Special Guests from Ireland

JP Sweeney

JP Sweeney is a fiddle player from Derry City. His father began teaching him the piano at the age of four and he went on to begin classical violin at the age of six. After ten years of playing classical and traditional music his interest in traditional Irish music grew and he went on to study for a HND in Professional Traditional Music Performance at Ceoltoir Fionn Chonallacha, based in Falcaragh, Co. Donegal. Whilst studying here JP received tuition from renowned fiddle players in the locality such as James Byrne of Glencolmcille, Francie Mooney of Gweedore and Stephen Campbell of Kincasslagh. Having successfully completed the HND course JP formed a band called Fiús with other graduates. During their time together Fiús played gigs around Ireland, Italy and France. Whilst living in Ireland JP played regularly at sessions around Co. Donegal. He has also played gigs in Romania, as a guest musician at the Shetland Folk Festival and has toured in Denmark with Galway based band Nábac.

JP went on to study music at the University of Ulster in his hometown of Derry. He graduated in 2006 with a Bmus First Class Honours and continued his studies to successfully complete a Masters in Music Performance in 2007. Whilst studying for his Masters he had the privilege of working alongside Dr Liz Doherty in directing the university Traditional Music Ensemble. Since completing his studies JP has been travelling in SE Asia and arrived in Australia in March, shortly after which he was invited to play at the Fairbridge Folk Festival with local Perth band Tangled Reel. During his time here he has also played several gigs in Carnarvon, Exmouth and Broome with Fremantle based guitarist David Hyams.

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 Barney and Fintan McCabe

Barney and Fintan McCabe from Monaghan and Vanessa Ford from Mayo. (Accordion, Banjo, Whistle, Guitar and Singer)

"Our music and song follows a family tradition going back many generations, and our philosophy is that music should be fun and entertain."  

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Marie Griffin

Marie Griffin is 26 years old, a musician and singer from Lissycasey, Co. Clare, Ireland.   She has  been singing in public since the age of five.  She plays piano, keyboard and guitar and has been doing live shows all over Ireland since she was 12 years old.  She has sung and performed with many of the Irish singers.  Daniel O'Donnell, Mary Black, Sean Keane, Louise Morrissey, The Dubliners, Dominic Kirwan to mention a few.  Sean Nos singing is the first style of music  she started singing.  She has won 5 All-Ireland titles from Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. She has been teaching piano and guitar in a school called Peter Dee Academy of Music for the past seven years.  She completed the Royal Irish Academy of Music Diploma in May 2004 on piano.  She has four albums recorded to date.   Her latest album is entitled This Moment is Mine.  Most of the material on the albums is country and Irish music but there is still a lot of the Irish songs included.  Her parents ran a bar in my native parish of Lissycasey for over 40 years, so had the opportunity many times to join in a good traditional Irish music session that usually continued on til all hours of the night.  Presently in Sydney doing traffic control with Australia Traffic Management.  She hopes to continue her musical journey here and looks forward to breaking new ground on her travels around Australia. 

If you would like to buy any of Marie's CD's please email irishmusicianssydney@hotmail.com giving your contact phone number and we will pass on your details to Marie who will contact you shortly.

 

Niall Rooney

Niall Rooney is a 28yr old ballad singer, from Dundalk, Co. Louth. When living in Ireland, Niall sang regularly in pubs and clubs in Dublin - such as O' Donoghues, the Cobblestone, the Olympia Theatre, the Cle Club and Goilin singers Club. Niall enjoys delivering the story and the imagery behind a song. He favours ballads which evoke empathy for Ireland and her people in times past

From Australia and elsewhere

Jack Brennan

Jack's Grandfather was a well known fiddle player and dancer around County Carlow in Ireland.  Jack started learning Irish music on a tin whistle with Tim Whelan Snr in Adelaide in the 1970s.  Around this time Jack heard Finbar Furey playing the uilleann pipes, and knew this was the instrument he wanted to play.  Jack currently plays an Alain Froment concert 'D' set of pipes that he bought in 1986.  He plays in the flowing style of Finbar Furey and Paddy Keenan and teaches the pipes.  He has played in a number of bands and released his own solo CD in 2005 titled "Piper's Dream"  Jack makes his own reeds from South Australian Spanish cane.

