Faculty

Randal Bays (Fiddle)

Randal Bays is an American born, Irish style fiddler who brings power and passion to the playing of Irish traditional music. He’s well known on both sides of the Atlantic for his fine fiddling and his devotion to the traditional style of playing. He has a special love for the fiddle traditions of Counties Clare and Galway, where he’s spent many a night playing tunes with the masters of that intricate music. Randal has recorded and toured in the US, Ireland and Europe with such musicians as Martin Hayes, James Keane and Daithí Sproule (Fingal), James Kelly and many more. In 2021 he received the Irish Artist in America Achievement Award from O’Flaherty Irish Music in Texas. Randal lives in the Seattle area and is the Artistic Director of Cascadia Irish Music Week. Read more about Randal's music on his website at www.randalbays.com

Therese McInerney (Fiddle)

Therese hails from a little coastal townland just outside Miltown Malbay, but now lives in Ennis, Co. Clare.  An avid Traditional musician, set dancer and gaeilgeoir all through her primary school days, Therese developed her love of singing and drama during her time in Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon secondary school, where she participated in musicals and choirs. Therese went on to study a BCL International Law Degree in University College Cork, where she volunteered in the UCC Radio Station. Therese had her own radio show on UCC98.3FM for two years for which she received a "Smedia" or National Student Media Award for Irish Radio. In September 2016, she completed a master's in Traditional Irish Music Performance at the Irish World Academy of Music achieving first class honours where she received Tuition from some of the finest Traditional Musicians in the world. Therese released her debut album "Down The Strand" in 2017 which incorporates her fiddle playing and singing. 

Eimear Coughlan (Fiddle)

Eimear is from Tulla in Co. Clare. She continues the musical heritage of her grandfather Paddy Canny, playing fiddle in the highly acclaimed Tulla Ceili Band. Eimear is also an outstanding harper and has performed on several music tours throughout Europe with the ‘Irish Harp Orchestra’. Over the past number of years, Eimear has accumulated many All Ireland titles at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and has performed and taught at numerous Traditional Irish Music festivals throughout Ireland. 

Patsy Hanly (Flute)

Patsy Hanly is one of the best known and loved musicians in Irish music today. He's from Co Roscommon, home to a great tradition of flute playing. He has a vast knowledge and experience in the music, and is one of the most distinctive and stylistic flute players in the northwest music style. He is a former senior all-Ireland flute winner, and has guested on many albums over the years including the Bridge Céilí Band and the Boys of the Lough to name but a few. 

To give you an idea of the wit and humour of the man himself, here is the biography he wrote for himself. “Write a bit for the CD” he said. “My mind flashed immediately to musical accomplishments, recordings etc. - Not worth writing about - Instead, maybe a word of appreciation for the characters with whom I stumbled, sped, shuffled, raced, hobbled and socialised through the chaotic world of traditional music, which runs - almost - parallel with reality. I thank them all for their influence which shaped my music and my personality."

Eamonn Cotter (Flute)

Eamonn Cotter, originally from Ennis but living in Kilmaley in Co. Clare for over 30 years, is a well known and respected flute player and flute manufacturer. As a teacher he has taught at the Willie Clancy Summer School, Blas Summer School, Scoil Éigse, Rencontre Musicale Irlandais in Tocane St Apre in France and in Tonder, Denmark.  He has toured widely both in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the United States. Eamonn has been a member of St. Flannan's Ceili Band, the Tulla Ceili Band, and Shaskeen. He has recorded on many albums including his solo CDs The Knotted Chord and Traditional Music from Co. Clare. He has been featured on many radio and television programmes including ‘Geantrai’ and ‘Gradam Cheoil TG4 2009’. As well as traditional music he also has a keen interest in Western Art music (he was awarded an ALCM diploma in 1985). He also regularly plays flute in a jazz ensemble in Limerick.

Mickey Dunne (Uillean Pipes)

Mickey Dunne is a member of the Dunne Family, one of the great musical families of Ireland with a heritage stretching back many generations. They have entertained hundreds of thousands of Irish people at Fleadh Ceoils, Munster Finals, Galway Races, Fairs, etc., spanning a half century. The Dunnes played a major part in keeping alive Ireland’s musical legacy, and all of them were master players that inspired some of the great exponents of the fiddle who came to prominence in later years.

