A solo, Irish-language item in the old, ornamented, traditionally unaccompanied style of Irish song, sung by a woman or girl in one of four age bands and judged song by song on the quality of the singing and how truly it carries the tradition.
Sean-nos means the old style in Irish, and it names the oldest way of singing in the Irish language: one voice, usually no instrument, a long flexible melody that bends around the words, and decoration that grows out of the song rather than being added on top. A sean-nos singer does not perform a song so much as tell it. The ornaments, the small slides and turns of the voice, the way a phrase is stretched or pressed, and the weight given to a particular word all belong to the singer, and two singers from different districts can sing the same song and sound quite different. The class on this template is the Ladies’ competition: women and girls sing in their own class, and the Men’s class is a separate item with its own page.
On the eTalenter template the item is the fourteenth class in the Irish traditional music festival programme, directly after Grupai Ceoil and before the Men’s sean-nos class. It runs once in each of the four age bands, A Under 12, B 12 to 15, C 15 to 18 and D Over 18, as an Individual entry for women and girls, with the language set to Irish. The score is held as a rating out of 10 with a 100 maximum and a ten-minute ceiling. Those figures are app defaults, because the source rules print neither a marking scheme nor a time limit for the singing classes, so if your own notice sets a limit, change it when you set the item up. The programme list in the source rules gives the class the English title Irish Singing (Ladies); the template calls it Sean-nos Singing (Ladies).
What the rules do fix is the repertoire format, and it changes with age. In age band A a child sings two songs of their own choice, one slow (the ceann mall) and one lively (the ceann mear). In bands B and C the singer submits a list of four songs, two slow and two lively; in band D the list is six songs, four slow and two lively. The adjudicator picks the first song from the list and the singer then chooses a second, contrasting song, and the lists must clearly mark which songs are the lively ones. So a senior singer must be ready with six songs of which any of the slow ones might be called first, while a young singer prepares exactly two.
Several practical points follow from the wider rules. Competitors in the solo classes compete in their own age group only. Normally one adjudicator officiates at a solo competition, awards an individual mark for each song sung, and gives a short spoken adjudication when the class ends. An adjudicator may recall a singer to perform again, in which case one new song of the singer’s choice is sung from the submitted list, and the singer must present themselves within thirty minutes or forfeit the advantage. No ties are permitted for first, second or third place, an adjudicator may withhold first prize if no one reaches a meritorious standard, and the first and second prize winners qualify to the next level of the Fleadh.
Where Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) comes from
Sean-nos singing belongs to the Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking districts of the west and south-west, and it is generally regarded as one of the oldest living forms of Irish song. It is passed on by listening and imitation within families and communities rather than from written scores, which is why regional styles, such as the more heavily ornamented songs of Connemara or the different manners of Donegal and Munster, are still distinct today.
Where Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) is run
On the eTalenter templates Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) is used in a single template, the Irish traditional music festival template, where the Men’s sean-nos class follows it. The festival behind that template is a national traditional music competition in Ireland, with qualifying rounds at county, regional and provincial level before the national finals, and singing sits beside the instrumental and dance classes in the same programme. This page describes only the item as that template carries it. The same programme also lists separate English Singing classes for women and men, which this template does not include.
- Ireland
Key facts
- An Individual item for women and girls; the Men’s sean-nos class is a separate item with its own page
- Four age bands: A Under 12, B 12 to 15, C 15 to 18 and D Over 18, with the language set to Irish
- Band A: two songs of the singer’s own choice, one slow and one lively; band D: a submitted list of six songs, four slow and two lively
- Bands B and C submit four songs, two slow and two lively; the adjudicator picks the first song and the singer chooses a contrasting second
- One adjudicator normally officiates, marks each song separately and gives a short spoken adjudication; no ties for first, second or third
- Rating out of 10 with a /100 maximum and the ten-minute ceiling are app defaults, as the source rules print no marking scheme or time limit for the singing classes
On eTalenter, Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Female, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Sean-nos Singing (Ladies)
What a Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Command of the style: whether the singing sounds like sean-nos, with a free, speech-like line and ornament that grows out of the melody, rather than a metronomic folk song with decoration pasted on
- Ornament and control of the voice: turns, slides and grace notes that are clean, placed where the song wants them, and not overdone, with steady intonation underneath them
- The words: clear, correct Irish, with the stress falling where it does in the spoken language, and a singer who plainly understands what each verse is saying
- Contrast between the two songs: a slow song with space and weight and a lively one with lift, so the pair shows range rather than two songs at the same pace and mood
- Delivery and stillness: a plain, confident stance, eyes and breath under control, and the story carried by the voice instead of by gesture or stage effects
- Song-by-song consistency: because a mark is awarded for each song sung, a strong first song does not cover a weak or hurried second one, and a recall song has to be as secure as the first
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full solo song judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Sean-nos Singing (Ladies)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) right on the day:
- Learn songs from a living source: a recording of a respected traditional singer, or a teacher from the singer’s own region, and listen many times before singing a line, because the style is learned by ear and the ornaments are not written down
- Know the meaning of every verse. Sit down with a translation and a teacher, and be able to say in a sentence what each verse is about, since the delivery changes the moment the singer understands the story
- Choose the list with care: for bands B to D, build the submitted list so that any song the adjudicator selects first is ready, and make sure the lively songs are clearly marked on it as the rules require
- Work on the second song as hard as the first. The singer picks the contrasting song, so plan the pair together, one slow and unhurried, one lighter, and rehearse them back to back in the order they might be called
- Practise unaccompanied and without a note given: find the starting note the same way every time, hold the pitch to the end of the last verse, and record a run-through to listen for drift
- Keep the ornament honest. Take out any turn you cannot sing cleanly three times in a row, and add decoration only where you have heard the song carry it; fewer, cleaner ornaments score better than many unsteady ones
- Keep a spare song ready. A recall means one new song from the submitted list, so every song on the list should be performance-ready, and the singer should be able to be back on stage within the thirty minutes allowed
- Check the age group and class before entering. A singer competes in their own age band only, and the Ladies’ and Men’s classes are separate, so confirm which class the entry belongs to and that the language of every song is Irish
Ready-made event templates that include Sean-nos Singing (Ladies)
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleadh Cheoil (Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann) | On Stage | Rating out of 10 | 4 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Sean-nos Singing (Ladies) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Female, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What does sean-nos mean?
It is Irish for the old style. In singing it means solo, Irish-language song in the traditional manner, with a free, flexible melody and ornament that comes from the singer rather than from a written arrangement, and it is traditionally sung without instrumental accompaniment.
How many songs does a singer perform?
Two, in every age band, one slow and one lively. In band A the singer chooses both songs; in bands B, C and D the singer submits a list (four songs for B and C, six for D), the adjudicator selects the first song from it and the singer then chooses a contrasting second.
Do the songs have to be in Irish?
Yes for this class, which is the Irish-language one and is set to Irish on the template. Singing in English is a separate pair of classes in the source programme, one for women and one for men, and this template does not carry them.
Is it open to men and boys as well?
No. This is the Ladies’ class, for women and girls. Men and boys sing in the separate Men’s sean-nos class on the same template, which has its own page.
What happens if the adjudicator recalls a singer?
A recalled singer performs one new song of their own choice from the list of songs already submitted, and must present themselves within thirty minutes or forfeit the advantage. Ties are not permitted for first, second or third place.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full solo song judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
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