Ríona Hely wins Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition 2026

27 Jan 2026

• UCC BA Arts-Music (Honours) student and UCC Quercus Creative and Performing Arts Scholar Ríona Hely wins Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition.
• The Seán Ó Riada Gold Medal competition is a prestigious traditional music competition that focuses on a different instrument every year over a four-year cycle.

Concertina player Ríona Hely, UCC BA Arts-Music (Honours) student and UCC Quercus Creative and Performing Arts Scholar, has been announced as the winner of the 2026 Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition, one of the most respected honours in Irish traditional music. 15 competitors took part in this year’s final, from all around Ireland and from the USA.  

Ríona is in her second year in UCC, where she is studying Music and Irish through the BA Arts-Music (Honours) degree (CK104). A regular at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and at Siansa, she has earned numerous awards and is committed to passing on the tradition through her teaching in Cork and Clare. Ríona is particularly interested in the old-style concertina playing and is influenced by the playing of Elizabeth Crotty and Kitty Hayes, who came from west Clare.

For her winning performances, Ríóna played John Kelly’s ‘Old Concertina Reel’ and ‘The Morning Star’ followed by ‘The Walls of Liscarroll’ and ‘Willie Coleman’s Jig’.

Mary Mitchell-Ingoldsby, lecturer in Irish Traditional Music at UCC, said: “The Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition is a highly respected award, attracting an international field of competitors from Ireland and internationally. Winning it is a significant achievement and speaks to the quality, depth and stylistic understanding of Ríona’s playing. This recognition is richly deserved. We are extremely proud of her achievement.”

Now in its sixteenth year, the Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition was established by Peadar Ó Riada and celebrates a different traditional music instrument or set of instruments each year. The 2026 competition focused on metal reed instruments, including accordion, concertina and harmonica. This year’s judges were Mary MacNamara, Johnny Óg Connolly and Danny O’Mahony. Ríona Hely received a gold medal and a cash prize of €2,500.

Ríóna will perform as part of the Concertina Cruinniú festival in Miltown Malbay on 14 February, marking another milestone in what continues to be a standout year for the young musician.

Traditional Irish Music at UCC

University College Cork has a long-standing reputation for excellence in Irish traditional music. Through its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, students receive a strong grounding in performance, scholarship and the living traditions of the music, while engaging closely with leading practitioners and researchers.

Learn more about UCC’s BA Arts-Music (Honours) here.

Discover opportunities at UCC’s School of Film, Music and Theatre here https://www.ucc.ie/en/fmt/