Albannach
Albannach is Scots-Gaelic for “Scottish” or “Scotsman”. That’s exactly what they are. Albannach is comprised of two Scotsmen and one Scottish lass, all born and bred in Scotland! Plus one American born Scot and an Irishman. Their main purpose in life is to share their intriguing culture, history and heritage by means of their music.
Albannach is not just another Scottish ‘Pipes & Drums’ band, their primal drumming and precise piping stirs the soul of anyone who hears them – young and old! With a champion piper, the unique sounds and talents of a didgeridoo player, and the tribal style bass drumming, Albannach’s music isn’t for the faint of heart! It’s aggressive, like a Celtic punch to the face! These folks ARE Highlanders-Scottish Warriors to the Core!
Founded in 2005, this Pipes & Drum band has taken the USA by storm. Their unique style, charismatic stage performance, and love for all things Scottish has drawn crowds from coast to coast. A MUST SEE! Not just another Scottish Pipes & Drums band.
With 5 CDs, 1 Documentary (Scotumentary), Multiple Fan Tours to Scotland, Canada and the open sea; the Nach Army is 43k and growing! These Celtic Rock Stars are as charismatic off stage as they are on. Being charming, intelligent, funny AND Scottish make all the right ingredients for a great time!
Bass Drummer, Vocalist
Piper
Bass(Rhythm) Drummer, Vocalist
Lead Drummer
Didgeridoo
Seán Gavin w/ Don Penzien
Seán Gavin A master of the uilleann pipes, Irish flute, and tin whistle, Seán is a leading performer and teacher of traditional Irish music. He is known both for his recordings, including The Boys of 25, Music From the Lost Continent, and Home Away from Home, and for his work with Bua, Téada, and Séamus Begley. He leads the active touring concert series Shore to Shore, which has featured James Kelly, Colm Gannon, Caoimhín Ó Fearghail, and Johnny B. Connolly. Seán is the first musician born outside Ireland to win the Seán Ó Riada Gold Medal and is the author of a widely used tin whistle book published by Hal Leonard. He is the founder and director of the Irish Music Institute, coordinates Celtic Week at the Swannanoa Gathering, and continues to share his music through performance, teaching, and mentoring the next generation of musicians.
In addition to performing, Seán was Musical Director for the PBS program “I Am Ireland”, and for the long running “Atlantic Steps”. He’s one of the most highly sought instructors of Irish music, having lectured on the subject at institutions around the world including the University of Chicago, St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, and Na Píobairí Uilleann in Dublin.
Seán was encouraged in music by his father Mick, a fiddler from Co. Clare, and his brother Michael – a multi-instrumentalist. At age 12, he started work on the uilleann pipes with the late Al Purcell, former pupil of piper Leo Rowsome. Seán moved to Chicago at age 20 where he spent a decade playing and studying with the windy city’s finest musicians, particularly Sligo flute-legend Kevin Henry. Since then he has toured extensively around the globe, with multiple radio, TV, and festival appearances. After 3 years in Minnesota, where he was active in the nonprofit Center for Irish Music, Seán is back in his native Detroit where he continues to play, teach, and promote traditional Irish music. https://seangavinmusic.com/
Don Penzien has long been a top-flight performer of Irish traditional music. He frequently is on the road playing concerts and festivals with Haley Richardson, Gailfean,Brian Conway, Gerry O’Connor, Randal Bays, and The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and he has served as accompanist for numerous other well-known performers (e.g., Seán Gavin, John Whelan, Liz Hanley, Nuala Kennedy, Tim Britton, John Williams, Pat Broaders, Gabe Donohue, Tony DeMarco, Billy McComiskey). Widely recognized for his reserved backing style, Don’s dexterous work on DADGAD-tuned guitar provides solid, driving rhythms to traditional tunes as well as perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs.
