Live Report: 'We Shall Overcome' – songs of social justice and freedom at Athy library to celebrate Brigid 1500

It is easy to despair about the state of the world right now, with violence rearing its ugly head everywhere – whether it's on the Russo-Ukrainian border, or in hospitals in Gaza. If there's one thing that can act as a soothing balm however, amid all the turmoil, it is the healing power of music.

In this spirit, Hot Press, in association with Kildare County Council have brought together some of the most remarkable female artists in Ireland to gather in the name of Brigid – patroness of poetry – to sing songs of freedom, social justice, solidarity, resistance, righteous anger, and most importantly, hope.

The events of this special and emotional evening took place in Athy Library, Co. Kildare – a stunning former Roman Catholic church nestled on the banks of the River Barrow, complete with 70s-era jewel stained glass windows and a parabolic curved roof. The V shape of the building – our stage was where the altar had been – meant that Toshín, Jess Kav, Laura Murphy, Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Stokes, Pauline Scanlon, and IF's performances commanded a suitably reverent aura.

Opening the night was poet and activist Laura Murphy who oscillated beautifully between the sombre and the uplifting. As a campaigner for the recognition of Imbolc as a public holiday, it was only fitting that Murphy was the MC – introducing us to the performers as well as performing her own poem 'Is Mise Bríd', commissioned originally by Kildare County Council.

A particularly emotional moment was Murphy's performance of 'If I Must Die' a poem by Refaat Alareer – a Palestinian poet and academic who was killed by Israeli forces in December 2023. The poem was like a scapel, cutting through instantly to the hearts and minds of everyone in hte audience.

Laura Murphy ate We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

Joy was to be found at the event too, as Toshín opened her hair-raising set with a performance of Sam Cooke's 'A Change is Going to Come', with soaring vocals and a marvellous helping of soul. This was followed by a performance of Toshín's own track 'She' which discussed the artists image issues growing up as an Afro-Irish girl in Ireland, leading to a message of defiant feminine acceptance. That powerful original song was bookended by another cover, this time in the form of Janis Ian's 'Resist' – a magnificent polemic about the oppression of women by the patriarchy. Look it up: the lyrics are a brilliant call to arms.

Toshín at We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

Next up was singer-songwriter, poet and activist Jess Kav, who opened with a seemingly effortless vocal performance of 'Pieces of a Man' by the great Gill Scott Heron. Another soul classic, 'Living for the City' was Kav's next vocal conquest and she imbued the track with her own fearless sense of self, leaving audience members clapping and jiving along. Her parting wisdom was simple "Decolonise and Moisturise" - take down the sysmtems of injustice where you see them, but also look after yourself. It was a towering performance.

Jess Kav at We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

The next set of performers were a We Shall Overcome debutants IF, a group of Athy teenagers who have serious talent and stepped on stage with a simple message: "If teenagers are the ones who are telling you to stop a war - something is seriously wrong with the world."

IF delivered an incredible performance of the anti-war classic 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye' - an Athy-referemcing folk song, mashed up with the Cranberries 'Zombie'. With a combined age of 45, although the youngest performers on that stage, in the spirit of Brigid, IF packed a huge punch.

IF at We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

Next up for the Athy library crowd's delectation was the inimitable Mary Stokes, who treated the crowd to a powerful opening number, giving a rich southern gothic sound tithe anti-war folk song 'Portland Town', in which a mother bemoans the loss of her three sons. That was followed by her knew single 'My Voodoo Doll' – a track which originally began as a personal expression of grief, but evolved into a far-reaching protest track. The Irish Queen of Blues finished with a feisty version of the Son House classic 'Don't You Mind People Grinning In Your Face'...

Mary Stokes We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

Folk songs are the metier of  Pauline Scanlon, who, donned in her keffiyeh, spoke about how these songs are by their nature songs of resistance, and how each generation can imbue a folk song with their own meaning and cause.

In homage to the ferocity of independent Irish women, at the event, and to Brigid herself - Scanlon performed an incredible rendition of one of the only traditional Irish folk songs about a woman who is truly independent of a male figure, someone who was not a wife, daughter, sister, mother, muse, or lover – 'Óró sé do Bheatha Abhaile'. In doing this, Scanlon breathed a whole new lease of life into a folk standard, paying tribute to our legendary pirate queen.

Pauline Scanlon at We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

The final act of a magnificent night, Eleanor McEvoy took to the stage and lambasted beauty standards in the music industry with not one song but two – 'I'd Rather Go Blonde' and 'Look Like Me' – an incredible performance by an artist who knows her authenticity is a thousand times more valuable than any 'look' a label might try to impose on her.

McEvoy also invited Jess Kav and Pauline Scanlon back onto the stage for a performance of 'Deliver Me' - a protest song penned by McEvoy in response to the clerical abuse scandal.

Eleanor McEvoy We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

The audience was spoilt one last time when Toshín, Jess Kav, Eleanor McEvoy, Pauline Scanlon and Mary Stokes returned to the Athy library stage one last time as a collective to sing 'People Get Ready' and 'We Shall Overcome' closing out a specular night.

We Shall Overcome in Athy Library, Kildare celebrating Brigid 1500 with Hot Press and Kildare County Council.

The We Shall Overcome event spoke to the breadth of talent, strength and independence of women singers, songwriters and performers in Ireland today - from long-established figures such as Eleanor McEvoy to emerging talent such as IF, the torch of Brigid was carried this Imbolc, blazing a trail of  hope, renewal and determination.