Gerry O'Connor
I come from a family of musicians, dancers, and singers, and music has shaped my life from the very beginning. My mother, Rose O’Connor, née O’Brien, taught me and my siblings the fiddle at home. She went on to teach there for over 40 years, and students travelled from Armagh, Dublin, and much further afield to learn from her. Her dedication to teaching, and her belief in passing the music on, left a lasting mark on me. My father, Peter, was a singer, and music ran strongly through his side of the family too, with seven of his uncles all playing music.
From an early age, I was deeply involved in Irish music and dance. Between 1967 and 1973, I won numerous All Ireland titles in a range of formations, including duet, trio, and four Céilí Band competitions. Step dancing played a central role in my early musical life and continues to influence my sense of rhythm and phrasing.
In the 1970s, playing with John Joe Gardiner, a contemporary of Michael Coleman, was a defining experience. It shaped my musical direction and drew me towards the fluid, ornamented, lyrical fiddle style of the great Sligo masters. My background in step dancing naturally feeds into my playing, and that connection between dance and melody remains at the heart of my music. Today, I am recognised as one of the great fiddle players of my generation.
I have played and recorded with a number of highly regarded groups over the years, including Lá Lúgh with Eithne Ní Uallacháin, released on the Sony Music label, and Skylark with Len Graham, Gary O’Briain, and my brother Mairtín O’Connor. With these groups, I recorded four CDs on the Claddagh label. I have also toured and recorded with members of many legendary groups, including Planxty, Bothy Band, De Dannan, Boys of the Lough, and The Chieftains. Lá Lúgh’s album Brighid’s Kiss was voted Album of the Year in 1996 by readers of Irish Music Magazine. My solo album Journeyman was listed among the top five albums of 2004 by The Irish Times. This critically acclaimed solo recording, which I co produced with my son Dónal of Ulaid and At First Light, was recognised as a significant milestone in documenting the music of the Oriel region of South Ulster.
In 2006, I recorded the live album In Concert with Gilles le Bigot, known for his work with Barzaz and Skolvan. This recording was a celebration of the cultural links between Ireland and Brittany, and the duo has toured continually for the past 20 years. During 2006 and 2007, I recorded and toured with the Irish Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Elizabeth Wallfisch. This included recording Ardee Dances, a piece commissioned for Irish fiddle and Baroque orchestra and written by Rachel Holstead. I continued to perform with Elizabeth Wallfisch as part of the Wandering Fiddlers project, performing at Wigmore Hall and at the Brighton Early Music Festival.
With Nuala Kennedy, Martin Quinn, and Gilles le Bigot, I released the album Oirialla in November 2012 at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Canada. This band is currently touring and remains in demand for festivals.
In recent years, re releases of my music have included recordings with Desi Wilkinson and Eithne Ní Uallacháin, including Cosa Gan Bhróga on the Gael Linn label and Senex Puer on IML. I have also recorded and performed with the vocal a cappella trio White Raven, led by Kathleen Dineen, touring extensively throughout Europe and appearing at international choral festivals such as RheinVocal and Merano. Alongside this work, I continue to tour and have recorded eight albums with the much celebrated Irish Canadian group The Irish Rovers.
In 2018, I was honoured to receive the Ceannródaí Bardic Award from Comhaltas in recognition of my contribution to the traditional arts. In the same year, I released my second solo album Last Nights Joy and published The Rose in the Gap, a collection of dance music for Oriel drawn from the Donnellan Collection. These projects reflect my ongoing commitment to preserving, documenting, and sharing the music of this region.
I am a four time winner of The Fiddler of Oriel competition and have since returned to the competition as an adjudicator. I have also adjudicated the Gael Linn sponsored Siansa competition and the RAAP and RTÉ sponsored Breakthrough competitions. I was a co founder and the first Artistic Director of Ceol Chairlinn, an annual teaching festival in Carlingford, County Louth. I currently serve as Traditional Arts Coordinator for the Creative Connexions Irish Catalan Arts Festival in Sitges. Teaching remains central to my work, and I teach fiddle at the Willie Clancy Summer School as well as at masterclasses throughout Europe. When at home, I continue to work as a violin maker and restorer.
If you would like to support Irish traditional music and my work, I invite you to visit my online store. My recordings are available at accessible prices, and you can purchase CDs, DVDs, and digital releases. While physical formats remain important to me, my catalogue is gradually being released digitally, and more recordings will continue to become available online.
Your support helps keep this music alive, shared, and passed on to the next generation.