Mirella Murray

Mirella Murray grew up in Claddaghduff on the northwest coast of Connemara in County Galway. Her father John Joe, a notable sean nós dancer, came from Inishark Island and had a deep understanding and love for traditional music. Mirella studied the piano accordion with Mary Finn, and it was at music classes that she met up with fiddler Liz Kane from Letterfrack. Mirella won the accordion All-Ireland championship and duet All-Ireland championship with Liz Kane.

Mirella teamed up with the great fiddle player Tola Custy from Co. Clare and they recorded Three Sunsets, which was voted one of the top five albums of the year by The Irish Times. Mirella performed at the International Women’s Day Festival in Moscow; was featured in the Galway Arts Festival and toured Austria, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Spain, and France. She was a featured soloist in the off-Broadway production of the late Johnny Cunningham’s theatrical production, Peter & Wendy, an adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan which garnered two OBIE Awards.

Mirella also has an incredible flair for teaching, and it is a credit to her musicianship that 22 of her pupils have gained All-Ireland titles. She has accumulated a vast store of tunes from her travels, and musicians such as Sharon Shannon, Lunasa. and the Bumblebees credit her as a source for many uncommon melodies.