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Sean Roche

Over the past 30 years, Sean Roce has established himself as one of Australia's finest Irish voices.  Sean has a unique brand of Irish entertainment that subtly integrates the music of his homeland with a sprinkling of Australian standards.

Sean Roche hails from Cork City, Ireland and was a founding member of The Settlers in the early seventies.  Since that time The Settlers have produced three albums and continue to tour throughout Australia and Asia today.  Sean has brought out two albums on his own, the latest being 'A Celtic Heart'.

For more information and bookings contact:  Sean Roche 0417 940 182

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Peter Woodley 

Flute and whistle player Peter Woodley has been playing and teaching Irish music for many years. He lived briefly in Clare in the 1980s, where he played with and learnt from some of the best musicians around in that place at that time. 

Peter counts amongst his influences the music of flute players such as Sean McKenna, Matt Molloy, Conal O’Grada, Cathal McConnell, Marcus Hernon and Eddie Cahill, as well as the hundreds of musicians he has played with in Ireland and Australia over many years. In Australia, Peter played on and produced an album of Irish flute music played by Australian musicians, and has played and recorded with bands such as the High Notes (with the likes of Eilish O’Connor and Jimmy Gregory) and the Hooley Band.  He appears at the Goulburn festival with Kevin and Jacqui Bradley as Hoddle.

Peter Woodley will be holding workshops for Flute and Whistle at Goulburn  .Back to Home page

The Beenies 

The Beenies are an all female trio who combine stunning vocal harmonies with traditional and original tunes to create an exciting and individual sound.

Their self-titled debut cd has been met with great enthusiasm by national and international audiences, and their new release Both Near and Far shows that they are continuing to grow and to take the Australian Folk scene by storm.

Through their enthusiasm and passion they bring a fresh vitality and energy to an old tradition.
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Hoddle with Peter Woodley

Australian traditional music from the national collections, Irish instrumental from friends, jazz, blues and "popular" music from everywhere and everywhen are all blended with care and taste to create Hoddle. Fiddle, flute and guitars with clear and bright vocals, they bring a fresh approach to the traditions of folk music. 

Peter Woodley, Kevin and Jacqui Bradley have been playing music together as Hoddle for the past two years, having evolved from a duo of Kevin and Jacqui and a long line of sessions.  In its various guises, Hoddle has performed many festivals including the National Folk Festival, 2006 and 2008, Woodford QLD 2006-7, Fairbridge WA 2007, Fleadh Nua, Goulbourn NSW 2007 and Illawarra Folk Festival 2007. 

 Kevin Bradley, guitars, mandolin and vocals, has been playing folk music for nearly thirty years, and has a deep knowledge of the Australian folk music collections.  Peter Woodley is flute player who has been playing Irish music since the late 1970s.  He performed with the High Notes.  Jacqui Bradley sings and plays fiddle and won the Chris Wendt award in 2005.

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Maria Forde

Maria is a gifted singer and songwriter who can captivate an audience with her beautiful voice and lyrics. She is currently recording her sixth album and has just returned from a tour in Ireland. She is passionate about story and writes about life, the land and her love of her two homes, Ireland and Australia. Maria has been awarded nationally and internationally for her songwriting. Her strength lies in her ability to write timeless material that connects with people’s lives.

Please visit www.mariaforde.com  for further details and to buy one of her many cd's

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Shay O Hara

Shay O Hara, the Irish born entertainer, now resident in Australia, has amazed and delighted audiences all around the world with his variety of songs and his ready wit. Shay has a vocal range the enables him to cover the spectrum from a beautiful ballad to a rock n'roll number with complete ease.

