Aoife Griffin – Director of the Boston Irish Music School – Fiddle, Whistle
Aoife Griffin hails from County Roscommon, a rural county in the west of Ireland and has been living in Boston since October of 2021. A graduate of the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance at the University of Limerick, Aoife holds a first class honors BA in Irish Music Performance and the Irish Language ‘Gaeilge.’ Having moved to Boston in 2021 for an initial year long graduate visa, Aoife fell in love with the city. This led to a change in career paths and she deferred her masters in education and stayed full time in Boston to share her love of Irish culture and arts with the diaspora.
Aoife began playing traditional Irish music in primary school with the tin-whistle. At the age of 12 she decided to take up fiddle lessons and throughout her secondary school years recieved tuition under Lorraine Beirne, Paddy Ryan and Oisin Mac Diarmada before heading to the University of Limerick where her main first area tutor was Siobhan Peoples. Aoife’s love for performance came from performing in a number of groups and bands, primarily the West Coast Grupa Cheoil which is led by the wonderful Marie Walsh who inspired Aoife to pursue her love of teaching. Aoife can be found performing in many of Boston’s premier Irish music pubs and venues throughout the year! Aoife is a firm believer in the saying…”What’s for you, will never pass you by.”
Máirín Uí Chéide Keady – Irish Speaking and Singing
Máirín Uí Chéide Keady, (Irish singer and speaker) was born in Leitirmóir, the heart of the rural Connamara Gaeltacht. Máirín came from a long line of poets and singers. Her uncle Coilimín Seoige was her mentor; he had what seemed like thousands of songs and was a tough taskmaster and teacher. A purist, he insisted that her singing was as correct as possible; her phrasing and language had to be true to the words penned and passed down through generations. Her paternal grandfather Michael Kelly was also a great storyteller and had a trove of Irish and some English folksongs, learned while with the Irish Army. Mairin was also fortunate to have had a great Irish literature teacher, Séan Ó Gaora who encouraged her to sing most of the old poetry which she already knew as songs, versions different from what appeared in standardized textbook selections (For example, “An Droighnean Donn” The Brown Thorn Bush).
Mairin remembers winning her first prize at a Comhaltas Feis in Dublin at the age of 12. Séamus Mac Mathúna had come to her house to bring her to Dublin, to her first encounter with Séamus and Bríd De Brún, two of most well-known noble advocates and conservators of our authentic ancient culture, who continued to judge her in singing competitions over many years. Mairin has won the coveted Corn Ui Riada (Ó Riada Cup) the highest honor in Seanós Singing at the Oireactas na Gaeilge. Mairin was Inducted to The Hall of Fame of The Northeast Region of the North American Comhaltas Ceolteoirí Éireann. She has taught Irish language and singing for many years, to students world wide, maintaining the oral nature of the transmission of the culture as much as possible.
Eamon Sefton – Guitar Accompaniment, Banjo (4-string) & Mandolin
Eamon Sefton is a sought-after Celtic-style guitarist from the Boston area. His percussive rhythm and clever use of harmony have made him an ideal guitarist for many traditional musicians around Boston. He cultivated much of his talent at the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School, where he is now teaching guitar for the fourth year in a row. Later he spent several semesters at Berklee College of Music, where he greatly furthered his understanding of harmony and guitar technique. Most recently, Eamon has been performing with his bands Cat and the Moon and Fresh Haggis at places like Club Passim, the Beat Hotel, the Burren, and on WGBH’s A Celtic Sojourn .
Kieva McGonagle – Traditional Irish Harp
Kieva McGonagle is a traditional Irish harpist and singer from Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland. She began her harp journey at the age of 14 under the guidance of Joleen Henry of The Henry Girls. A passionate musician, Kieva went on to study at the Irish World Academy of Irish Music and Dance, where she graduated in 2022. There, she honed her harp skills with Aisling Lyons and expanded her tin whistle repertoire under Majella Bartley.
Following her studies, Kieva moved to Boston, where she has been performing extensively across the city for the past three years. In 2024, she released her debut EP, Across the Atlantic, a heartfelt collection inspired by her transatlantic journey and the musical traditions of both Ireland and America.
