Irish Week

Click on the See More for the lineup of teachers at Irish Week 2015!

Founded in 1982 by Dr. Mick Moloney, Augusta Heritage Center’s Irish Week is the oldest week of its kind in the United States. For 32 years, Augusta has consistently attracted the world’s finest instructors to immerse students in the very best of Irish music, dance, craft and folklore. Evening activities include jam sessions, ceili and set dances in our beautiful open-air dance pavilion and world-class concerts on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Students may sign up for an optional evening mini-course.

Tuition is $450 plus room & board. Registration is now open! To register, specify Irish Week and the two classes that you would like to attend. Please choose one class in the morning and one class in the afternoon. NOTE… For Accordion, Flute, Guitar and Bouzouki, Harp, Basic/Intermediate Fiddle, and Advanced Fiddle, please choose the same class for morning and afternoon.
*For Bodhran, English Language Singing, Set & Ceili Dance, Whistle, or Traditional Sean Nós Singing, you may choose a different class for the morning and afternoon – or stay in the same class both morning and afternoon.

All classes (except dance and vocals) are intended for those who can already play their instrument to some extent and are ready to start learning Irish style, technique and repertoire.

Daniel Neely
(Coordinator)
Daniel Neely plays tenor banjo and mandolin. He learned banjo from Mick Moloney, was the leader of the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra and runs a popular session at Lillie’s Bar in NYC. He writes a weekly column about traditional music for the Irish Echo newspaper, teaches in NYU’s master’s program and is the Public Relations Officer of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann’s Mid-Atlantic Region. Daniel also has a PhD in ethnomusicology and wrote his dissertation on mento, a traditional Jamaican music.

Billy McComiskey
(Accordion)
A highly regarded player & composer of Irish traditional music, Billy McComiskey’s 1986 All-Ireland championship title attests to his mastery of the button accordion. Billy is a major figure in the widely celebrated Irish traditional music scene in the Baltimore / Washington area and many of his tunes are part of the traditional repertoire. He has been a member of several important groups including The Pride of New York (with Joanie Madden, Brian Conway and Brendan Dolan), Trian (with Liz Carroll and Dáithí Sproule) and Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America, a group that counts many legendary musicians among its ranks, including John Doyle, Athena Tergis and Robbie O’Connell.

Máirtín de Cógáin
(Bodhrán)
is a singing, dancing, story-telling bodhrán player who also is a noted playwright and actor. Máirtín grew up in a house full of music and dance and was going to the family run céilís from an early age. (Many know him as a gifted teacher of Cork’s folk dances.) He learned about Irish traditional song from Danni Maichi Ua Súilleabháin, Séamus Mac Mathúna, and Ciarán Dwyer and developed his bodhrán skills around Eric Cunningham (The New De Danann) and Colm Murphy (The Old De Danann). A fluent speaker of Irish (Gaelic), he tours internationally with The Máirtín de Cógáin Project & The Fuchsia Band.

Padraig McEneany
(Set & Ceili Dancing)
is one of the most popular and sought after set dance masters on the Irish dance scene. He has been dancing with his wife, Róisín, for over 24 years, studying under set dance master Connie Ryan. They were members of the Slivenamon Set Dancers who toured throughout the United States in 1988 and 1991.

Rose Flanagan
(Basic/Intermediate Fiddle)
grew up in a musical household. Like her brother Brian Conway, Rose learned directly from the Who’s-Who of legends who passed through her house, including Martin Wynne, Andy McGann, Martin Mulvihill and Paddy Reynolds. Rose is not only a renowned player (she appeared on the first Cherish the Ladies record), she is an important teacher who has taught at many camps in North America and Ireland and is responsible for grooming several All-Ireland champions (including Dylan Foley). She currently teaches fiddle in her hometown of Pearl River, New York, and recently released an acclaimed duo album with Baltimore-based flute player Laura Byrne.

Colin Farrell
(Advanced Fiddle)
Due to his musical upbringing, Colin started playing the fiddle and tin whistle at an early age. A winner of numerous All-Ireland awards, he has performed and recorded with an array of great musicians in Europe and the US including Flook, Grada, The Liam O’Connor Band and The Michael McGoldrick Band. He is currently a touring member of the traditional supergroup Lúnasa. Colin has also performed with numerous dance shows such as the Spirit of Ireland, Dance of Desire and the Magical Rhythms of Ireland and in 2005 earned a Master’s Degree in Music from Limerick University. He released Make A Note, his most recent solo album, in January.

