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Folk Bands and Artists

Tom O’Connell, Mick O’Connor and Mick Bailey

Tom O’Connell, Mick O’Connor and Mick Bailey


Tom O’Connell, from Athea, West Limerick, began playing the accordion at the age of 12. He was influenced by several of the masters of the accordion during the 1950s, in particular George Ross of the Tulla Céilí band and the great Paddy O’Brien. He attended his first Fleadh Cheoil in 1962 and emigrated to London 1964, where he quickly became part of the thriving Irish music scene in the city. He admired and learned from a number of the great accordionists who lived in the capital, including Martin MacMahon, Paddy Malynn, John Bowe and Raymond Roland. Tom won the Senior All Ireland title in 1981 and has been a stalwart of Irish music sessions in London for almost 50 years.

London’s own Mick O’Connor, All Ireland winner on the tenor banjo in 1971, has been playing since 1967 and is a veteran of the great days of the London Irish music scene of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. In 2013, he was honoured by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which bestowed its Bardic Award on him for his “exceptional contribution to the promotion of Ireland’s cultural traditions”.

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