Laoch Ceoil Award

The Music for Galway Laochra Ceoil is an honorary award made by Music for Galway to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of music, and/or whose achievement in music, culture and the arts is considered to be exemplary and worthy of recognition.

Recipients of the
MfG Laoch Ceoil Award

Eimear Noone

2019 - Eimear Noone

Eímear Noone is a LA/Ireland based award-winning Irish conductor and composer, composing extensively for film and video games. As one of the world’s premier composers of games scores, Eímear is responsible for some of the most enduring soundscapes on World of Warcraft and other best-selling video games. Her composition portfolio of film and video-game titles have received multiple industry accolades including the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Video Game Score. Recently, Eímear composed the score for the new film by Stephen Fry based on Oscar Wilde’s short story The Canterville Ghost. She has composed the score for the animated feature film, Two by Two: Overboard, which topped the UK Box Office in October 2020 and earned her an Ivor Novello nomination for Best Original Film Score.

Alongside composing, Eímear conducts orchestras worldwide. In 2020, Eímear made history by becoming the first female conductor to perform at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony.

Beyond these projects, Eímear is constantly innovating new orchestral shows and concepts to expand the boundaries of her repertoire. In addition to two video game concerts of her own, Electric Arcade and Video Games in Concert, she recently premiered a completely original show, Daughters of the Pirate Queen: The Spirit of Grace O’Malley as part of Ireland’s 2023 International Women’s Day Celebration. Selling out the National Concert Hall of Ireland. She gave her Galway debut at the helm of the National Symphony Orchestra, selling out Leisureland during MfG's Cellissimo 2024.

Eímear became the first person to be honoured with the title MfG Laoch Ceoil in March of 2019.

Carol Colburn Grigor

2024 - Carol Colman Grigor
Carol Colburn Grigor joins Eimear Noone on the list of MfG Laochra Ceoil. A concert pianist herself, Carol’s passions are music and the visual arts, and as a philanthropist she supports music, musicians and the visual arts all over the world.
Individually and through several family charities, especially the Colburn School in LA, she has long encouraged and supported music and performance.
Carol is also a supporter of architectural projects, both restoration and innovation, notably the Royal Irish Academy of Music’s new building, along with new concert halls in Edinburgh and LA.
Cellissimo has also been a lucky recipient of assistance from the Dunard Fund.
Carol is a true hero of music and the Board of Music for Galway was proud to bestow the title of MfG Laoch Ceoil on her in May at Cellissimo 2024.