The SomeRiseSomeFall album project started out as the ultimate mix-tape for me. I
wanted to enlist the musical talents of singer/songwriters Ger Wolfe and
Hank Wedel, and multi-instrumentalist Martin Leahy & ask them to visit the emotional truth underlying a selection of songs that resonated deeply with me. These songs explored some of the more painful elements of the human condition while highlighting the need to shine on in the face of adversity.
 
Over a number of years, the project evolved to incorporate other artistic expressions,
including a commissioned original instrumental piece, composed and performed by
fiddler Edel Sullivan, and to include another Cork singer-songwriter, Annette Buckley, lending a powerful and balancing female voice to the universal themes of pain and transformation.  
 
Another aspect of the project is to help bring attention and understanding to the
experiences and supports needed for those who suffer from mental ill-health, and
also to highlight the plight of asylum seekers stuck for years in the limbo of the
disgraceful Direct Provision system in Ireland. We support any initiative to improve
the lives and circumstances of these families and individuals. 
 
Dedicated to Catriona Mulcahy, Aoife, Nuey and Aodhrua Fitzgerald and John
Coffey of UNEEDA Records source of so much music in the 1970s and 1980s
Thanks to all the musicians, to Georgia Hopkins for making sure it became a reality,
Harry Moore for design and moral support throughout, Colm Walsh, Brian Hassett
and Edel Curtin of Coughlan’s Live, Allie Glynn, Pat and Eddie Murphy, Helen
Murphy, Declan Sinnott, Finny Corcoran, Donncha, Dan and Mary Buckley, Conor,
Oscar and Cillian Casey. The musicians would like to thank their families.
Thanks to all at SHINE (Supporting People Affected by Mental Ill Health), Aware,
Green Ribbon and See Change for all they do. Thanks also to everyone who is trying
to improve the situation of the families trapped in the Direct provision System in
Ireland.

-Michael Fitzgerald, Project Founder – May 2017