Mayor’s Unsung Heroes Award goes to Karen Ryan who keeps Irish music tradition alive

Published: 7th April, 2011
by EBEN MARKS

A LEADING figure in Camden’s Irish music scene has been recognised in the Mayor’s Unsung Heroes Awards.

Karen Ryan, a musician and teacher, is a key organiser of the Return to Camden Town festival she helped found 13 years ago. She collected her award at last week’s ceremony.

The festival, held at the London Irish Centre in Camden Square and venues and pubs across the borough, has become a key date in the Irish music calendar.

Ms Ryan plays a range of instruments, from the tin whistle to the fiddle. As a member of the London Lasses and Pete Quinn, she has played at venues from Kentish Town’s Fiddler’s Elbow to the Royal Albert Hall.

The award recognised her work in helping to pass Irish music on to the next generation by teaching music at the London Irish Centre and Camden schools. Ms Ryan said: “It’s really lovely to have recognition in the borough. Not just for me, there’s a great team that works with me. I feel proud to be part of this wider scene.” 

Speaking of the “real historical link” between Camden and Irish music, she said “the first ever informal Irish music session is purported to have happened here”. 

Ms Ryan and the team behind the Return to Camden Town festival  hold a mini-festival in West Yard, Camden Lock, every August Bank Holiday Monday.

The Unsung Heroes awards ceremony at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm saw a range of musical figures honoured. People involved in festivals, music shops and venues received awards, representing some of the 1,000 music-related businesses the council estimates are based in Camden. The awards were fully funded by sponsors, including Bulldog, King’s Cross Central and Apollo.