Last night at a sold out Dublin’s Vicar St. and broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 the inaugural RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards took place awarding folk legend Andy Irvine with the Lifetime Achievement award.

While not there on the night, a video sent by Ed Sheeran defined Andy Irvine as “a strong defining pillar of folk music in the world... he’s influenced me and countless musicians around the world and it couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke”.

Friend Paul Brady recalled the first time he heard Andy play and perform saying “I was hearing music that I really wanted to be involved with... you brought a wealth of fresh perspective to how we look at our own music”.