The Harbor Trio
Sean McComiskey & Sarah Collins & Richard Hearn
Sean McComiskey is among the most innovative young performers on the button accordion, with a unique harmonic style that has earned him a spot in the pantheon of Irish accordionists far beyond his native Baltimore. As the son of legendary button accordion player and National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey, Sean has been surrounded by Irish Traditional music his entire life and has developed a deep appreciation for the tradition of which he is a part. This has helped Sean establish a reputation as a highly regarded teacher and promulgator of Irish music and earned him teaching positions with the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Augusta Heritage Center’s Irish Arts Week, the Chris Langan Traditional Irish Music Weekend in Toronto, the CCE Musical Arts and Dance (MAD) Week in Washington, DC, the Baltimore Irish Trad Fest, and the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival. In addition to being a highly regarded teacher, Sean has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He was recently honored as a silver medalist in the Senior All-Ireland Melodeon competition. He’s recorded albums and toured with groups including NicGaviskey and the Old Bay Ceili Band. In 2014, Sean formed the Baltimore-based acoustic roots group, Charm City Junction, with Patrick McAvinue on bluegrass fiddle, Brad Kolodner on Appalachian old-time clawhammer banjo, and Alex Lacquement on upright bass. In 2015, they released their self-titled debut album and in 2016 were nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Band Momentum Award. This collaboration has enabled Sean to bring his unique style of Irish button accordion to the old-time and bluegrass music communities as a featured performed at venues including the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy Center, the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, the National Folk Festival, and numerous other folk and acoustic music festivals, concerts, and performing arts centers around the country. They released their third studio album, “Salt Box,” in 2024 which hit number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts the week of its release. When Sean isn’t playing the button accordion, he is the owner and clinic director of a private practice physical therapy office in Baltimore City called Birch Tree Physical Therapy and Wellness. In his work as a PT, one of his areas of special interest is the treatment and rehabilitation of injured musicians and artists suffering from repetitive stress injuries.
Sarah Collins is a fiddle player based in the Baltimore/DC area with deep roots in the Boston traditional music community. After spending part of her childhood in Edinburgh, she grew up immersed in the Scottish music scene, and her playing today blends influences from Irish and Old-Time fiddle styles.
Sarah has taught at a number of fiddle camps, including Hanneke Cassel’s Pure Dead Brilliant Fiddle Weekend, Katie McNally’s Boston States Fiddle Camp, and the CCE Musical Arts and Dance (MAD) Weekend in Washington, DC. She will also join the faculty for Baltimore’s Irish Trad Fest in April 2025. Sarah regularly hosts Irish sessions in both DC and Baltimore, creating spaces for musicians to gather and share tunes.
Sarah currently performs with two bands: an Irish trio with David McKindley-Ward and Marty Frye, and a duo with 5-string banjo player Jonathan Vocke. She also joined the Scottish band Old Blind Dogs for a U.S. tour in March 2025. She has collaborated with many talented musicians over the years, including Eamon Sefton, Conor Hearn, Maura Shawn Scanlin, Calum Bell, and Kate Gregory. You can find videos of some of those collaborations on her YouTube page.
In response to the isolation of the pandemic, Sarah co-founded the Ministry of Folk, a project dedicated to keeping folk music alive through community engagement. She also co-produces monthly concerts for the Baltimore Folk Club with Richard Osban, supporting Baltimore’s local folk scene.
With a passion for both music and community, Sarah continues to make her mark in the folk and traditional music world.
Richard Osban Hearn is a driving and dynamic guitarist, mandolin and tenor banjo player based in Baltimore, Maryland. He cut his teeth on Irish traditional music while living in Europe, and has toured internationally with several Irish and Scottish music projects, including Billy McComiskey, Steph Geremia, Sarah Collins, Breaking Strings, and Scottish duo Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira. He is currently touring regularly with his trio, the East Coasters..
Richard has performed on festival stages and been an instructor at many teaching festivals & international workshops, including Folksounds Elmstein (Germany), Celtic Folk Weekend Regensburg (Germany), the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat (Texas), the Riley School (Cincinnati), MAD Week (DC) and the annual Irish weekend in Ismaning (Germany).
Richard serves as the director of the Baltimore Irish Music School, where he teaches tenor banjo and guitar accompaniment, and organizer of the Baltimore Irish Tenor Banjo Summit and the Baltimore Trad Fest.
