County Clare is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 127,938 at the 2022 census. The county seat and largest settlement is Ennis.
Doolin is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in its pubs, making it a popular tourist destination. There are numerous nearby archaeological sites, many dating to the Iron Age and earlier. Doonagore Castle and Ballinalacken Castle are also in the area. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht prior to the 1950s, and maintains a connection with Irish-speaking areas - including via its maritime connection with the Aran Islands.
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponent in the Donegal fiddle tradition, and she is often considered one of the foremost singers in the Irish language, her native tongue. She was part of the Irish supergroup T with the Maggies who performed in January 2009 at Temple Bar TradFest in Dublin their first ever two concerts under that name and who released in October 2010 their debut album. After nearly 22 years with Altan, Mairéad premiered in 28 December 2008 in Gweedore her debut solo album Imeall which was later released worldwide in February 2009. After 29 years with Altan, Mairéad released in October 2016 her alternate band Na Mooneys' debut album Na Mooneys.
The Irish flute is a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favoured by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design. The majority of traditional Irish flute players use a wooden, simple-system flute.
Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, Sharon Shannon, was the best-selling album of traditional Irish music ever released in Ireland. Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences. She won the lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.
John Cutliffe is an Irish musician from Buncrana, County Donegal. He was born on February 8, 1962. He is known as a musician, songwriter and producer and has worked in London, Nashville and Ireland.
Celtic fusion is an umbrella term for any modern music which incorporates influences considered "Celtic", or Celtic music which incorporates modern music. It is a syncretic musical tradition which borrows freely from the perceived "Celtic" musical traditions of all the Celtic nations, as well as from all styles of popular music, it is thus sometimes associated with the Pan-Celtic movement. Celtic fusion may or may not include authentic traditional music from any one tradition under the Celtic umbrella, but its common characteristic is the inspiration by Celtic identity.
Máire Breatnach is an Irish fiddle, violin and viola player. She also sings in Irish on some of her albums. Since the early 1990s, she has recorded five solo albums, participated in many collaborations, and developed didactic material for children, mostly in Irish.
Kevin Burke is an Irish master fiddler considered one of the finest living Irish fiddlers. For nearly five decades he has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music and Celtic music, performing and recording with the groups The Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival. He is a 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Paddy Canny was an Irish fiddle player. In a career that spanned over six decades, Canny was instrumental in popularizing Irish traditional music, both in Ireland and internationally. He gained initial fame in the late 1940s as a founding member of The Tulla Céilí Band, which made its first appearance on RTÉ Radio in 1948 and had positioned itself as the top céilí band in Ireland by the late 1950s.
Catriona Macdonald is a musician and teacher from Shetland and is considered to be one of the world's leading traditional fiddle players.
Daithí Ó Drónaí is an Irish musician and producer, best known for producing electronic music inspired by Irish culture under the artist name "Daithi". He debuted in 2009 as a participant on All Ireland Talent Show. Since then, Daithi has developed a successful music career in Ireland, releasing an album with Sony Music Entertainment and independently releasing a range of E.P.s. Two of his singles, "Chameleon Life" and "Mary Keanes Introduction" were nominated for the Choice Music Prize.
Winifred Horan is an American violinist/fiddler of Irish descent. After classical training, she played with the all-female Celtic music ensemble Cherish the Ladies before becoming an original member of the Irish traditional music group Solas.
Paul Kelly is an Irish multi-instrumentalist and musician from Tallaght in Dublin, Ireland. He has played Irish traditional music, bluegrass and country, and is equally at home in a variety of different styles of music.
Austin (Gussie) Russell was a stonecutter and a well known Irish traditional flute and whistle player out of Doolin, County Clare, Ireland. He was one of the three Russell brothers to earn fame as a musician, together with his brothers Micho and Packie.
Patrick (Pakie) Russell was a stonecutter and a well known Irish traditional concertina player and storyteller out of Doolin, County Clare, Ireland. He was one of the three Russell brothers to earn fame as musician, together with his brothers Micho and Gussie.
Celtic Music is a British, Yorkshire-based publishing, distribution and record label, which specialized in folk and Celtic music recordings released between the 1970s to the early 2000s. As at 2018, the company still exists but its last release of original music was in 2007.
Josephine Marsh is an Irish traditional composer as well as playing the accordion, fiddle, concertina, whistle, mandolin, guitar and banjo.
Susan O'Neill, also known professionally as SON, is an Irish singer-songwriter and filmmaker, from Ennis, County Clare. She is known for In The Game, an album she made with Mick Flannery.
