experience that would lead him to join SFSH as a core curator. Read by Niamh Regan, his words trace a week of trust, generosity and a shared sense of possibility.
Reflecting on the residency and the making of the song 'We Didn't Know We Were Ready', Festival Director Mary Hickson said 'At the time, we didn't know how precious that week would become, or how little time we would have with Eoin. The song was written about the experience of creating together - about being present in that moment, in that room, with those people - but since Eoin's passing, the words have taken on a new depth of meaning. It's a reminder of the extraordinary comfort music can bring us, and of the lasting connection created through moments of shared creativity.'
THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP is dedicated to the memory of Eoin French, who worked on SFSH since its very inception and designed the graphics for the 2023 edition. He remains forever a part of its story. The film closes with a dedication to him.
Looking Forward
The release of THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP is both a reflection on a remarkable moment in the festival's history and a reminder that the work begun at Sounds from a Safe Harbour continues to live far beyond a single weekend. The collaborations and new music sparked through the festival's residency programme have gone on to become albums, performances and international projects, carrying the spirit of SFSH to audiences around the world.
This autumn, that journey continues with a series of performances and festivals across Ireland, UK and Europe, including the touring debut of SIRENS, alongside appearances at PEOPLE Festival in Berlin and AB100 in the Basque Country. A physical edition of the celebrated SFSH25 Mixtape will also be released, extending another collaboration born through this creative community.
SFSH25 Mixtape
SFSH will release its first-ever vinyl release on September 25th: a single LP capturing highlights from MIXTAPE, the sold-out orchestral performance staged during SFSH25. The record brings together a remarkable line-up of international artists featuring Jon Hopkins, The Staves, Amanda Bergman, Sam Amidon, Sean Carey, Leif Vollebekk and Angie McMahon performing with the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra and SFSH Choir, conducted by Cormac McCarthy.
SIRENS (Sept-Oct 2026)
Hosted by Lisa Hannigan with the Theodora Byrne Trio, SIRENS brings together an evolving ensemble of extraordinary voices from Ireland and beyond, developed during the SFSH25 residency. Touring autumn 2026 to:
Áras Eanna, Inis Oírr — Thursday 24 September. Line-up features: Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Anna Mieke, Angie McMahon, Lasairfhíona. Tickets via soundsfromasafeharbour.com.
National Concert Hall, Dublin — Saturday 26 September. Line-up features: Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Loah, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Anna Mieke, Angie McMahon, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha. Tickets via nch.ie.
Cork Opera House, Cork — Sunday 27 September. Line-up features: Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Anna Mieke, Angie McMahon, Amano de Londra Miura, and Loah. Tickets via corkoperahouse.ie.
Llais Festival, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff — Saturday 10 October. Featuring Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Angie McMahon, Landless, Bess Atwell, Charlotte Church. Tickets via wmc.org.uk.
PEOPLE Festival, Funkhaus, Berlin — Sunday 11 October. Featuring Lisa Hannigan, Angie McMahon, Amanda Bergman and special guests. Tickets via peoplefestival.berlin.
Barbican Hall, London — Saturday 17 October. Featuring Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Amanda Bergman, Kate Stables, Charlotte Cornfield, Tammy Adams, Eve Owen, The Staves, and Angie McMahon. Tickets via barbican.org.uk.
Teatro Principal, San Sebastián (AB100) — Sunday 18 October. Featuring Lisa Hannigan, Theodora Byrne Trio, Amanda Bergman, Angie McMahon, Anaïs Mitchell, Kate Stables, Mina Tindle, and Pomme. Tickets via kursaal.eus.
PEOPLE Festival, Berlin
PEOPLE Festival returns to Funkhaus Berlin this October. On October 10th - 11th, doors open to the public for around 200 unscripted performances across the venue's many rooms and stages, running 12 hours each day. There's no fixed lineup - you step into a room and discover who's playing only once the lights come up. SIRENS' Berlin date on 11 October is part of this wider gathering.
AB100, Basque Country
AB100 is a landmark weekend of music and celebration set in the Pays Basque on October 17th-18th - a gathering of artists, friends and collaborators centred on the vast musical community Aaron and Bryce Dessner have cultivated over the years, marking the brothers' 50th birthdays. Confirmed to appear across THE WEEKEND are Kevin Morby, Ben Howard, Jon Hopkins, Mina Tindle, Ragnar Kjartansson, Richard Reed Parry, Anaïs Mitchell, Ye Vagabonds, Lisa Hannigan, Angie McMahon, Kate Stables and Pomme, and more. THE WEEKEND opens at Atabal in Biarritz on 17 October with MIXTAPE, hosted by Aaron and Bryce Dessner, followed by a DJ set from Jon Hopkins, and closes with a rare performance from The National and friends at the Kursaal in San Sebastián.
Sounds from a Safe Harbour Returns to Cork in 2027
Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival returns to Cork 30th September – 3rd October 2027.
THE DREAMS ARE OURS TO KEEP was filmed by Peadar O'Goill with Steve O'Connor, Sean Phair and Adrian O'Connell, and edited by Louise Gaffney, with narration by Niamh Regan reading words written by Max Porter, who joined Sounds from a Safe Harbour as a core curator following his experience at the 2023 residency.
