2 August 2026 at 20:00

Rónán Murray

A native of Dublin, Rónán Murray was born into a musical family and is a third-generation organist and pianist. Having studied organ under Peter Sweeney at the DIT Conservatory of Music, he was awarded associateships of The Royal College of Organists and Trinity College London. Rónán is titular organist of St. Joseph's church, Glasthule, where he presides over one of the country's finest instruments. Past performances include engagements in such venues as St. Sulpice, Paris, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St. John's Cathedral, Newfoundland, and Lodz Cathedral, Poland. 2015 saw Rónán performing in Galway Cathedral as part of their summer recital series and he performed there again in 2025. Rónán is very active as a freelance organist, pianist and accompanist, and composes music ranging from organ and choral pieces to contemporary songs.

He also works in musical theatre. With an especial love for improvisation, he plays music in almost any genre and has in recent years created improvised scores to accompany silent movies, which have proven especially popular with audiences, opening up the organ to many new listeners. In November 2018, Rónán was invited to play the organ for the inauguration of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, in Dublin Castle. As an associate artist and committee member of Pipeworks, Dublin’s international organ and choral festival, Rónán opened the 2019 festival with an improvised score to Murnau’s classic silent film, Nosferatu, in St Patrick’s Cathedral, making full use of the cathedral’s mighty Willis pipe organ. September 2022 saw Rónán perform a recital in Wattenscheid, Germany.

He recently played the harmonium on the score of a film, The Silence of Mercy, currently in production. Rónán has advised on organ building projects, notably the recent restorative work and tonal expansion of the organ in Glasthule church carried out by Trevor Crowe, and tonal additions to the Kenneth Jones organ in Blackrock College chapel, also carried out by Trevor Crowe. Rónán regularly performs on the 1931 Compton Theatre Organ now installed in University Concert Hall, Limerick and looks forward to accompanying more silent movies and concerts on this instrument, the only remaining playable cinema organ in Ireland. This year’s recital in St. Michael’s will be Rónán’s third in the long-running series.