Sean-nós dancer Eiméar Mulvey hails from Geevagh, County Sligo. Eiméar is the 2018 senior Sean Nós Dancing All Ireland Champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and is the sole force behind ‘Club Damhsa Bróga Bríomhar’, Eiméar looks forward to knocking sparks out of the floor at this year’s South Sligo Summer School, where she will teach a mix of sean-nós, barrel and brush dancing steps with her students.

Sean-nós dancer Eiméar Mulvey hails from Geevagh, County Sligo. Eiméar is the 2018 senior Sean Nós Dancing All Ireland Champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and is the sole force behind ‘Club Damhsa Bróga Bríomhar’, Eiméar looks forward to knocking sparks out of the floor at this year’s South Sligo Summer School, where she will teach a mix of sean-nós, barrel and brush dancing steps with her students.

Sean-nós dancer Eiméar Mulvey hails from Geevagh, County Sligo. Eiméar is the 2018 senior Sean Nós Dancing All Ireland Champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and is the sole force behind ‘Club Damhsa Bróga Bríomhar’, Eiméar looks forward to knocking sparks out of the floor at this year’s South Sligo Summer School, where she will teach a mix of sean-nós, barrel and brush dancing steps with her students.

Siobhán & Eoin O’Donnell grew up in a musical family, steeped in the rich tradition of music and song of South Sligo. Both are widely experienced and highly sought after singers.

Siobhán has been teaching at the South Sligo Summer School for many years, having taught the bodhrán as well as singing workshops in the past. Siobhán released her first solo album ‘A Beautiful Affair’ in the Summer of 2016, showcasing her versatility as a singer and musician.

Eoin began singing at an early age and through his teenage years began to accumulate numerous all-Ireland fleadh medals in singing and lilting. He is passionate about Traditional Irish singing and keeping the tradition alive. He enjoys passing on the traditional songs and styles of traditional singing.

Pat Murphy’s earliest memories from his childhood go back to when the Ballycommon Set, which was called the Plain Set at home, and the Cashel Set were the only ones they knew about. From Upperchurch, in County Tipperary, his father Jack played the accordion and he played for house dances in earlier years. Pat learned to play music from him, so his first connection with Irish Set Dancing was as a musician. As children, they also learned to dance at home with their parents and neighbours.

In the early 1980’s, when Pat was playing music with a few friends for a Scór Set Dancing Competition, he was asked to dance in their Club’s competition team, as one of the male dancers was injured during rehearsals. He danced, they won and the rest is history!

Pat’s travels over more than 30 years have now taken him to every county in Ireland and to most countries in Mainland Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Russia. Some of the best recent Dance Festivals in Pat’s experience have taken place in France, Italy and Germany. He has visited many parts of America, including, California, Seattle, Chicago, Milwaukee, Florida and New York. He has travelled to Canada, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. His travels have also enabled him to teach in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In April 2018, Pat visited Australia for the third time and it was wonderful to have more than 100 dancers taking part in the set dance classes in Melbourne.

In 1994, Pat was invited by Irish Publisher Mercier Press to write a book on Irish Set Dancing. His first book, entitled ‘Toss the Feathers, Irish Set Dancing’ was published in 1995. It contained 64 dances and became the first standard reference Book for Set Dancers world wide. Since then five more dance books have been published, the latest officially launched at the beginning of 2018. Together, the five books form a complete anthology of Irish Set Dancing from the revival in the 1970s to 2019.

Toss the Feathers, Irish Set Dancing (1995)

The Flowing Tide, More Irish Set Dancing (2000)

Apples in Winter, Irish Set and Social Dancing (2009)

Tabhair Dom Do Lámh, Irish Set and Social Dancing (2014)

Come West Along the Road, Irish Set and Social Dancing (2017)

Pat has also produced some instructional DVDs on Set Dancing, the first recorded during his time living in Westport, County Mayo and others recorded during the South Sligo Summer School here in Tubbercurry and at the Joe Mooney Summer School in Drumshanbo.

Maugherow native and former All-Ireland Banjo Senior Champion, Kerri is delighted to be teaching at this year’s South Sligo Summer School, after an absence of a few years. Having lived in Luton, UK, for a number of years, Kerri returned to live in her beloved North Sligo and has since been actively involved in passing on the musical tradition through her teaching and playing and more recently in achieving one of her long time visions when she set up the Benbulben Comhaltas branch, a great success story and a reflection of the flourishing traditional music scene in all parts of County Sligo.

