Irish Music Month has been confirmed for September 2026, it was announced today.

Launched in 2021, Irish Music Month is an initiative of Hot Press and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, and is funded by Coimisiún na Meán through its Sound and Vision scheme.

In all, twenty-two IBI stations participate in Irish Music Month, covering every blade of grass in Ireland. All twenty-two stations will increase their support for Irish music strongly throughout the month, and significantly increase the number of plays for Irish artists. Irish Music Month is also an umbrella for two major competitions for Irish artists.

A New Local Hero is a flagship event at the heart of the Irish Music Month project, while 2026 also sees the return of Amhrán na Laoch, the Irish language songwriting competition, which was won last time out by the brilliant Huartan from Belfast. Amhrán na Laoch is supported by An Post – watch this space for the full details and information on how to enter over the coming weeks.

Irish Music Month is also supported by IMRO, RAAP and Live Nation, along with Ticketmaster, Rubyworks, Camden Recording Studios and Spéir Mix and Master. All-in, the value of the Irish Music Month project for Irish artists is in excess of €100,000.

The Irish Music Month initiative is strongly supported by the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, who sent a message specially to Hot Press.

“As President of Ireland, may I send my very best wishes to Hot Press and to all those local radio stations and artists participating in this year’s Irish Music Month,” the President said. "It is vitally important that our broadcasters support our local Irish artists and I am very grateful for the commitment which each of the stations involved is showing to Irish musicians through this initiative. I am particularly pleased to note that Irish Music Month will again this year include the Irish language song competition Amhrán na Laoch, fostering creativity and songwriting in the Irish language. May I wish all involved a wonderful month of music and performance.”

That call was echoed by Hot Press editor Niall Stokes.

"It is always a great moment, when we announce Irish Music Month in partnership with the IBI," he said. "Ireland is producing such extraordinary musical talent – artists who are doing so much to shape a wonderfully positive perception of Ireland, as a place where music, culture and good times are supported and appreciated. But music is still a very tough business, with obstacles at every turn – and an increasingly immediate threat from AI. It is really hard to earn a good living from music.

"Which is why it is absolutely vital to support Irish musicians and songwriters in every way we possibly can. There is no doubt that radio has a powerful role to play in this regard, making the commitment from all of the participating stations, as part of Irish Music Month, to play more Irish music – and to find their Local Heroes from all of the amazing artists we have across the country – so important. We have it within our power – and we certainly have the talent – to make Ireland one of the great international centres of music. So let's make September a brilliant month – and we'll continue to build from there.”

Michael Kelly, Chief Executive of Independent Broadcasters of Ireland emphasised the public service aspect of Irish Music Month. “Ireland’s independent stations give thousands of on-air plays per week to music by Irish artists or by Irish songwriters,” he said, "and Irish Music Month is a chance to further spotlight up-and-coming music artists and to expand the number of plays. We encourage artists to get in touch with their local independent radio station. Irish Music Month has been very successful in previous years and is a very good example of the kind of public service broadcasting that local radio stations are doing every day of the year.”

Brad Heidi at Irish Music Month's 'A New Local Hero' event at The Academy on April 25th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Huartan by Abigail Ring

A NEW LOCAL HERO

As one of its key elements, Irish Music Month hosts a major national talent search, A New Local Hero – with all of the radio stations immediately seeking submissions from artists in their franchise areas.

From the submissions received, the participating stations will each choose a shortlist of four artists, who will be invited to perform and be interviewed for broadcast. From those four artists or bands, each of the stations will choose its own Local Hero – who will then go forward onto the national long-list.

The most recent winner of the A New Local Hero award was rising star Calum Agnew, who won the opportunity record and release his single ‘Anymore’ via the storied Rubyworks label. The Duleek, Co. Meath, native has gone from strength to strength since, releasing his fantastic debut EP Bad Boy in February, appearing at major festivals like Electric Picnic, opening for acts like The Coronas, and headlining his own shows in venues across Ireland.

Past winners include Brad Heidi, whose single ‘Don’t Let Go’ – also recorded and released as part of his A New Local Hero prize package – reached No.1 in the Irish Breakers Charts upon its release; and Chameleon aka Matthew Harris, who subsequently featured extensively with Irish hit makers 49th & Main and Khakikid, whilst building his own impressive catalogue of singles and live appearances.

Numerous Irish artists have recorded messages of support for Irish Music Month, including Kodaline, The Script, The Cranberries, Adam Clayton of U2, James Vincent McMorrow, Lyra, Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas, Andrea Corr, Una Healy, Villagers, Soulé, Mary Black, Cian Ducrot, Inhaler and The Academic, with new voices being added to the list, reflecting the comprehensive support for the initiative among Irish musicians – and the Irish music industry.

"3Arena is delighted to support Irish Music Month,” Mike Adamson of Live Nation said. "The amazing talent that continues to emerge from Ireland is making a bigger impact every year, both in Ireland and internationally. The evidence of this is clearly seen in the list of Irish artists performing at 3Arena, which hit record levels over the last twelve months and continues to build into 2027."

“IMRO is very proud to support Irish Music Month," Victor Finn, CEO of IMRO, added. "This valuable initiative places emerging Irish artists, songwriters and performers at the centre of the conversation and gives audiences across the country wider opportunities to discover the extraordinary new music being created here.

"An important aspect of IMRO's role is to champion those who create music, and partnerships like this are essential to ensuring Irish music continues to be heard, valued and celebrated. We're delighted to work with Hot Press, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland and its member radio stations, and the wider music community to highlight the talent and creativity that make Irish music so special.”

RAAP CEO Colman Clinch also warmly welcomed the initiative: “RAAP is delighted to support Irish Music Month once again. Radio plays a vital role in helping performers build audiences and careers, and the initiative gives emerging talent a valuable platform while celebrating the breadth of Ireland’s music community.”

SUBMIT YOUR TRACKS

All of the artists shortlisted locally are paid for their performances on their local radio stations. In addition, the overall winner of A New Local Hero receives a prize of €5,000, plus the opportunity to record a single with Cian Boylan at Camden Recording Studios, that will be mastered by the Grammy-winning Ruairi Cushnan of Spéir Mix & Mastering and released on the Rubyworks label.

Musicians and bands: be sure to submit your tracks to your local radio stations asap! Listen to your local station, or any of those listed (depending on where you are in Ireland), for full details of where to send your work…

No genre is excluded. We really are looking for those special talents who light up a room, no matter what the style of music...

• Keep an eye on hotpress.com and listen to your local participating station for more news on Irish Music Month, A New Local Hero and the Irish song competition, Amhrán na Laoch.