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Frankie Gavin leads line-up at London Irish Hooley
IRISH Music and Dance London (IMDL) will be holding their annual Irish Hooley at Bloomsbury Theatre, London — the organisation's annual profile and fundraiser — on Thursday, June 26 from 7:30pm.
Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, the headlining act, features Frankie on fiddle and flute, Dermot Byrne on button accordion, Ian Kinsella on guitar, Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz on vocals and cello, and Jack Talty on keys.
Frankie Gavin performs at Wickham Festival 2023
Support comes from The Trad Gathering. Frankie Gavin's place in the pantheon of Irish musicians
When people talk about the giants of Irish fiddle, they often start with John Sheahan, Frankie Gavin, and Kevin Burke — three very different musicians who each brought the instrument into new territory in the second half of the 20th century.
Frankie Gavin will be demonstrating in London at the end of the month why he is such a revered figure in Irish traditional music.
But it is not just his music which elevates him to superstardom. As The Irish Post 's Michael McDonagh puts it:
'Frankie Gavin is basically the Irish version of blues legend John Mayall insomuch as he has had so many musical reincarnations and versions of his bands.
Mayall's Bluesbreakers acted as an incubator for talent — Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later of Cream), Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie (the three of whom would form Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones) and many more.
De Dannan, to some extent, performed that service for Irish music. Each new line-up always introduced exceptional new players and singers who went on to forge their own careers: Dolores Keane, Maura O'Connell, Mary Black, Eleanor Shanley, Tommy Fleming, Martin O'Connor, Jackie Daly — all started their careers playing with one of the many De Dannan incarnations.'
Sheahan, the classically trained Dubliner, added grace and precision to The Dubliners' raw, raucous sound, elevating the fiddle's role in the ballad tradition.
Gavin, the East Galway firebrand, injected traditional music with a bolt of virtuosic energy and showmanship, blending trad with jazz, rock, and Baroque flourishes.
Burke, in the Bothy Band, represented a different sort of mastery — smooth, elegant, and rhythmically assured. He helped carry the Sligo style across the Atlantic, becoming a pillar of the Irish-American trad revival.
Each of the three left a different kind of fingerprint on the music. Sheahan gave the fiddle new legitimacy in the Irish folk mainstream because of his classical training; Gavin dazzled with his flair and innovation; and Burke brought refinement and internationalism.
Between them, they demonstrated how adaptable — and how expressive — the Irish fiddle could be.
If Gavin brought speed, brilliance, and showmanship to the Irish fiddle, Tommy Peoples brought something darker and more idiosyncratic — the Donegal style of phrasing and intensity that transformed how players thought about rhythm and ornamentation.
Much of Donegal music exhibits flourishes from Scottish tradition, and Peoples played it to the full.
Less of a household name than Gavin, his influence on fellow fiddlers is arguably greater.
Martin Hayes has frequently cited Peoples as a foundational inspiration, while Gavin absorbed much of his fire and pulse — a revered document of personal and regional style.
Máiréad Ní Mhaonaigh, whose importance lies not just in her musicianship — though her Donegal fiddle is among the most lyrical and finely tuned in the tradition — but in her leadership and visibility. As co-founder and frontwoman of Altan, Ní Mhaonaigh brought regional Donegal style to international concert halls, and did so while singing in Irish, preserving and popularising both the music and the language.
Her playing is nimble and spirited, rooted in the north-west, but never insular.
In a tradition still catching up on gender balance, she stands out as a pioneering female presence at the top level — a touchstone for many young players today.
Together, these six — Sheahan, Gavin, Burke, Peoples, Hayes, and Ní Mhaonaigh — form a kind of modern pantheon of Irish fiddling: Gavin the firebrand, Hayes the philosopher, Sheahan the classicist, Peoples the storm, Burke the stylist, and Ní Mhaonaigh the bearer of language, place, and poise.
Each reflects a different aspect of the tradition's evolution — and none could be said to truly eclipse the others. The Trad Gathering
IMDL's London-wide youth project, The Trad Gathering, features 30 young traditional Irish musicians from different music schools and teachers, led by Karen Ryan and Pete Quinn.
On June 26, the group will be playing music from the repertoire of prominent Irish music teacher, button accordion player, lilter, whistler and céilí drummer, Tommy Maguire (North Leitrim).
The Trad Gathering was jointly commissioned in 2008 by the BBC Proms and Return to Camden Town Festival. In recent years, the group has been celebrating music from the repertoires of a number of prominent members of the London Irish music scene.
IMDL will be promoting their online Grand Draw during this event — great prizes to be won, and all proceeds go toward hosting the annual Return to London Town Festival and other year-round IMDL events.
Irish Hooley at Bloomsbury Theatre, London WC1, Thursday, June 26. Tickets: £22.50/£7 under 18s
See More: Frankie Gavin, London Irish Hooley, The Trad Gathering