All Jokes Aside
Kathleen Conneely- Seán Clohessy-John Coyne
Kathleen Conneely Born in Bedford, England, to Irish parents from Galway and Longford, Kathleen began playing Irish music at age twelve, taking lessons with her siblings, Bernadette, Michael & Pauline, from Brendan Mulkere, a well- regarded teacher living in London from Co. Clare. Her father Michael played fiddle, accordion, and tin whistle, and the Conneely home was always filled with music from records and live sessions with many visiting musicians. Over the years, Kathleen has lived in London, Dublin, Rhode Island, Boston & Chicago, where there was always a lively traditional Irish music scene, which has helped to sustain her passion for the music. She has taught for Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann both in Dublin and Boston, at the Boston College Irish Studies program; Gaelic Roots, Feile-Chois-Cuain in Louisburgh, Co. Mayo, the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, NC, the O’Flaherty Retreat in Texas, and at various Irish Music Festivals throughout the US. In 2012, she released her first highly acclaimed solo tin whistle CD, ‘The Coming of Spring’, and in 2022 collaborated with fellow musicians and friends; Sean Clohessy and John Coyne in Boston to release a new album, “All Jokes Aside”.
Seán Clohessy comes from the parish of Fedamore in Co. Limerick. He has been playing fiddle for the past 20 years, with much of his early influences coming from musicians in his native Limerick and the neighboring Co. Clare. Seán was raised in a musical family that includes his brother Cathal and sisters Catherine and Maureen. He spent time living in and playing music in London where his music was heavily influenced by the Clare fiddle player Brendan Mulkere. Since coming to America, he has lived in New York and for the past several years in Boston (as of 2017) where he has been a key contributor in both performance and teaching. Seán incorporates special insight into his music, playing with particular sensitivity and feeling. His collaboration with Seán McComiskey and Kieran Jordan in their CD entitled Cover the Buckle: A Collection of Irish Set Dances for Listening and Dancing was widely acclaimed. He continues to be a vibrant member of the traditional Irish music scene in the Boston area. Since coming to Boston, Seán has been directly involved in teaching, dedicating his time, talent, and energy to the development of young musicians. At the Comhaltas Boston Music School, he has worked with Kathleen Conneely (see Hall of Fame) and others with the Realta Geala (Bright Stars) music group. These young musicians have won national competitions, competed in the Fleadh Cheoil na ‘hEireann, and appeared on WGBH radio and at various venues in the Boston area. Seán is a 2017 inductee to the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Northeast Hall of Fame in recognition of his skills and achievements on the fiddle and for his contributions to teaching and the development of young musicians.
John Coyne is a native of Limerick City who has been based in Boston for many years. Prior to that he has lived in Rhode Island, Mississippi, Florida, Dublin and Pennsylvania. Throughout this time, he has played traditional Irish music primarily on bouzouki. Over the years he has forged a unique self-taught style of accompaniment that pairs melodic counter melody with a driving rhythmic backing style. John is an integral part of the Boston music scene playing regularly at the Druid in Inman Square, Cambridge and the Burren in Somerville. Some of the collaborations from those sessions resulted in some well regarded recordings including; Live at the Druid, featuring many great Boston area musicians and All Jokes Aside which was recorded with some long time friends and musicians, Kathleen Conneely (Whistle) and Seán Clohessy (Fiddle).Over the years he has had the privilege of playing and touring with some amazing Irish musicians such as Mickey Dunne, Oliver O’Connell, Randal Bays and Larre Reeves and has performed at many North American Festivals including: North Texas Irish Festival, many happy years at CelticFest MS, BCMFest Cambridge MA, Grandfather Mountains Scottish Games. He was an instructor at the famed, O’Flaherty’s Irish Music Retreat in 2025.
Jenny & the Weazels
https://www.jennyandtheweazels.com
Jenny and the Weazels craft a rich tapestry of Celtic sound, fusing ancient traditions with a modern, Appalachian sensibility. Known for their passionate performances and tight musical interplay, the trio weaves unique driving tunes, heartfelt vocals, and rhythmic power into a distinctive and engaging live experience.
The group features Rheva Myhre on fiddle, who studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Keegan Luckey-Smith on bouzouki, guitar, banjo, and lead vocals; and Jamie McDermott on bodhrán and flute. The three first met in 2014 at East Tennessee State University’s acclaimed Bluegrass, Celtic, Old-Time, and Country music studies program. After years of informal collaboration, the trio formed Jenny and the Weazels in 2024.
