It was pelting rain outdoors, set dancers’ feet were audibly clattering on a wooden floor overhead, a mysterious buzzing sound was emanating from the speakers at irregular intervals (“it’s something to do with the hotel, and nothing can be done about it,” we were told), and a coughing fit two songs into the set threatened to upset the applecart entirely.

Despite it all, traditional singer Niamh Parsons put in a spellbinding performance for the launch of her third solo CD, Heart’s Desire.

Material from the new album featured prominently, of course; the aforementioned coughing fit having marred the powerful ‘Done With Bonaparte’ (written, astonishingly, by none other than Mark Knopfler), Parsons courageously decided to give the song its due with a second outing later in the evening, and an unaccompanied rendition of ‘My Lagan Love’ was equally spine-juddering.

However, the smoky-voiced singer’s earlier repertoire furnished some of the strongest songs of the night – notably the Rathlin Island song ‘Fear a Bhata’ and the classic ‘Boys of Barr na Sráide’, with a large portion of the audience singing along on the chorus of both.

Parsons’ sister Anne joined her for a sprightly duet on, appropriately, ‘The Two Sisters’, while guitarist Graham Dunne contributed several impressively nimble instrumental numbers. Rarely has victory been stolen from the jaws of defeat so impressively.

Owing to Parsons’ well-deserved popularity abroad, her Dublin appearances tend to be few and far between, which is a pity: that rich voice and commanding stage presence could do with more exposure on her home turf. Perhaps next time, it’ll be in a venue that does better justice to them.