O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat
Teaching Traditional Irish Music
Joseph Beckey comes from a choral tradition until discovering Irish music at a pub in 2008. One of the musicians taught a class “Traditional Songs In Harmony” at the Center for Irish Music in St. Paul, MN. After that, he was hooked. He has taken numerous song classes as well as learning to play mandolin, guitar, bouzouki and bodhrán. Soon after learning his first chords, Joseph was … [Read more...] about Joseph Beckey
Workshop – Pub Songs Sing-Along | Song Session Leader
Grace Broadhead is an 18-year old Irish fiddler from Sandia Park, NM who began playing the Irish fiddle when she was eleven. She is a member of two local bands, Albuquerque’s Duke City Ceili Band and Jug O’ Punch. In 2018 and 2019, Grace competed in the Midwest Fleadh. In 2019, her Newly Composed Tune “Chain Reaction” came in 1st place, affording her the opportunity to compete at Fleadh Cheoil … [Read more...] about Grace Broadhead
Guest Concert Performer | Lone Star Ceili Band Member | Lively Session Leader
Shay Black is an avid songcatcher, musician and singer and is known for his extensive knowledge of songs and music from the Irish, English, Scottish, and North American traditions. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he moved in 1994 to Berkeley, CA from Liverpool, where he had lived for the previous twenty years. While in Liverpool, he toured and recorded with Irish band Garva, the celebrated Stan Hugill … [Read more...] about Shay Black
Instructor – Singing | Enrichment Class – Irish Influenced Songs of the Sea | Lead Song Session
2016, 2022
Alex Boatright is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, performer, and teacher known for her effortless musicality and sensitive musicianship on Harp and Concertina. Alex is the Artistic Director of the Baltimore-Washington Academy of Irish Culture, a non-profit that she founded together with Fiddler Mitch Fanning, which provides children in the DMV area with a rich education in traditional … [Read more...] about Lexie Boatright
Instructor – Concertina Fundamentals | Enrichment Class – How to Practice Effectively
2021, 2022
A Washington, DC native, Angela Botzer has played traditional Irish music on the fiddle in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area since the early 1980’s. She was a member of the DC-based bands Sodabread, and The Hedgerows, and has played for numerous ceilis and contradances. Angela has also had performances at the Irish Embassy in Washington, DC. When living in Oklahoma City, OK, she … [Read more...] about Angela Botzer
Workshop – The North Wind | Moderate Session Leader
Erica Braverman has been playing the concertina since 2014 and teaching beginner lessons in Austin, TX for the past three years. Playing tunes and dancing with friends always makes her smile on the inside, but it took a while for her to learn to play her instrument and smile on the outside at the same time - one of her proudest moments was when she heard that "you don't look like you have lockjaw … [Read more...] about Erica Braverman
Guest Concert Performer | Moderate Session Leader
Brianna Brown is a talented, young multi-instrumentalist from St. Louis, MO. She is a two-time All-Ireland World Champion. At age 11, she won the 2015 All-Ireland World Championship in the under-12 concertina, and in 2016, she won the All-Ireland World Championship in the under-12 mouth organ. Brianna is the youngest American to ever win a world title at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, and the … [Read more...] about Brianna Brown
Guest Concert Performer
Dermot Byrne hails from the Inishowen peninsula of Co. Donegal, the most northerly part of Ireland, and has played accordion from the early age of four. He learned from his father Tomás O’Beirn from Teileann in South West Donegal who is an enthusiastic promoter of the tradition. Dermot at the age of only seven had already achieved an All Ireland Title at the Buncrana Fleadh Cheoil … [Read more...] about Dermot Byrne
Instructor – Button Accordion | Session – Playing Tunes with…
2022
Guitarist Joseph Carmichael has spent the past several years collecting an impressive resume in the world of traditional music. An in-demand accompanist in a wide array of Celtic and folk styles, he has performed with such musicians as Brendan Power, Cormac De Barra, Buddy Connolly, Oisín MacDiarmada, James Kelly, Liz Carroll, John Williams, and Brian Finnegan. Joseph's primary … [Read more...] about Joseph Carmichael
Guest Concert Performer
Yvonne Casey is one of Co. Clare’s most distinctive fiddle players. She grew up surrounded by the richness of Clare music and plays in a very unique soulful style. Sitting in sessions from a very young age she discovered the joys of Doolin as a teen, where she met and played with legendary musicians such as Kevin Griffin and Eoin O’ Neill. In the 1990’s the band The Ceili Bandits was formed, … [Read more...] about Yvonne Casey
Instructor — Intermediate Fiddle | Session – Playing Tunes with…
2018, 2022
