“Exceptional things only happen when the passion of individuals nourish an idea,” Pärt tells me. “When Eamonn approached me in 2006 and asked for a new work, I felt this passion. It, and the story of Ireland, inspired me to create The Deer’s Cry, which ever since has been very close to my heart. I gratefully remember my collaboration with him and his society. The music world needs such committed fighters as Eamonn Quinn.”

Arvo Pärt speaking to The Guardian about Louth Contemporary Music's Eamonn QuinnThe Guardian June 2017