Ivan Goff
(Flute)
Ivan Goff is a renowned player of the Irish uilleann pipes, flute and pennywhistle. Growing up in Dublin, his mentors included the piping legends Dan O’Dowd and Mick O’Brien. Ivan is a well-respected teacher, has toured the world with the bands Dervish, Danú, Lúnasa, Téada, Green Fields of America and the show Riverdance and is a former member of the Eileen Ivers Band. An in-demand musician, Ivan has performed on stage with the likes of Míchéal Ó Raghallaigh (concertina), Tom Morrow (fiddle), Patrick Ourceau (fiddle) and Martin Hayes (fiddle). He is currently a member of the groundbreaking group Ghost Trio with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Cleek Schrey.

Brian Miller
(Guitar and Bouzouki)
plays guitar and bouzouki in the band Bua, named “Top Traditional Group” by the Irish Music Awards in 2009. In addition to solo projects that explore Irish music and song in the upper Midwest, Brian tours with Chulrua, the Máirtín de Cógáin Project and the Two Tap Trio. He has performed throughout the US, Canada and Ireland. Brian is also an accomplished singer and folklorist. He founded the Traditional Singers Club of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

Marta Cook
(Harp)
is a well-known accompanist with an interest in developing the harp as a rhythm instrument and is particularly inspired by older fiddling and piping traditions. Her own playing is greatly indebted both to Gradam Ceoil TG4 recipient Máire Ní Chathasaigh and Chicago Symphony Principal Harpist Sarah Bullen. Marta’s playing is featured on many recordings including a Grammy-winning release by Yo-Yo Ma. She has also presented lecture-recitals and masterclasses for venues including the American Harp Society, New York University, Evergreen State College and many others.

Shay Black
(English Language Singing)
Shay Black is an avid songcatcher, musician and singer and is known for his extensive knowledge of songs from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions. Shay is the eldest member of Ireland’s Black family and tours regularly with The Black Brothers and The Black Family. When Shay performs, his music creates a sheer celebration of singing which he generously shares with his audiences. His material is quintessentially Irish, ranging from traditional to humorous to new songs.

Bridget Fitzgerald
(Traditional sean-nós Singing)
grew up in Connemara and is recognized as a master sean-nós (old-style) singer. Bridget has taught workshops on Irish Language and singing at music camps & festivals in North America and Ireland. She has toured with Cherish the Ladies, Fourin a Feire and Women’s Singing Traditions of New England. Currently she teaches Traditional Singing for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at the Boston Irish Music School and sings with the Coyne Family Band.

Norah Rendell
(Whistle)
The Stornoway Gazette wrote, “Her singing left me goose-pimpled all over – a sure sign of a gutsy, emotional delivery laced with meaning and pathos.” Norah not only sings, but also plays flute and whistle. She has a Master’s Degree in Irish Traditional Music Performance from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick and co-founded The Outside Track. Norah has nine albums to her name and is the Executive Director of the Center for Irish Music based in St. Paul.

Ben Power
(Irish Traditional Music: History, Tradition, Culture and Practice)
is a flute and bodhrán player, singer, piper, sean-nós dancer and ethnomusicologist. He has studied with Na Piobairi Uilleann, Paul McGrattan, Niall Keegan, Desi Wilkinson,Tom Doorley, Sandra Joyce and Catherine Foley. He has performed with Mick Moloney, Solas, the Cathie Ryan Band, Nuala Kennedy, Susan McKeown, Kieran Jordan and Niall O’Leary. He has lectured on traditional music, anthropology and sociology at UC San Diego, CSU Channel Islands and NYU.

Shannon Dunne
(Dance Assistant)
Shannon Dunne is a sean-nós and set dancer. She has performed in theaters and festivals all over North America, Ireland and the UK. She studied Connemara sean-nós dance with Paidraic O’Hoibicin, Roisin NiMhanin, Mick Mulkerrin & Mairead Casey, Aidan Vaughan, and Patrick O’Dea. She toured with Childsplay, the Hot Seats, Kitchen Quartet, The Wren Girls: American Women in Sean-nós Dance and Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. She is founder of Shannon Dunne Dance, a mutli-generational sean-nós dance performance group.

Gloria Gregorich
(Liaison)