Their sets range from blazing fast reels and jigs to unique waltzes, polkas and strathspeys coupled with a carefully curated selection of songs from both sides of the pond. Each performance is a journey through Celtic traditions, grounded in the cultural crossroads of East Tennessee. Known for blending the spirit of Irish and Scottish folk with the rich traditions of southern Appalachia.
For Fans Of: Lúnasa, Talisk, Kasír, Ímar, Danú, Liz Carroll, Téada
whisht
Whisht effortlessly combines various Celtic music genres whilst digging deep into their Irish repertoire of Jigs, Reels, Polkas and anything that will get folks smiling and heading for the dance floor. Throw in some Ballads, drinking songs and the odd sad song or two and you will feel like you are in a traditional pub in Ireland, passing a good time with the locals. Remember to hold on tight to your pint!
Whisht is one of Louisiana’s newest and most exciting Traditional Irish music bands. Formed in 2022, some of the most prominent members from of South Louisiana’s Irish music scene have joined forces, featuring Shannon Kelly (Harp, Fiddle, Accordion), Kentucky musician Kendall Rogers (Guitar, Accordion, Piano), and County Clare fiddler Kevin Muggivan (Fiddle, Vocals). Unfortunately Whisht member & our good friend and Pete Dawson (Flute, whistles, Vocals) will be performing the same weekend at Festival Acadiens with another favorite CelticFest band, Celjun so we’re honored to have St. Louis native Jennifer Kelly step in on whistles & flute. Jennifer began playing in 1998 when her father, who hailed from a tiny village in West Clare, introduced her to traditional Irish music and dance. Jennifer holds several qualifications and group titles for the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil, and has travelled around the world performing around the US, Ireland, and Italy (as a part of the ensemble that represented Ireland at the World Expo in Milan in 2015 as a musician and dancer). Currently, Jennifer is an instructor with St. Louis Irish Arts.
Flutilla
Rooted in a shared love of Irish traditional music and the joy of live performance, Flutilla brings together seasoned musicians whose diverse backgrounds converge in a vibrant celebration of the tradition.
At the heart of the group is Jil Chambless, an Alabama native whose expressive singing and masterful flute and whistle playing have carried Irish music to audiences across the United States, Canada, and Scotland since the late 1980s. A respected recording artist and guest collaborator, Jil’s artistry anchors the band’s sound with depth and authenticity.
Irish traditional flute player Scott Miller (Scot Ó Muilleora) brings the distinctive lift and driving rhythm of the Donegal style to the ensemble. An Irish speaker and practicing pharmacist, Scott balances his professional life with a deep commitment to Irish music. He also performs with Tír Chonaill Trio and The Gaulway Ramblers, energizing audiences with spirited jigs, reels, and expressive airs.
On harmonica and whistle, Steven Payne contributes a uniquely personal yet traditional voice shaped by a lifelong devotion to home-made acoustic music. A familiar presence at Irish festivals nationwide, he is widely respected within the traditional music community for both his musicianship and steadfast support of the tradition.
Wooden flute player Joseph Marino adds richness and versatility to the group. Originally an accomplished jazz upright bassist, Joseph has wholeheartedly embraced Irish traditional music, quickly becoming a fixture in Asheville, North Carolina’s thriving Irish music scene.
Providing rhythmic drive and harmonic texture, Dan Vogt brings decades of performance experience to the ensemble. A former electric guitarist in Tuscaloosa’s rock scene, Dan found his musical home in Celtic-style acoustic guitar (DADGAD tuning), later expanding to bouzouki and tenor banjo. His journey from rock to Irish folk infuses the band’s sound with both energy and depth.
Together, these musicians create a dynamic and richly textured sound rooted firmly in the Irish tradition. Moving seamlessly from driving jigs and reels to expressive airs and songs, they honor the depth, nuance, and living spirit of Irish traditional music. Whether on a festival stage, in a concert hall, or at an intimate gathering, the group delivers performances that are authentic, engaging, and deeply grounded in the tradition.
Crescent & Clover Celtic Band
Hailing from New Orleans, the Crescent & Clover Celtic Band is a quartet playing a mix of Trad and Contemporary Irish and Celtic music as well as original compositions. Members are Anne Hibbs – fiddle, Brittany Piatz – vocals and percussion, Daniel Vance – mandolin and bouzouki and David Connick – vocals and guitar
Mind The Dresser
The band’s name pays homage to a time before the rise of public dance halls in the 1930s when neighbors would gather in a cottage for an evening of dancing and revelry into the wee hours. The furniture was pushed aside to make room for the dancers. The musicians would often stand on the kitchen table, which remained in the center of the one-room cottage. As space was at a premium, the dancers would need to “mind the dresser” as they whirled “round the house.”