He has toured America no less than twenty times His tours of Europe include Spain, Italy, France, Germany, England, Scotland and he has performed in each of the 32 countries of his beloved Ireland.
 

Jimmy Mullarkey Band
 

Jimmy comes from Sligo, and is one of the finest accordion players to come to Australia.  The band also includes Ivan Roberts, Ian Hayden, Elaine Jeffreys, Gabriel Calcagno and JJ Noonan. Jimmy and his band play regularly at the Harp Hotel, Tempe for the Set dancing and other functions around Sydney and the Irish really appreciate their traditional music. 

The Band recently played at the 2008 National Folk Festival in Canberra and has also performed at the previous two Goulburn Festivals and provided entertainment for both ceili and concert spots.  This is a great ceili band not to be missed!!!

Tony O Rourke

I began playing music in 1974 as a teenager, growing up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. In 1983 I was approached by Jamie McKew who was organising some concerts by Irish duo Brendan Mulkere(fiddle), and the gifted John Carty(banjo). He asked me if I “could back these guys up” on guitar. They were joined by our own Joe Fitzgerald, and I must have been the luckiest traditional musician ever because that was the very first Irish band I ever played in. It was hardly surprising that having sat next to and accompanied Carty for that most memorable fortnight that I should purchase a banjo. “The Home Ruler” and “Kitty’s Wedding” was the first set I ever learnt and I’ve been at it ever since..........

I have released two CDs of traditional Irish music, “The Maid At The Well” and “An Sliabh Glas/The Green Mountain”. Both CDs contain music played on guitar and banjo, and I’ve also published transcription booklets for both CDs. I’ve also produced a 168 page “Guitar Chord Dictionary” containing over 2,100 chords.The other project I’m involved with is the “Irish Guitar Podcast” – how to play traditional Irish music on guitar.The podcasts cover both melody and accompaniment. The address is    www.irishguitarpod.com  . My co author is Gerry Gaffney who plays some guitar and a lot of computer. Gerry is originally from Dublin and has been a great help in helping me gain some understanding of the unfamiliar computerworld we live in.......read more.....

Cornerhouse Ceili Band

Corner House Ceili Band is made up of Sue and Pete Hobson, and Peter Logue. At last year’s Fleadh Nua, they performed at the concerts (when Terry McGee was with them) and treated the Ceili Dancers to some great foot-tapping music.

Frederick Tekook

"Born in 1987 I listened to pipes music the very first time in 2001 and once I heard them I knew I had to play the Uilleann Pipes. From that moment on I have been looking for the music wherever I go and was thereby encouraged by several musicians all around the globe. I got my pipes in 2007 and it's a full set made by German pipe maker Andreas Rogge. I enjoy playing with other musicians on session and I played in a few bands in Germany and Ireland, but I also like to play on my own. Finally I am open to everything connected to Irish music or traditional music in general and to anything concerning Uilleann Pipes

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Dwyer Whelan Dancers

From L. to R.) Andrew McKay, Mary McMurtrie, Laura Maguire and Sophie Babich are from the Dwyer Whelan Dancers. The dancers have over 10 years dancing experience, competing and placing highly at world and national championship levels, as well as performing locally and with shows. Andrew McKay is an Australian Irish Dancing Association’s NSW Senior Champion

Graham Aubrey

Graham was born in Cwmparc, Wales and was singing in choirs from the age of six. He has conducted choirs and played the organ in Germany and the UK. For the last twenty-five years he has been active in the choral scene in Australia and has performed widely as a soloist with the Celtic Harp, Piano and Keyboard. He holds a Master of Arts in Celtic Studies and an honours degree in Musicology. He is in demand at universities around the world as a lecturer in the Traditional music of the British Isles. He founded the Australian Institute of Celtic Studies in Newcastle