Recordings

Ailbhe has recorded multiple studio albums for cello with her debut It's a Cello Thing released in 2012. Skellig was released in 2020 featuring composers Shostakovich, Debussy and Boulanger as well as her own composition of the same name. Partnering with Beethoven piano specialist John O'Conor, they recorded the Complete Cello Sonatas 1-5 to much acclaim in 2021. She released her debut orchestral work the Irish Isles Suite in 2023 which was recorded by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

"Out of several performances of the Beethoven A major sonata heard over 30 years, McDonagh’s was the most musically complete and satisfying.”
The Irish Times

Studio albums

Click on the album covers to listen on Spotify.

Irish Isles Suite

Beethoven Complete Cello Sonatas 1-5

Skellig

It's a Cello Thing

Educational recordings

In 2017 Ailbhe recorded two volumes of her own piano compositions It's a Piano Thing with publishers Boosey & Hawkes. In 2021 they partnered again with the release of her cello compositions It's a Cello Thing books 1 & 2.

It's a Cello Thing, vol. 1

It's a Cello Thing, vol. 2

It's a Piano Thing, vol. 1

It's a Piano Thing, vol. 2

Appears on

Ailbhe records regularly with other classical music ensembles, notably the Ficino Ensemble of which she is a member. She has also collaborated with many international acts as well as folk, rock & pop groups both in and outside Ireland. Here is a selection of recent recordings on which she has appeared.