Michael Harding Announced as Special Guest For Niall Breslin & The Polaris Quartet
By Live at Cathedral of Christ The King, Mullingar
Friday, 9 October 2026
Tickets on sale now from singularartists.ie and ticketmaster.ie
Acclaimed writer and storyteller Michael Harding has been announced as special guest to Niall Breslin and The Polaris Quartet at Cathedral of Christ The King, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath on 1 October 2026.
An honorary Mullingar man and one of Ireland’s finest literary voices, Harding’s presence will be a gift to the audience and a deeply personal moment for Breslin, whose own work has been shaped and inspired by Harding’s writing over many years.
Tickets from €37.90 are available via singularartists.ie and ticketmaster.ie now.
The announcement comes on the back of the recent release of The Place That Has Never Been Wounded (Deluxe Edition) via INNI–a profound reimagining of the original album in which each of its 14 piano compositions is now accompanied by a spoken word meditation drawn from Breslin’s bestselling book of the same name. Find out more.
The Place That Has Never Been Wounded was named one of the Best Irish Albums of the Year by The Irish Times, describing how “Breslin’s instinctive, deeply empathetic playing burrows deeper in the head, resulting in a lingering serenity that politely but firmly shuts out the noise.”
The Mullingar show is just one date on Niall Breslin & The Polaris Quartet’s Irish tour this autumn, which also includes dates at Vicar Street, Dublin; University of Limerick, Limerick; Theatre Royal, Waterford; and Wexford Opera House, Wexford. It follows a sold out national run last year.
Built around Breslin’s cinematic compositions, the live performances unfold as a fully integrated live work. Music, spoken word, and visual design, are interwoven throughout, with lighting and imagery responding in real time to the players on stage. The visual elements shape the pacing and emotional contours of each performance, drawing the audience into a shared, concentrated space. Breslin says this show “is a tribute to the part of us that holds steady when the world shakes. It’s a privilege to be in the room with people when they recognise that part of themselves again.”
Niall Breslin & The Polaris Quartet
Tour Dates
October 1 – Vicar Street, Dublin (presented by Singular Artists)
October 4 – University of Limerick, with guests from the Irish Chamber Orchestra (presented by All we Have are Days)
October 9 – Mullingar Cathedral, Co. Westmeath with Choristers and Special Guest Michael Harding (presented by Singular Artists)
October 16 – Theatre Royal, Waterford
November 8 – Wexford Opera House, WexfordThe Place That Has Never Been Wounded (Deluxe Edition) is available now via Bandcamp
About Niall Breslin
Niall Breslin ( known to many as Bressie) is an Irish artist, author, academic and mental health campaigner whose work spans music, literature and public discourse. His most recent album, The Place That Has Never Been Wounded, was released via Icelandic label INNI and marks a clear shift toward a more spacious, reflective sound world. The album functions as a multi-part work, structured across four acts — The Polaris Principles, Dúchas, Metta, and The Place That Has Never Been Wounded — each drawing on philosophical ideas inspired by Meister Eckhart. Each track corresponds to a chapter in Breslin’s forthcoming book of the same name, due for publication by John Murray One in January 2026 in print, ebook and audio formats. An extended album edition is planned, incorporating spoken word reflections intended for guided meditation
More: https://www.niallbreslin.com/
About Michael Harding
Michael Harding is a writer, podcaster and commentator. He was born in Cavan in 1953 and has received both the Stewart Parker Award and an RTÉ Arts Show/Bank of Ireland Award for his theatre work. The Abbey Theatre has staged Strawboys (1987), Una Pooka (1989), Misogynist (1990), Hubert Murray’s Widow (1993) and Sour Grapes (1997). The Tinker’s Curse was nominated for Best New Play, at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards 2007. His fiction includes Priest (1986) and The Trouble with Sarah Gullion (1988). He has written an acclaimed series of memoirs, starting with Staring at Lakes (2013) to his most recent I loved Him From the Day He Died (2024) He writes a column for the Irish Times alongside commentary on numerous documentary programmes and has featured in film and theatre, including a recent short film, Where the Old Man Lives. He is a member of Aosdána and lives with his wife, the artist Cathy Carmen, near Lough Allen in County Leitrim
More: www.michaelharding.ie/