Born in Bedford, England, to Irish parents from Galway and Longford, Kathleen Conneely began playing Irish music at age twelve, along with her siblings, Bernadette, Michael and Pauline who taught banjo at last year’s retreat. She took lessons from Co. Clare musician Brendan Mulkere, a well- regarded teacher in and around London.
Her father Michael was a fiddle, accordion, and tin whistle
player from Errislannan, Co. Galway, and the Conneely home was always
filled with music from records and live sessions with many visiting
musicians. In 1991, she appeared with her father, Mick Sr., brother,
Mick Jr., fiddle and banjo player John Carty and flutist Roger Sherlock
on RTE’s The Pure Drop.
Over the years, Kathleen has lived in London, Dublin, Chicago, Rhode Island and Boston, places where there was always a lively traditional Irish music scene that has helped to sustain her passion for the music. For over 20 years, she has taught for Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann both in Dublin and Boston, at the Boston College Irish Studies program, Gaelic Roots, the Irish Arts Week in the Catskills, the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, NC and Feile Chois Ceoil in Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. In 2012, she released her first solo CD, The Coming of Spring.
Instructor – Whistle
2018