Mickey Dunne is a proud standard bearer of this Irish music dynasty, and together with his two daughters Brid and Niamh, is carrying on a proud tradition. Mickey is life president of the newly formed Thomond Pipers Club in Limerick which has been recently founded after a lapse of 100 years. Having studied the art of pipe making under the craftsmanship of the legendary Cillian O’Briain, Mickey is now manufacturing top quality chanters, practice sets and reeds in Co Limerick. Mickey’s style of piping embodies the free flowing travelling style associated with the legendary Johnny Doran, Finbar Furey and Paddy Keenan who have provided Mickey with his inspiration. His first uilleann pipe CD “The Limerick Lassies” has been hailed as a “pipering masterpiece”.

Josephine Marsh (Accordion)

From Ennis, Co. Clare, Josephine Marsh is a master of the two-row button accordion. One reviewer called her 'a truly great traditional accordion player of individual style, grace and spirit', and that accurately describes this outstanding musician. Josephine has performed for years in Ireland and Europe, both solo and with her band. Her self-titled CD is one of the finest accordion albums of modern times, described in one review as 'One of the most deeply satisfying instrumental albums made in recent years'.

Tim Collins (Concertina)

Tim Collins is widely acclaimed as one of the great anglo concertina players and tutors of modern times. Based in Crusheen, Co. Clare where he runs his own concertina school, he is a member of the famed  Kilfenora Céilí Band since 1994, and he has toured and recorded extensively with the band over the last twenty-two years. Tim is founding co-director of Consairtín:The National Concertina Convention and is also founding director of the ground breaking Irish Concertina Ensemble (ICE), the first of its kind in Ireland. He’s performed and taught throughout Ireland, Europe and North America and has appeared on numerous recordings.

Francis Cunningham (Concertina)

Francis Cunningham hails from Crusheen, Co. Clare. Described by Kevin Crawford as one of the finest young exponents of the concertina with a strong emphasis on the Clare tradition, he has just released an album with Carl Hession and Eimear Coughlan featuring 40 original compositions by Carl entitled ‘Úrnua’. Having won All Ireland concertina titles, he has taught and performed at various festivals such Scoil Samhradh Willie Clancy, Consairtín, The Feakle Festival, Scoil Éigse, The O Carolan Harp Festival and Concertina Cruinniú. 

Geraldine Cotter (Piano/Whistle) 

From Ennis, County Clare, Geraldine Cotter is a tin whistle and piano player, composer, arranger, teacher, researcher and retired lecturer in Music Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

Geraldine features on over 30 studio recordings including her most recent release Ré Órga.  She features regularly on national and international TV and radio broadcasts.  In 2017 she was presented with the MÓRglór Award, for outstanding contribution to traditional music in County Clare. 

Geraldine is the author of several acclaimed books on playing the tin whistle. She teaches and performs regularly at summer schools and events in Ireland and abroad, and performs with two outstanding traditional groups, The Boruma Trio and Shaskeen. 

Frank Kilkelly (Guitar)

Frank Kilkelly is a guitarist who everyone wants to play with.. he’s a master at accompanying Irish music, in fact, he wrote the book!

Frank grew up in Castlebar Co.Mayo, and learnt his craft playing guitar in countless local sessions in the mid–seventies, as traditional music was enjoying a revival. In 1986 he moved to London, and while there toured and recorded with many musicians prominent on the English folk circuit, working regularly in Europe and the USA. In 1998, he moved back to Ireland. He’s worked with too many great musicians to list them all… they include Luke Daniels, Brendan Power, Maggie Boyle, the Boys of The Lough, Christy O’Leary, singer Sean Keane, Alan Kelly, Mairtín O’Connor, Cathal Hayden, Sharon Shannon, Finbar Furey, Charlie Lennon, Frankie Gavin’s De Danann, John McSherry, Dermot Byrne and Floriane Blancke, among others. This is a rare opportunity to learn from Frank outside of Ireland.

Brian McGrath (Tenor Banjo)

Brian McGrath comes from Brookeborough, Co. Fermanagh, an area steeped in traditional music. Brian’s first professional work was with Dervish. He then joined Four Men And A Dog and played on the award-winning album Barking Mad. He moved his career on, accompanying Noel Hill, Paul Brock and Frankie Gavin, among others, before joining the Sean Keane Band as pianist. Brian joined De Dannan where he stayed till the band broke up in 2003. Brian now plays with At The Racket, and is much sought after as a session musician on piano, banjo and mandolin. He has toured extensively, playing with all the biggest names in Irish traditional music, including Frankie Gavin, Noel Hill, John Carty, Matt Molloy, Paul Brock, Charlie Lennon, Joe Burke, Sean Maguire, Brian Rooney, Cathal Hayden, Joe Derrane, Arty McGlynn, Alec Finn, Alan Kelly, Dolores Keane, Maura O’Connell, Tommy Fleming, Steve Cooney and Eleanor Shanley, as well as doing extensive TV and media work.