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Biographies
Eleanor Shanley is one of Ireland’s foremost singers and is renowned for her unique interpretation of Irish traditional and folk songs. She has been at the top of her profession since her first appearance as the singer with traditional group De Danann and has released seven solo albums and guested on numerous others. She was nominated for a Meteor Award in 2005.
Padraig McGovern was taught uilleann pipes by master piper P.J. Flood and developed his music as a member of the Ceolas Céili Band. A highly regarded tutor of the Uilleann Pipes, Padraig has toured extensively and recently released a new CD Forgotten Gems with Peter Carberry. His recent multi-disciplinary project The Pipes The Pipes produced by Donal Dineen with pipers Leonard Barry and Maitiu O Casaide and visual artists Guillermo Carrion and Lionel Palun received much critical acclaim earlier this year.
Dave Sheridan is a multi instrumentalist that has been described by Hot Press as having "a highly accomplished free flowing fluid style, with sound technique and solid driving rhythm”. He has recorded two highly acclaimed albums, Sheridan’s Guesthouse and Drivin' Leitrim Timber and has recorded with many others including De Danann and Téada.
John McCartin from Newtowngore is both a guitar and fiddle player. In 2008 he received an MA in Traditional Music Performance from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. John’s proficiency with guitar accompaniment has brought him to most prominence, playing with many noted bands including Lúnasa and Dervish.
Dónal Lunny is a gifted guitar and bouzouki player, composer and producer who has been at the forefront of the evolution of Irish Traditional Music for more than 35 years, and is popularly regarded as having spearheaded its renaissance over the last three decades. Since the seventies Donal has founded legendary seminal Irish bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin and recently Mozaik. Much sought after in studio, he has produced albums for artists such as Kate Bush, Baaba Maal, Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Rod Steward, Fairground Attraction, Indigo Girls and Clannad.
Vincent Woods plays include At the Black Pig’s Dyke (Druid Theatre Company, 1992); Song of the Yellow Bittern (Druid Theatre Company, 1994); and A Cry from Heaven (Abbey Theatre, 2005); and for radio, The Leitrim Hotel, The Gospels of Aughamore and Broken Moon. His poetry is collected as The Colour of Language (The Dedalus Press, 1994): and Lives and Miracles (Arlen House, 2006). Awards include The Stewart Parker Award for Drama and The Ted McNulty award for poetry. He currently presents ‘Arts Tonight’ on RTÉ Radio 1. He is a member of Aosdána.
Edwina Guckian has been dancing for 22 of her 26 years and is renowned internationally for her mesmerising footwork and exuberating performances. She has shared stages with acts such as De Danann, Dervish, Cherish the Ladies, Beoga, Téada, Martin Hayes, Séamus Begley and Mairtín O Connor among others. Edwina has also taught dance all over the world and was choreographer for Ken Loach’s 2014 film, Jimmy’s Hall.
Johnny Gogan is writer-director of fifteen short films, documentaries and fictions, including the award-winning feature films The Last Bus Home and Mapmaker. His third feature film Black Ice, with Jane McGrath (IFTA nominated April 2014) and Killian Scott (Love/Hate), was one of the box-office surprises of 2013, grossing 40% of its production budget at the Irish box-office before its DVD release.
Michael Cummins studied Painting at NCAD and for many years has worked in theatre, chiefly as Lighting Designer but also as Set Designer, Set and Prop Builder and Technician. He has designed for plays by Shakespeare, Ionesco and Yeats and adaptations from Flann O’Brien and Lewis Carroll. Michael has toured throughout Ireland and the UK, Germany, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania. Michael is also a pyrotechnician.
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