Concertina player Noel Hill was born in 1958 in Lissycasey, eight miles south west of Ennis in Co Clare into a large family with seven siblings. His parents and grandparents, on both sides, all played concertina. Initially Noel learnt from his mother and father and he was also particularly influenced by his uncle Paddy Hill, [...]

I met a man from North Carolina a few years back who was adamant that country and western has its roots in Irish music. I have come across this notion before and it seemed plausible – except that nobody had been able to actually trace any of these roots.The connection was finally [...]

Irish Minstrels and Musicians, by Capt Francis O’Neill (1913). A key work in the bibliography of Irish music.
Irish Folk Music – A Fascinating Hobby, by Capt Francis O’Neill (1910). Includes ‘Hints to Amateur Pipers’, by Patsey Touhey.
Pipemaker Bill Haneman from Skerries is to be congratulated for putting online these two very important books in the [...]

Clare concertina player Noel Hill heads the list of recipients of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil (Traditional Music Awards) for 2011. Born and reared in Caherea in west Clare but now living in the Connemara Gaeltacht, Noel is widely regarded as one of the major figures in Irish music whose concerts and recordings have developed the [...]