The Chieftains and Sinéad O’Connor perform ‘The Foggy Dew’ at the IRMA Awards.

The 10th Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) Awards take place in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. The hosts for the event are broadcaster Ray D’Arcy and musician Eleanor McEvoy. During the ceremony, film director Neil Jordan presents Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains with the Special Industry Award in recognition of the group’s contribution to Irish traditional music since the 1960s.

The Chieftains then perform a version of ‘The Foggy Dew’ with singer Sinéád O’Connor. The band members are Derek Bell (harp), Matt Molloy (flute), Paddy Moloney (tin whistle and uilleann pipes), Seán Keane (fiddle) and Martin Fay (fiddle) and Kevin Conneff (bodhrán).

‘The Foggy Dew’ is included on The Chieftains 1995 album ‘The Long Black Veil’. As well as featuring Sinéad O’Connor, it also includes guest appearances from musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Marianne Faithfull and Tom Jones.

The lyrics to ‘The Foggy Dew’ were written by a Belfast curate Father Charles O’Neill. The ballad praises the Irishmen who fought for Irish independence in the Easter Rising of 1916, rather than fighting for the British Empire in World War 1.

Highlights from the IRMA Awards were broadcast on Network 2 and 2FM on 1 April 1995.