Folk Bands and Artists
The Knotted Cord Quartet
Peter Browne (uilleann pipes), Gerry Harrington (fiddle), Charlie Piggott (accordion) and Seosaimhĭn Nĭ Bheaglaoich (singer) are well known in traditional music circles. Presentations of their music have involved Music Network Tours and successful concerts in venues such as Dublin Castle and the John Field Room at the National Concert Hall, Dublin.
The group’s performances illustrate a rich diversity of traditional traits: beautiful singing from the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht of West Kerry, and dance music and airs from Sliabh Luachra, Cork, Dublin and the Western Counties.
One of the founding members of De Danann with whom he toured extensively, Charlie Piggott has performed all over the world in notable venues such as Carnegie Hall (NY), The Royal Albert Hall (London), The Great American Music Hall (San Francisco), and for The Crown Prince and Princess of Japan during their visit to Ireland in1985. He was also a member of the
Irish musical group invited by the Smithsonian Institute to participate in the Festival of American Folk Life (1976) as part of the U.S.A. bi-centennial celebrations. Charlie works as a professional musician, teacher and lecturer, and features regularly on television, radio and at traditional festivals. He is presently completing a biography of the legendary Galway accordion player Joe Cooley.
Traditional fiddler Gerry Harrington grew up in Kenmare County Kerry under the influence of some of the great players of the day, Connie O´Connell, Dennis McMahon, Séamus Creagh and Jackie Daly. In the 1980s Gerry moved to America where his music was brought to a wider audience during the nineties through the release of two exquisite albums with accordion player Eoghan O´Sullivan, Scéal Eile and The Smokey Chimney. Gerry´s latest recording At Home is a solo fiddle album which has a music from Sliabh Luchra and Sligo, displaying in his playing a depth of tradition that is formidable, and yet the sound remains fresh and exciting. When not performing in Europe, the US, and Ireland, Gerry teaches intermediate and advanced fiddle lessons.
Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich is a sean-nós singer from the West Kerry gaeltacht. She worked for many years as a journalist/broadcaster with RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta in Dublin but was always involved with traditional music and singing in the vibrant Dublin scene, most notably with the group Macalla, the first all-female women’s traditional band. She is currently adjunct professor with DIT Conservatory of Music and has many recordings in Irish and English both solo and ensemble.
Peter Browne has performed with some of the biggest figures in the Irish music world including Paul Brady, Maura O´ Connell, Mary Black, Mick Hanley, The Dubliners, Scullion and Cór Chúil Aodha and he has also been part of various ventures in modern experimental music and has played the works of Bill Whelan, Michael Holahan, Roger Doyle and Paddy Meegan. Performing throughout Europe and in North America at concerts, lectures and recitals, he has made two ground breaking albums of music and song in the 1980´s together with Philip King on the Gael-Linn label - Rince Gréagach and Seacht Nóiméad Déag chun a Seacht. Peter also works in RTÉ Radio One with a special interest in traditional music, currently presenting the popular weekly programme The Rolling Wave.
