Last year, the Irish classical music radio station RTÉ lyric fm based in Limerick asked Fergal to compose a short piece to celebrate the station’s 25th anniversary in 2024. After hesitation and fear of not being able to do it, Fergal said yes… and soon after his very first piece for full orchestra “The Curragower Falls” was born (Fergal finished in late 2023).

Note: Curragower Falls is found in the heart of Limerick city under the shadow of King John’s castle. The falls are formed when the river Shannon drops over a rock ledge at the right tide. When the river is high the volume of water and the combination of low tide turn the falls into a freestyle playground. The waves are usually surfable 2 hours before low tide.

According to Fergal’s recent interview published on RTÉ Guide this week, the piece reflects on memories of childhood by the River Shannon, celebrates a city (Limerick) and memories of loved ones, including his father the late Myles Lawler who was a massive fan of classical and opera music, his mother Audrey who passed away at the end of January this year and the late Dolores O’Riordan…

“The Curragower Falls” will be performed on 1 May 2024 at the University Concert Hall in Limerick as part of the radio’s 25th birthday concert. Fergal won’t be performing that day, he was asked to but declined the invitation, hence he can relax, enjoy the show, and hear the piece for the very first time in concert from the audience!

It’s unclear whether the concert will be live or later broadcast on the radio; possibly live as there’s a mention “Listen, Lyric fm, Wednesday” on the top of the page of the RTÉ Guide interview.

EDIT (1st May): The concert is live broadcast tonight (Wednesday) from 7:30pm to 9pm. Listen here.

If you’d like to be part of the audience, more details, tickets, and performing artists on uch.ie

Special thanks to daffodillament1995 for the RTÉ Guide.

UPDATE – 2 MAY

Fergal yesterday at the 25th anniversary concert with Scarlett Griffin O’Sullivan (a musician? or someone from the audience?). Special thanks to her for the pics shared on Instagram

VIDEO: “A moment of appreciation for Fergal Lawler” shared on Twitter/X by @RTElyricfm