Fergus Cahillane was part of Anúna from 2016 to 2022.

I grew up learning traditional Irish tunes on the fiddle and then began to write songs and play loudly in rock bands. Over the years, I spent more and more time arranging other people's songs, singing in my Dad's traditional sessions and running an open-night of music and storytelling in Dublin's City Centre. Live music is the most honest part of my day. As a Dublin-born member it's not lost on me that people travel from all over the world for a chance to hear or to sing with Anúna.

Our international singers bring a world of experience and vocal training into the group, it is a great opportunity to grow alongside them. In turn I hope they experience the same respect for music and each other as I would expect from a traditional Irish music session.

To experience music for the sake of music with no ego or affectation is a thing which an Irishman might take for granted. I'm lucky to see how unique this is by bringing singers from all over the world into these environments. For me, when Anúna is functioning, it has the same feeling of playing together and is effortless and moving.

I've led Anúna on tour and I host an open-night of music and storytelling in Dublin's City Centre, both feed each other. I've learnt not just how to phrase a song but how to pace an evening of music. The aim is the same - a collective experience that stirs both the performer and the audience out of the mundane