The band features the quintessential melodies of fiddle, flute, whistle and accordion accompanied by piano, a combination of instruments that creates the classic ceili band sound first heard in the 1920s.
Steve Whitlow (flute/whistles) and Karen Whitlow (accordion/piano) were founding members of Last Night’s Fun and Spirits of the House. They began playing at Fenian’s Irish Pub in 1996 and were soon performing at festivals and pubs all over the South.
Melissa Thorson (fiddle) has played traditional music for nearly two decades. As a member of The Orchard Band, she was a regular fixture at Fenian’s Irish Pub for several years. She is also a performing member of Jackson Irish Dancers.
Yet the band might never have come to be if not for the efforts of Sarah Anne Waters (Celtic harp). While teaching music at Belhaven University, Sarah has long held a keen interest in Irish traditional music and was instrumental in reviving a monthly local session, where we all met in the spring of 2024. That session was kismet, perhaps. A new band to continue the improbable tradition of a Jackson-based Celtic band. Hup!
St. Brigid’s
St. Brigid’s is named for the fifth-century Irish saint who is credited with turning her bath water into beer. While we hope that you don’t expect quite the same degree of miracles out of our group, we think this makes her quite an inspiration!
Members Catherine Bishop, Margaret Cupples, Julia Weems, and Rebecca Wilkinson have a variety of musical experience, but we share with our patron saint a love of a great tune, a hot bath, and a well-poured pint.
Our repertoire is inspired by and drawn from the traditional songs of Ireland and the British Isles, with a few modern favorites thrown in for good measure and with a couple that are just there to make you smile. Many of our arrangements feature the multi-part vocal harmony beloved by our founding member, the much missed Susan Wellman.
The Old Ways
A harp tune that will move you to tears, a pub song that will have you drinking and singing along, a rebel song that will have you itching to fight, or a haunting melody that will make you see spirits—this is the music of The Old Ways.
Bringing together the multi-instrumentalist talents of Greg Johnson and vocalist/percussionist Shaundi Wall, this husband and wife duo blend their passion for Celtic music through tunes and songs both ancient and modern. They’ve performed throughout the United States, including the Philly Folk Festival in Pennsylvania.
Hub City Highlanders Pipes & Drums
Hub City Highlanders is a traditional Scottish bagpipes and drums band in Hattiesburg Mississippi. Hattiesburg is known as the ‘Hub City’ because it is centrally located between Jackson and Gulfport, Meridian and New Orleans, and Natchez and Mobile. HCH serves as the only full pipe band in the state of Mississippi. Born from a high school pipe band, more interest from the community led to independency. All volunteers, HCH performs locally and regionally, representing our city and state across the Southeast USA.
Catherine Koehler
Catherine Koehler has been singing and performing for over 50 years. Her piano teacher first recognized that her voice was preferred over her piano playing ability and therefore her singing debut was at the age of 6…at her piano recital. The songs she grew up with as well as the stories she has adapted from contemporary and traditional sources have delighted audiences of all ages throughout the southeast and beyond. Catherine has performed as a balladeer and storyteller at festivals, schools, senior communities, and all manner of other places such as pastures, piney woods, stairwells, and anywhere else with great acoustics. She has won numerous awards as both a bard and a balladeer and has presented workshops on a variety of Irish topics throughout the United States. She is a 2-time winner of the Kathleen O’Connell Memorial Bardic Award.
N.O. Quarter Shanty Krewe
Formed in 2002, the NO Quarter Shanty Krewe is a group of sea music enthusiasts from the New Orleans area. Each member shares a love of sea shanties and also shares our mission to keep alive the songs and traditions of sailors from the great age of sail. Shanties once rang out over the docks and wharves of port cities such as New Orleans, making them a part of fabric of the city. Songs of the sea and of the rolling rivers, songs of the heart and the spirit—all are part of the Shanty Krewe’s song bag. The group sings in a rousing a cappella style, occasionally with instrumental accompaniment. Each song, is an invitation for the audience to sing along, clap in time or just stamp their feet to the music. The Krewe has a repertoire that spans the ocean and set lists to delight one and all.
