21/02/2025
Finishing out our amazing band this weekend will be our fiddler extraordinaire and musical director - Seán O'Dálaigh 🔥
Seán was born in Germany, to a musical family of 7. After moving to Ireland at the age of 3, he was surrounded by Irish music and began to learn the fiddle from a very young age with Paula O’Regan, where is love for the fiddle evolved, while also playing in local sessions with his family and countless amazing musicians. At the age of 13 he began to learn the guitar, and also began writing songs. In this time he also became a core member of his family's band called Trazz, a traditional Irish group who toured Germany and played all over Ireland.
Since this Seán has come a long way, studying the BA Irish Music and Dance in UL, where he graduated with a First Class Honours Degree. During his time in college he had the chance to learn from and collaborate with incredible musicians from all walks of life. One of his earliest projects was Sean's Walk, a trio Seán started who performed songs that Seán had written over the years. Since this, Seán has been part of many different projects such as The Third Space ensemble; a group that looked at fusing Irish traditional Music with Indian Classical Music. His most recent and current projects however are Hoodman Blind and megaTRAD. Hoodman Blind are a traditional-based trio who focus on bringing a new light to Irish traditional music by taking influences from many different genres such as Appalachian and Scandinavian folk music. megaTRAD are an improvisation based trio who, while rooted in Irish traditional music, use electronics, effects pedals and influences from many other genres to offer a wide range of sounds. They take the idea of an Irish music session to the stage by playing, not to a strict arrangement, but by listening to and bouncing off each other’s playing.
Seán's music has brought him to play all over the world from the French Alps to America as well as playing in many festivals throughout Ireland such as Electric Picnic, Other Voices, All Together Now, Soma Festival, Limerick Fringe, Galway Fringe, Willie Clancy Week and many more.
Completing the dancers for tomorrow's performance is our artistic director and choreographer - Ashley O'Toole 🎉
Ashley began dancing at the age of 6 with the Haley School of Irish Dance based in Massachusetts, USA. Under the tutelage of Maureen King Haley, Ashley’s love for Irish dancing blossomed. She competed and performed with the Haley School for 21 years. In 2017, she turned her focus to the creative and performance-based side of Irish dancing. Ashley completed the MA in Traditional Irish Dance Performance at the University of Limerick where she had the opportunity to learn from many different dance artists and choreographers, and has been pursuing a professional dance career since. Based in Ennis, Ashley has toured around Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Serbia, and the United States (including on Broadway) with professional Irish dance companies.
Over the years, Ashley has choreographed and performed many of her own creations, including a solo piece for the television programme An Ríl Deal, and a group performance for the opening ceremony of the World Masters Ultimate Club Championships held in Limerick.
Ashley’s passion for Irish dance translates in her performance and choreography style. The relationship between the dance and music is a magical space, and that drives the choreography. In Beats of Éire, Ashley brings that love and passion for traditional Irish dance and music alive and invites the audience to experience it first-hand.
