A solo, Irish-language item for men and boys in the old, ornamented, unaccompanied style of Irish song, sung in one of four age bands and judged song by song on the singing and on how faithfully it carries the tradition.
Sean-nos is the Irish phrase for the old style, and as a singing term it means the unaccompanied, Irish-language song tradition in which the singer, not an arranger, shapes everything. The melody is loose and speech-like, the ornaments come out of the line as the singer breathes and phrases it, and the singer’s own judgement decides how long a note is held or how a verse is paced. This class is the competition for men and boys. It sits beside a separate class for women and girls, and each has its own page; a male singer is entered here and a female singer in the other.
On the eTalenter template this is the fifteenth and last class in the Irish traditional music festival programme, directly after the women’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 the Male gender, 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 change them when you set the item up if your own notice says otherwise. The source programme lists this class under the English title Irish Singing (Men); the template calls it Sean-nos Singing (Men).
The rules do fix how many songs are sung and how they are chosen, and it varies by age. A boy in band A prepares two songs of his own choosing, one slow (ceann mall) and one lively (ceann mear). In bands B and C the singer hands in a list of four songs, two slow and two lively, and in band D a list of six, four slow and two lively, with the lively ones clearly marked. The adjudicator names the first song from that list and the singer then picks a second that contrasts with it. A young singer therefore has a very small repertoire to polish, while an adult has to keep a wider set in performance condition and cannot know which one will open.
A few general rules of the solo classes shape the day. Singers compete only in their own age group. One adjudicator normally sits for a solo competition, marks each song separately and gives a short spoken adjudication at the end of the class. A singer may be recalled to sing again, in which case one new song from the submitted list is sung, and the singer must report back within thirty minutes or lose the chance. Ties are not allowed for first, second or third; first prize may be withheld if no one reaches a meritorious standard; and the first and second prize winners go forward to the next level of the festival.
Where Sean-nos Singing (Men) comes from
The tradition comes from the Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking districts along the western and southern coasts, where it has long been regarded as among the oldest living forms of song in Ireland. It was handed on by ear within families and neighbourhoods rather than from notation, which is why singers from Connemara, Donegal, Waterford and Kerry still have recognisably different manners of ornamenting and pacing a song.
Where Sean-nos Singing (Men) is run
On the eTalenter templates Sean-nos Singing (Men) is used in a single template, the Irish traditional music festival template, where it closes the programme after the women’s sean-nos class. 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 is judged alongside the instrumental and dance classes. This page describes only the item as that template carries it. The source programme also lists English-language singing classes for men and women, which this template does not include.
- Ireland
Key facts
- An Individual item for men and boys (gender set to Male); the women’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 sings two songs of its own choice, one slow and one lively; band D submits six songs, four slow and two lively
- Bands B and C submit four songs, two slow and two lively; the adjudicator names the first and the singer picks a contrasting second
- One adjudicator normally marks each song separately and speaks a short adjudication; no ties for first, second or third
- The rating out of 10, the /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 (Men) 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 (Men) is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Male, 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 (Men)
What a Sean-nos Singing (Men) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Feeling for the style: a free, spoken line with ornament that belongs to the melody, instead of an even folk-song beat to which turns have been added afterwards
- Quality of the ornament: slides, cuts and turns that are neat, sit where the song invites them and do not crowd the tune, with the pitch staying true underneath
- Treatment of the words: correct, clear Irish with the natural stresses of the language, from a singer who plainly knows what every verse says
- The pairing of slow and lively: a ceann mall with room and weight and a ceann mear with lift, so the two songs show range and do not blur into one mood
- Presence without display: a still, self-possessed delivery in which the voice and breath carry the story, with no stage business to prop it up
- Mark-by-mark steadiness: with a separate mark for each song, a fine opener cannot rescue a rushed or insecure second song, and a recall song must 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 (Men) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full solo song judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Sean-nos Singing (Men)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Sean-nos Singing (Men) right on the day:
- Learn from a living singer or a good field recording of one, and listen to a song dozens of times before singing it; the style travels by ear and the ornaments are not on paper
- For boys whose voices are changing, pick songs that sit in the comfortable middle of the current range, because forcing the top or bottom note costs more than any ornament can win
- Work out a plain-English account of each verse with a teacher so the Irish is understood, not just memorised, and the phrasing follows the sense
- Build the submitted list so that any song the adjudicator names first is performance-ready, and mark the lively songs on it as the rules require
- Rehearse the pair together in both possible orders: a slow song followed by a lively one and the reverse, since the adjudicator’s choice sets the order the singer must follow
- Practise with no accompaniment and no pitch note: settle on a way of finding the first note, hold it through the last verse, and record the run-through to hear any drift
- Trim the decoration to what you can sing cleanly every time; a few exact ornaments score better than many that wobble, and a plain verse sung well beats a busy one sung nervously
- Be ready for a recall: every song on the list should be fit to sing at short notice and the singer must be back within thirty minutes, so stay warmed up and nearby after the first round
Ready-made event templates that include Sean-nos Singing (Men)
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 (Men) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Male, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is this class only for men?
It is for men and boys, and the template sets the gender to Male. Women and girls sing in the separate women’s sean-nos class on the same template, which has its own page.
How many songs does a singer have to prepare?
Two are sung, one slow and one lively. In band A the singer picks both; in bands B and C a list of four is submitted and in band D a list of six, the adjudicator names the first song from it and the singer chooses the contrasting second.
Does the singing have to be in Irish?
Yes for this class, which is the Irish-language one and is set to Irish on the template. English-language singing classes exist in the source programme but are not part of this template.
Can a singer use a guitar or a backing track?
No. Sean-nos is traditionally sung unaccompanied, and the festival’s rules do not accept electronic or amplified instruments in any competition, so the voice stands alone.
What if the adjudicator recalls a singer?
The singer performs one new song from the list already handed in and must report back within thirty minutes or forfeit the chance. Ties for first, second and third are not permitted.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full solo song judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
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