Liz Doherty

Fiddle player Liz Doherty, from Buncrana, Co. Donegal, has performed and recorded with the Bumblebees, Fiddlesticks, and Nomos and has two solo recordings – Last Orders (Foot Stompin’ Records,1999) and Quare Imagination (2002, Busy Lizzy Records). Known for her distinctive style and strong Scottish and Cape Breton influences, Liz has performed with Riverdance -The Show and is an occasional member of the international all-woman band, String Sisters.

She has also performed and recorded with Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and the RTÉ Symphony and Concert Orchestras and with Fintan Vallely’s Compánachproduction, including at the National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia (2018). She lectured in traditional music at UCC (1994-2000) and at Ulster University, Derry (2007-2020) where she was named “Inspirational Teacher of the Year’ in 2017 and recognised with a National Teaching Fellow (2019). Liz has published widely on the fiddle music tradition of Cape Breton Island Canada, the topic of her PhD dissertation (University of Limerick, 1996) and has also carried out extensive research on performance-related injuries among traditional musicians (safetrad.com).

She is a highly sought-after teacher of traditional fiddle music and runs the online Fiddleclinic.ie. She has also developed a series of training workshops for traditional music teachers which will be launched later this year. Liz has been director of several festivals and events including The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention in Derry/Donegal in 2012. As a traditional arts consultant she has worked on various national and international projects, including as Traditional Arts Specialist with the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon (2005-2008)where she created the Deis fund. She is currently a member of Culture Ireland’s Expert Advisory Committee.