Deirdre McKay nominated for an Ivor Novello Composer Award

Many congratulations to Northern Irish composer Deirdre McKay for her nomination for an Ivor Novello Composer Award.

Deirdre McKay has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Composer Award. The nomination is for Litany of the Magdalene Dead, commissioned by West Cork Chamber Music Festival and Boyne Music Festival. This heartfelt and deeply emotive work honours the life of woman who died in a Magdalene Laundry by intoning their name. However, due to the vast number of deaths confirmed through this research, the piece could ultimately only include a fraction of those names. Deirdre chose to set the names of 72 of the 1,867 women in response to her initial interaction with the image of the Peacock Lane Laundry gravestone.

The work was performed at the West Cork Cork Chamber Music Festival in 2023 and in 2025, performed by mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, accompanied on piano by Deirdre Brenner. Deirdre Brenner was instrumental in initiating and supporting the project to commemorate the women who suffered in the Magdalene Laundries in a song cycle, The Magdalene Songs. Each song in the cycle has been composed by a female Irish composer.

Presented by The Ivors Academy, The Ivors Composer Awards sponsored by PRS for Music and in association with BBC Radio 3 celebrate creative excellence in British and Irish composing. Judged by composers for composers, the awards recognise excellence in craft and creativity across all genres and disciplines including film, television, video games, concert halls, theatre and community engagement.

Since 1956, The Ivors Academy has honoured outstanding composers across a range of genres and disciplines through its award ceremonies. The Ivors Composer Awards strengthens that legacy by creating an elevated and unified moment to celebrate composers and their craft.

We all at West Cork Music wish Deirdre McKay the best of luck, and once more congratulations for her nomination for an Ivor Novello Composer Award.