Lunasa at Cork Folk Festival

Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honour of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is indeed a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland.

Sean Smyth - Fiddle and whistles.
Born in Straide, County Mayo, and now living in Galway, Sean is an All-Ireland champion on both fiddle and whistle. His 1993 solo debut, The Blue Fiddle, was named one of the ten best albums of that year by the Irish Echo.

Kevin Crawford - Flutes, whistles and bodhran.
An exceptional flute, whistle, and bodhran player.born in Birmingham, England, and living in Ennis, County Clare, he has also recorded with Grianin, Raise the Rafters, Joe Derrane, and Sean Tyrrell, and appears on the 1994 recording The Sanctuary Sessions. In 1994, Kevin made his first solo album, 'D' Flute Album, available on Green Linnet Records.

Trevor Hutchinson -Upright Bass.
From Cookstown, County Tyrone, and living in Dublin, Trevor played bass with the Waterboys from 1986 to 1991. With that rock band, he recorded Fisherman's Blues (1988) and Room to Roam (1990), the latter featuring Sharon Shannon. After that, he made three albums as a member of the Sharon Shannon Band: 1991's Sharon Shannon, 1994's Out the Gap, and 1997's Each Little Thing, the last two available on Green Linnet Records. A much-in-demand musician, Trevor has also recorded with Moving Cloud, Altan's Dermot Byrne, Máire Breatnach, and Eileen Ivers of Riverdance fame.

Cillian Vallely -Uillean pipes and whistles.
A gifted Armagh-born uilleann pipes and low whistle player, Cillian comes from the same talented musical family as his brother Niall Vallely, concertina player with the group Nomos. Cillian has spent most of the recent past touring in the US, performing with bands such as New York-based 'Whirligig', Paddy O'Brien's 'Chulrua' and with Clare fiddler Seamus Connolly. He was featured as uilleann pipes soloist in the Broadway production of 'Riverdance' and toured with Tim O'Brien in "The Crossing." Cillian and Niall have released their album "Callan Bridge" on Compass Records.




Paul Meehan - Guitar
From Middletown, Co.Armagh, Paul was guitarist with the Karan Casey Band. He is also an outstanding banjo player and has recorded on two albums as member of North Cregg. He performs regularly on T.V with different artists.

Aishling McPhillips on Flute

Comhaltas Youth Officer for the Ulster province, Ashling McPhillips from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh plays a set of jigs, ending with "Tommy Mulhaire's."

More info and videos at http://comhaltaslive.ie

Irish Flute player Garry Shannon

Concert flute maestro Garry Shannon plays a set of jigs: the first is a composition of Dublin fiddle player Paul O'Shaughnessy, who was one of the team of tutors at the 2008 Meitheal Residential Summer School from 14th to 18th July. Garry is, of course, the co-ordinator of the school. Inaugurated in 2004, the school has been a huge success, attracting participants from all over Ireland and overseas. No doubt there will be huge interest in the 2009 school when details are announced at http://www.tradweek.com.

Paddy Moloney

Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains (Clip from 1991)

Champion Irish Flute/Fiddle Duet

All-Ireland U15 Duet champions in 2004, Dublin musicians Muireann Egan on concert flute and Aoife O'Brien on fiddle play two reels: "The Swallow's Nest" composed by Paddy O'Brien and "Fred Finn's".

More info and videos at http://comhaltaslive.ie