Browse Items (13 total)

LISTEN to the interview Kevin Burke was born in London to parents from Sligo. He began learning to play fiddle from around the age of seven and absorbed the music he heard played around him by migrant musicians. As a teenager he played regularly in…

LISTEN to the interview Sean Chamberlain describes his youth in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, his migration to London, and the many dance bands he played in over the years. He returned in 1973 to help his brother open a bakery. He lives in the house his…

The Woodpeckers playing at the Cricklewood Hotel in London, c.1960. They started as part of the Cricklewood bus garage social club and eventually ended up playing for social events at other groups too.
Left to right: Jimmy Hanly (from Mitchelstown),…

Tommy and the Whelps, playing at the Black Lion pub, Kilburn High Road, London, c.1962.
Left to right: Tom Gordon (from Dromore West, Sligo), Clark Gail (from Glasgow), Pat Brady (from Ballyfermot, Dublin), and Sean Chamberlain.

The Hijackers dance band playing at The Crown in Cricklewood, London, c.1970.
Left to right: Sean Chamberlain, Tom Godron, Bríd (Sean's wife), and Jack Crowley (from Ardgroom, Cork).

Two photographs of Danny Meehan from his time in London. The first shows him holding an accordion and sitting with his cousin Johnny Meehan and Johnny's wife Brenda at The Vic in Kilburn in 1958. In the second, Danny is playing fiddle on stage in the…

LISTEN to the interview Reg Hall discusses his diverse musical background, introduction to Irish music, and involvement in the Irish music scene in post-war London. He was one of the few English people who participated and also one of the few to…

Photographs of Kevin McDermott playing the accordion as a young man in London. The first was taken in a pub on Holloway Road in 1962. The second was taken in the Duke of Clarence pub in Finsbury Park in 1964. Pictured (left to right) are Tony Howley…

LISTEN to the interview Kevin McDermott describes his childhood in Cavan town, joining the RAF, and eventual migration to London to join his family in 1956. Along the way he had an active musical life playing different musical styles on the…

LISTEN to the interviewDanny Meehan (b.1940) reflects on his life from his childhood in Drimalost, Co. Donegal, to his migration to England at age sixteen, and his return fifty years later. He speaks about his musical influences, the musicians he…