Stan Rogers, the “Mary Ellen Carter “
“And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
Rise again, rise again – though your heart it be broken
And life about to end
No matter what you’ve lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again”
Jackson Irish Dancers
Since 1998, Jackson Irish Dancers has brought classes, performances, and Irish dance events to Mississippi and beyond.
Under the direction of Catherine Sherer Bishop, MFA, TCRG, JID performs, teaches, and has also competed in the past but mostly JID is comprised of adults who do it for the craic – in Irish, the good fun of it all. Catherine also teaches children’s Irish Dance privately.
Members of JID enjoy all kinds of Irish dancing, from the up-on-your-toes Riverdance-style solo dance to the casual fun of céilí dancing, sets, and sean-nós (old-style) dance.
New Orleans Irish Set Dancers
New Orleans Irish Set Dancers is a group born of a shared love of Irish Set Dancing. Taught by veteran set dancer Debbie Cornett, they meet for weekly classes at Muggivan School of Irish Dance in MidCity New Orleans and for the occasional céilí at various locations around the city.
New Orleans Irish Set Dancers on Facebook
Thistle Dancers & Pipers
The Thistle Dancers and Pipers is a group of talented young people who perform the traditional Highland dances and music of Scotland. The Thistle Dancers and Pipers are located in Natchitoches, LA. and are under the direction of Susan Hyams.
RAW Primal Performance Troupe
Cool Creek Farm
Highland Cows
Located in Fannin, Mississippi just down the road from CelticFest, Cool Creek Farm is owned by the Edwards Family whose passion is to preserve heritage breeds.
Southern Border Collies Sheepdog Herding
Tiffany Murphy of Southern Border Collies will be doing sheepdog herding demos on Saturday as well as horse rides and will offer a small Group Herding Clinic all day Sunday for dog owners interested in learning the art of herding.
This Clinic is $95 and includes weekend admission to the Festival. Tickets are available through our ticket link.
Shire of iron ox Medieval Encampment & Armored Fighting Demos
Mission Statement: The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international non-profit volunteer educational organization. The SCA is devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, culture, and employing knowledge of history to enrich the lives of participants through events, demonstrations, and other educational presentations and activities.
Well, if they did it, somebody in the SCA does it! The Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, time period is between the fall of the Western Roman Empire – 476 to the end of the Tudors – 1603, and the area centers mostly on Eurasia (including the British Isles) and lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Arts and Sciences (A&S) is the study of how everything people needed to live, work, and play during that time was grown, created, or performed. As with all the other aspects of the SCA, we learn by doing.
The SCA’s major venue for recreation is the event, which is a general term for a gathering which everyone dresses in clothing based on styles worn pre-1600s. They come together at a site (usually a campground) to share what they have learned and to have a good time with friends. There are usually martial arts tournaments, artistic displays, classes, a feast, court and dancing!
The SCA divides the Known World into regions called Kingdoms which are then divided into principalities, shires, baronies or cantons. You are currently in the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann in the Shire of Iron Ox. https://www.ironox.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ShireofIronOx https://www.instagram.com/shireofironox/
Éamonn de Cógáin
Emcee & Dancemaster
Éamonn de Cógáin, hailing from Cork, Ireland, is celebrated as Ireland’s most energetic MC. A native Irish (Gaelic) speaker, Éamonn has enthralled audiences across the United States, earning the affectionate title of “The Céilí King” for his unparalleled ability to bring traditional Irish dance to life. With a rich heritage rooted in storytelling and entertainment, Éamonn seamlessly blends his talents as an actor and storyteller, captivating listeners with tales from the Emerald Isle. His smooth brogue and infectious enthusiasm have made him a staple at Irish festivals nationwide. Éamonn has introduced thousands to the joys of Irish Céilí dancing, teaching the basic steps and movements with an easy-going nature that encourages participation from all ages. Now residing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Éamonn continues to share his passion for Irish culture, bringing the spirit of Ireland to every event he graces. His performances are not just events; they are unforgettable experiences filled with music, dance, and storytelling that leave audiences yearning for more, where every attendee becomes part of the dance, the story, and the magic that is Ireland.