Junior Davey comes from a family deeply rooted in the rich musical tradition of South Sligo and is highly respected as one of the finest exponents on the bodhrán, having won the Senior All-Ireland Bodhrán competition on 5 occasions. He is a highly sought after percussion tutor, equally adept on the bones as the bodhrán and with an innate understanding of the music he grew up with.

Caoimhe Kearins hails from Collooney, outside the town of Ballymote, Co. Sligo. She is the third generation of a family steeped in traditional music & song and is a Senior All Ireland fiddle, singing and lilting champion. In 2017 she won the prestigious Senior Fiddler of Dooney title. Caoimhe has previously taught traditional singing & lilting as well as ‘Feadóg Stain trí Ghaeilge’ at the summer school here in Tubbercurry. She has tutored at several other festivals and summer schools in recent years and she brings a rich store of skill, a deep understanding of the tradition and experience to her teaching.

Stephen Doherty hails from Foxford, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland. He began learning music at the age of 4 and through his teenage years began to accumulate numerous all-Ireland medals on whistle, bodhrán, drums, accordion and is a two-time All-Ireland champion on the Melodeon and a senior All-Ireland Champion on the flute.

In the past few years he has shared the stage with artists like, Lúnasa, Sean Keane, Dolores Keane, We Banjo 3, Dougie MacLean, Michael McGoldrick, Dermot Byrne, Slide & Sharon Shannon and has had recording sessions in Nashville with Alison Brown and Tim O’Brien. He has performed in over 20 countries to date and has also featured on RTE’s ‘Nationwide’, ‘The Late Late Show’ and ‘The View’ and on TG4′s ‘Geantraí & ‘Hup’ programmes.

Shane, from Lavagh, County Sligo – just outside Tubbercurry – grew up in a family steeped in traditional music. An immensely gifted musician, Shane has been teaching traditional guitar at the South Sligo Summer School for many years. He is very much in demand for his accompaniment skills and features on a wide range of recordings including ‘Hurry the Jug’, the much acclaimed album released in the summer of 2019, which also features uilleann pipes tutor Leonard Barry and fiddle tutor Declan Folan.

Manus McGuire is an Irish fiddle player who has for many years been involved in performing, recording, teaching and in more recent times, composition. Originally from Sligo and now resident in East Clare, he grew up in a rich musical environment in the North West of Ireland and together with his brother Seamus, he was ideally placed to carry on a fiddle tradition made legendary by Michael Coleman, James Morrison, Paddy Killoran and Lad O’Beirne.

As a recording artist, he has recorded solo fiddle albums, duo fiddle albums with his brother Seamus, and a number of CDs with bands Buttons and Bows, Moving Cloud, Brock McGuire Band and Full Tilt.

He is honoured to have won a number of prestigious fiddle awards such as the 2006 Male Irish Traditional Musician of the year in the U.S. by the Irish American News in Chicago. As well as performing with ‘Buttons and Bows’, ‘Full Tilt’ and East West Fiddles, these days he is involved in teaching fiddle both at intermediate and advanced levels.

Based in Coolaney, Co. Sligo, Oisin is a graduate in Music Education from Trinity College Dublin and founder of the internationally-renowned group Téada in 2001. Director of SCT, the traditional Irish music examination system administered by Comhaltas, Oisín recently co-authored ‘Fiddlers of Sligo Tunebook’ along with fellow-Sligo musician, Daithí Gormley.

A native of Bunnanadden parish in South Sligo, Jarlath’s banjo style and repertoire of tunes is very much rooted in the Sligo tradition. He grew up in a family steeped in traditional music and dance. A widely experienced and deeply committed teacher, Jarlath has been tutoring at the South Sligo Summer School for many years.

Uilleann Pipes Workshop (Beginner/Improver) w/ Mark Dunleavy

Mark, from Bunnanadden, Co Sligo, is a former pupil of the South Sligo Summer School, having regularly attended Leonard Barry’s piping workshops at the school since he was a small boy. He is actively involved in his local Comhaltas branch in Ballymote where he is Youth Officer. He is a regular contributor to sessions around South Sligo. Having gained so much from the teaching and expertise of his mentor Leonard Barry during his formative playing years, Mark is delighted to now have the opportunity to share his knowledge and learning with summer school attendees who want to give the uilleann pipes a go or those who have made a start already and want to develop their playing further.