From Mayo to Japan, Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen, is homeward bound

Fresh off the boat from Japan, The Achill Sound returns to the west of Ireland to present Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen. After a run of successful shows in Kyoto and a world premiere at Expo 2025 in Osaka, the trio from Achill Island bring this culturally rich show back home to the west for five special dates.

The Achill Sound presents its latest project focused on preserving the oral history and stories of the basking shark industry on Achill Island during the 20th century. Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen is an audio/visual response to Achill Island’s basking shark fishing industry, preserving this history for future generations. This unique and immersive performance includes recordings, archival footage, and original visuals combined with traditional and newly composed Irish music.

Project leader, Graham Sweeney said: “Following three sell out shows in Ireland, including Achill, Westport and The Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, it was such a thrill to bring our piece of history from Achill, all the way to Japan. Performing at Expo 2025, was an incredible experience. To be part of such a prestigious global event, performing in the Irish Pavilion, while queues of international attendees waited patiently outside to catch a glimpse of our unique maritime history was not something we expected would happen when we dreamed up this show last year.

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“Japan was an experience of a lifetime, we were immersed in a subculture of traditional Irish music. We are so lucky to have our amazing friend and musician Lisa Fukuda, originally from Kyoto, who lives and plays with us on Achill. Lisa welcomed us into a world that was so culturally different to ours, the people were so nice and welcoming, and every time John Butler whipped out the uilleann pipes, he brought the house down.”

Locations like Keem Bay on Achill Island, are now world-famous through Oscar-nominated films such as ‘Banshees of Inisheerin’. Keem Bay is widely known for its scenic beauty and breathtaking views. However, it holds a different weight for locals. Throughout the 1950s and '60s, Keem was a place of hard graft, work and living conditions.

Here local men hunted basking sharks and wild salmon. The house above Keem Beach, which now sits derelict, was used to house fishermen who worked in the bay decades ago. There are very few first-hand survivors left as many fishermen have died in the past decade.

Achill musician Graham Sweeney and Glasgow-based producer, John Michael Berry, whose family also hails from the island, are the duo behind The Achill Sound. Their aim with this project is to continue their shared objective of keeping Achill's history and culture alive.

Graham Sweeney said: “My family had a large involvement in the industry, which is why I viewed it with a heavy heart and anger. It is only in recent years that I see both sides of the story; on a quiet island with little industry, forcing many people to leave home for work, you cannot blame them for wanting to survive and support their families.

“There was not a great understanding of damaging a species towards extinction. All that the local people knew was survival. I want to shine a light on the days gone by by recording as many first-hand accounts and stories as possible. While some community members recall 'the glory days of shark fishing', others mourn the loss of these magnificent, harmless giants of the ocean.”

Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, the live presentation of the Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen project will include audio-visuals by producer, John Michael Berry, and traditional and newly composed Irish music by Graham Sweeney (guitar and vocals), Lisa Fukuda (fiddle) and Johnny Butler (uilleann pipes). These musicians are part of The Achill Sound collective and have a personal connection to keeping history and culture alive. This unique approach will be a woven piece of traditional art forms into immersive live musical performances.

The first show takes place this Thursday, August 7 in the Doonmore Hotel, Inishbofin at 7pm followed by a performance in the Wavecrest Hotel, Dooagh on Achill Island on Saturday, August 9 at 8.30pm.

On August 15, the show will take place in Áras Éanna in Inis Oirr on the Aran Islands at 8.30pm before returning to Achill for the Basking Shark Conference in Keel Hall on August 31 at 4pm and the final show will be part of Culture Night in the Marine Institute in Galway on September 19.

Tickets are available to buy from https://linktr.ee/theachillsound.