CCÉ Irish Folk Festival 2026

Gerry O'Connor

Gerry came from a family of musicians, dancers, and singers, and music has shaped his life from the very beginning. His mother, Rose O’Connor, née O’Brien, taught Gerry and his siblings the fiddle at home. She went on to teach there for over 40 years, and students travelled from Armagh, Dublin, and much further afield to learn from her. Her dedication to teaching and her belief in passing the music on left a lasting mark on Gerry. His father, Peter, was a singer, and music ran strongly through his side of the family too, with seven of his uncles all playing music.

From an early age, Gerry was deeply involved in Irish music and dance. Between 1967 and 1973, he won numerous All Ireland titles in a range of formations, including duet, trio, and four Céilí Band competitions. Step dancing played a central role in his early musical life and continues to influence his sense of rhythm and phrasing.

In the 1970s, playing with John Joe Gardiner, a contemporary of Michael Coleman, was a defining experience. It shaped his musical direction and drew him towards the fluid, ornamented, lyrical fiddle style of the great Sligo masters. Gerry's background in step dancing naturally feeds into his playing, and that connection between dance and melody remains at the heart of his music. Today, Gerry is  recognised as one of the great fiddle players of his generation.

Gerry has played and recorded with a number of highly regarded groups over the years, including Lá Lúgh with Eithne Ní Uallacháin, released on the Sony Music label, and Skylark with Len Graham, Gary O’Briain, and his brother Mairtín O’Connor. With these groups, he recorded four CDs on the Claddagh label. Gerry has also toured and recorded with members of many legendary groups, including Planxty, Bothy Band, De Dannan, Boys of the Lough, and The Chieftains. Lá Lúgh’s album Brighid’s Kiss was voted Album of the Year in 1996 by readers of Irish Music Magazine. His solo album Journeyman was listed among the top five albums of 2004 by The Irish Times. This critically acclaimed solo recording, which I co produced with my son Dónal of Ulaid and At First Light, was recognised as a significant milestone in documenting the music of the Oriel region of South Ulster.

In 2006, Gerry recorded the live album In Concert with Gilles le Bigot, known for his work with Barzaz and Skolvan. This recording was a celebration of the cultural links between Ireland and Brittany, and the duo has toured continually for the past 20 years. During 2006 and 2007, Gerry recorded and toured with the Irish Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Elizabeth Wallfisch. This included recording Ardee Dances, a piece commissioned for Irish fiddle and Baroque orchestra and written by Rachel Holstead. I continued to perform with Elizabeth Wallfisch as part of the Wandering Fiddlers project, performing at Wigmore Hall and at the Brighton Early Music Festival.

With Nuala Kennedy, Martin Quinn, and Gilles le Bigot, O'Connor released the album Oirialla in November 2012 at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Canada. This band is currently touring and remains in demand for festivals.

In recent years, re-releases of Gerry's music has included recordings with Desi Wilkinson and Eithne Ní Uallacháin, including Cosa Gan Bhróga on the Gael Linn label and Senex Puer on IML. Gerry has also recorded and performed with the vocal a cappella trio White Raven, led by Kathleen Dineen, touring extensively throughout Europe and appearing at international choral festivals such as RheinVocal and Merano. Alongside this work, Gerry continues to tour and has  recorded eight albums with the much celebrated Irish Canadian group The Irish Rovers.

In 2018, Gerry was honoured to receive the Ceannródaí Bardic Award from Comhaltas in recognition of my contribution to the traditional arts. In the same year, he released his second solo album Last Nights Joy and published The Rose in the Gap, a collection of dance music for Oriel drawn from the Donnellan Collection. These projects reflect his ongoing commitment to preserving, documenting, and sharing the music of this region.

Gerry O'Connor is a four time winner of The Fiddler of Oriel competition and has  since returned to the competition as an adjudicator. He has also adjudicated the Gael Linn sponsored Siansa competition and the RAAP and RTÉ sponsored Breakthrough competitions. O'Connor was a co founder and the first Artistic Director of Ceol Chairlinn, an annual teaching festival in Carlingford, County Louth. He currently serves as Traditional Arts Coordinator for the Creative Connexions Irish Catalan Arts Festival in Sitges. Teaching remains central to Gerry's work, and he teaches fiddle at the Willie Clancy Summer School as well as at masterclasses throughout Europe. When Gerry is at home, he continues to work as a violin maker and restorer.

Kevin McElroy

Musician and singer Kevin McElroy of Maine is well regarded around New England for his skill as an instrumentalist and singer, his knowledge of Irish traditional music, and his work as a restorer of antique instruments, particularly the violin. 

 His latest CD, “Better Late than Never: Irish + Traditional Songs”, will further cement his reputation and popularity in the Irish traditional music community. The CD includes 10 tracks with some gorgeous songs and tunes, a few of them rare, and others well-known. We asked Kevin about the song selections. 

 “The ages of the songs vary greatly, from “Polly Vaughan” which comes from an old 17th century ballad, to “The Moving on Song” which is a composition of the famous Ewan McColl. “Paddy, the Cockney and the Ass” I learned from the late, great Tom Lenihan from West Clare when I was in my late teens and on my first visit to Ireland. It was the song that Irish fiddler Larry Reynolds regularly requested of me,” McElroy says. “Some songs move me with their history, some with a tender story. Other songs I simply like the melody. However, they are all songs I’ve heard sung in the Irish tradition. Having grown up in Massachusetts, I heard very little Irish, so I lean toward songs in English.” 

The CD cover itself is remarkable, and includes a photo of Kevin’s great grandfather, who was born in Fermanagh and emigrated as an infant with his family to Charlestown. He was 19 when he enlisted during the Civil War. “He was a Captain in the Jackson Guard in Charlestown, and the photo is his company at the centennial celebration of the battle of Bunker Hill in 1875,” McElroy says. The Jackson Guard was an Irish militia company attached to the 9th Irish Regiment, comprised of mostly Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans who fought in the American Civil War. 

A long-time staple of Irish traditional music sessions around Boston and in Portland, McElroy plays multiple plectrum instruments and is accomplished as a singer too. He credits his singing teachers Frank Harte, Mick Moloney, Sean Corcoran on the liner notes, and his Great-Aunt Ella McElroy, “whose stories and songs initially piqued my interest in Irish music.” 

He is joined on the CD by two outstanding musicians, Kieran O’Hare on uilleann pipes and whistle, and Gerry O’Connor of Dundalk on fiddle, with whom he tours with up and down the Eastern Seaboard. 

McElroy’s lifelong commitment to music extends to his profession as an instrument restorer. “I studied violin making, with a concentration on restoration of antique violins and it is fair to say I have worked in the trade for 30 years. I sold my company, Frost Gully Violins, to one of my employees 9 years ago and now work independently as a restorer of antique instruments in Portland, Maine.”