Martin Hayes for Irish Arts Center on March 17

IRISH ARTS CENTER ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH CARNEGIE HALL AND ASKONAS HOLT TO PRESENT

MARTIN HAYES AND THE COMMON GROUND ENSEMBLE

ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY 2026

Commences Multi-Year Partnership of St. Patrick’s Concert Celebrations in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Irish Arts Center (IAC), today announces a thrilling new multi-year partnership with Carnegie Hall, the iconic concert hall, and Askonas Holt, the eminent international arts management company, to present an annual concert in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, beginning in March 2026.  This exciting collaboration will kick off with a performance by Martin Hayes and The Common Ground Ensemble with special guests in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. Hayes, an Irish fiddle player from Co. Clare, Ireland, has risen to become one of the most internationally influential and impactful Irish musicians in modern history. Tickets are on sale to Carnegie Hall subscribers today, and become available to Irish Arts Center patrons on March 19. 

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, said: “We are delighted to be launching this new annual tradition at Carnegie Hall, working together with Irish Arts Center and Askonas Holt to present inspiring concerts celebrating the best in Irish music. It is especially exciting for all of us to inaugurate this series by featuring the amazing Martin Hayes, an artist whose music-making connects with people worldwide through his superb performances so deeply rooted in Irish culture.”

The concert will mark the return to New York of Hayes’s latest musical collective, The Common Ground Ensemble, including Cormac McCarthy on piano, Kate Ellis on cello, Kyle Sanna on guitar, and Brian Donnellan on bouzouki, harmonium, and concertina. Joining the ensemble will be special guests Síle Denvir, an Irish harpist and sean-nós singer; Sam Amidon, the acclaimed contemporary folk singer and multi-instrumentalist; traditional Irish dancers Morgan Bullock and Stephanie Keane; and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon. The performance is presented in collaboration with the National Concert Hall, Dublin.

Martin Hayes said: “My father, my uncle and the Tulla Céilí Band performed in Carnegie Hall on St Patrick’s night in 1958, alongside the singer Carmel Quinn and a big star of the time, Pat Boone. Traditional Irish music continues to evolve through its ongoing dialogue with the wider world of music. In this concert we are looking forward to taking the audience on a journey from the roots of the tradition all the way to its current improvisational dialogue and interaction with the worlds of contemporary folk, classical and jazz music.”

The Carnegie Hall concerts will be presented in partnership with Askonas Holt, the eminent international arts management company representing leading artists including Joyce DiDonato, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Simon Rattle and Yuja Wang. Martin Hayes joined the Askonas Holt roster of artists in 2024. 

Donagh Collins, Chief Executive, Askonas Holt, said: “As a proud Irishman, I’m so excited to be announcing this St Patrick’s Day concert - celebrating Ireland’s traditions, culture and talent. We are thrilled to be promoting this concert with Carnegie Hall, building on our close relationship with this amazing venue. At Askonas Holt we are honored to represent Martin Hayes, who has been the inspiration behind this beautiful program of music, dance and literature.”

Aidan Connolly, Executive Director of Irish Arts Center, said: “These milestone concerts will bring the soul of traditional Irish music to Carnegie Hall, paying homage to Ireland’s musical roots while celebrating its evolving global influence and the cultural bridge between Ireland and the United States. There is no more profound manifestation of that cultural bridge than the music of Martin Hayes, and we are thrilled to bring Irish Arts Center and Carnegie Hall audiences together to experience it.”

The concert will be presented with support from Culture Ireland, the agency of the Irish government promoting Irish artists abroad. 

Sharon Barry, Director of Culture Ireland, said: “It is, indeed, a privilege for Culture Ireland to be able to support the Irish Arts Center, home from home for Irish artists for many years, as it partners with one of the most prestigious music venues in the world. To see a lineup of artists of this caliber led by the indefatigable Martin Hayes on the stage at Carnegie Hall will undoubtedly be a highlight for us in 2026.”

Ticketing information

Tickets for this performance start at $51. Tickets are available now to Carnegie Hall subscribers, and will become available to Irish Arts Center patrons on March 19, 2025. Single tickets to all 2025-2026 Carnegie Hall concerts go on sale to the general public on Monday, August 11. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org, call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

About Martin Hayes

Martin Hayes’ soulful interpretations of traditional Irish music are recognized the world over for their exquisite musicality and irresistible rhythm. He toured and recorded with the late guitarist Dennis Cahill for over twenty years, and has collaborated with extraordinary musicians in the classical, folk and contemporary music worlds such as Bill Frisell, Ricky Skaggs, Jordi Savall, Brooklyn Rider and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra as well as many of the greatest traditional Irish musicians over the past thirty years. Martin has contributed music, both original and traditional arrangements to modern dance, theatre, film and television. He has performed on stage with Sting and Paul Simon and recorded with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project.  He is the artistic director of Masters of Tradition, an annual festival in Bantry, Co. Cork, a co-curator for the Marble Sessions at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and has been a frequent artist in residence at Irish Arts Center in New York  throughout the last fifteen years. Martin has been recognized as Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceol) from TG4, Irish language television, was the first musician to win the BBC Instrumentalist of the year and the first to win the RTE folk instrumentalist of the year, and shared the prestigious Meteor Prize with the the seminal Irish American band, The Gloaming, which he founded, for their debut album in 2014.

About Irish Arts Center

Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion or appreciation for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. The Center presents, develops, and supports work from established and emerging artists and cultural practitioners, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually engaging experiences—fueled by collaboration, innovation, adventurousness, authenticity, and the celebration of our common humanity – in an environment of Irish hospitality. Steeped in grassroots traditions, we also provide community education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. In 2021, Irish Arts Center opened a $60 million state-of-the-art new facility to support this mission for the 21st century.

About Carnegie Hall

For more than 130 years, New York’s Carnegie Hall has been the aspirational destination for the world’s greatest performers and ensembles. The Hall presents a wide range of performances on its three stages each season, including concert series curated by acclaimed artists and composers; citywide festivals featuring collaborations with leading New York City cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, world, and popular music.  Complementing its performance activities, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) creates extensive music education and social impact programs, playing a central role in fulfilling Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. WMI’s programs, most offered for free or at low cost, annually serve hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with many more program participants taking part in the Hall’s growing online initiatives.

About Askonas Holt

With a history dating back almost 150 years, Askonas Holt is one of the world’s leading arts management companies. Working across the globe, our highly experienced team provides career management for established and emerging artists, as well as arranging tours and residencies for orchestras and dance companies. With offices in London and Berlin, Askonas Holt is part of a strategic alliance under the umbrella of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, along with sister company Opus 3 Artists in New York and recording label Pentatone - working together to foster innovation and artistic excellence.

Funding Credits

Irish Arts Center programming is supported by individual, foundation, government, and corporate supporters and partners, including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; National Endowment for the Arts; Season Supporting Partner Tourism Ireland; Howard Gilman Foundation; the Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; the Charina Endowment Fund; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Bloomberg Philanthropies; the MacMillan Family Foundation; the Arnhold Foundation; the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; the Irish Institute of New York; the Emigrant Support Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; and hundreds of generous private donors.