Florence Fahy – Concertina
Florence is a native of north Co. Clare’s Newquay, the center of an unusually rich tradition of concertina playing in Ireland. As musician and author Fintan Vallely points out, “Florence is among those gifted young players who are helping to sustain the older dialects of Clare music.” Her father, Martin Fahy is her biggest inspiration, being a great concertina player himself. Her playing is influenced by Chris Droney, Dympna O Sullivan, Tim Collins, Gearoid O hAllmhurain, and Michael O Raghailligh, to name a few.
Florence has been involved with Irish music and dance since the age of 8, competing in All-Ireland solo competitions and being a member of the “Inis Og” Ceili Band from Ennis. Florence has traveled extensively with groups like “The Lonely Stranded Band”, “Meitheal” and “Ceol Chiarrai” in Australia, The Middle East and Europe. At present, she lives and teaches in Beverly, with her husband Chris and 1 year old daughter Leah. She enjoys teaching and sharing her love for Irish music and the concertina music of Co. Clare.
Diarmuid O’ Meachair – Button Accordion
Diarmuid Ó Meachair is an Accordion player from Cúil Aodha, Co. Cork. He is also an accomplished Melodeon player and sean-nós singer. He was awarded the prestigious TG4 Young Musician of the year award in 2022. Diarmuid is part of the teaching staff at the Department of Music in UCC and he teaches Irish Music at Holy Cross University, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Diarmuid has released 4 solo albums in the past two years, “Siúl na Slí” (December 2022), “Melodeon Medleys” (July 2023), “Diarmuid Ó Meachair” in (July 2024) and released a live album from a solo concert celebrating the single row Melodeon with Sean nós dancing (June 2025).He has been nominated for 3 RTÉ Folk Awards as “Best instrumentalist” (2023 & 2024) and “Best emerging artist” (2023). A native Irish speaker from Cúil Aodha in the Múscraí Gaeltacht, Diarmuid has won many sean nós singing competitions at the Oireachtas na Gaeilge. In 2023 he was commissioned by The John Dwyer Featival and the National Arts Council of Ireland to compose a suite a music in memory of the great Dwyer family from Beara.
In 2016, Diarmuid won the Senior All Ireland melodeon title at the Fleadh in Ennis at 19 years of age. In 2018, Diarmuid graduated from Mary Immaculate College with a Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education. As a soloist, Diarmuid has been invited to teach at multiple festivals in Ireland, Europe and the US. In 2023 he was invited by the legendary Frankie Gavin to join his group Dé Dannan. They have played at multiple festivals in Ireland, UK and Europe. In May they performed on The Late Late Show.
Patrick Hutchinson – Uilleann Pipes
Patrick was born in Canada and grew up in Liverpool where he had his first lessons on the tin whistle. A student of Toronto piper Chris Langan, he has been playing the uilleann pipes for over 25 years. He contributed an analysis of Chris Langan’s piping style to Move Your Fingers: the Life and Music of Chris Langan, by Paul Cranford and David Papazian. Patrick is a two-time champion of the Fleadh Cheoil na Eireann in slow airs on the uilleann pipes. He is well known for his unique and tasteful tune settings, and for ferreting out unusual tunes.
Diane Healy – Bodhran
She enjoys helping beginning students get past their roadblocks, getting the most out of their drum, understanding the different tune types and what makes them unique. She will also help more experienced students figure out their style, and how to approach playing in sessions.
Seamus Noonan – Flute
Seamus Noonan is an accomplished Irish traditional flute and concertina player from the Boston area, learning his music from his father, renowned musician Jimmy Noonan. Deeply influenced by legendary flute players such as Seamus Tansey and John McKenna, Seamus brings a strong sense of tradition to his playing.
His dedication to Irish music has earned him recognition at the highest levels — he was a finalist in the 2014 and 2024 Seán Ó Riada competitions, and has placed in multiple Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann events, including the 2023 and 2024 Senior Flute competitions in Mullingar and Wexford.
Rosanne Santucci – Uilleann Pipes
A former professional classical flutist, Rosanne Santucci found her passion for Irish traditional music later in life, studying uilleann pipes at CCÉ Boston with Patrick Hutchinson. She now leads activities for the Boston Uilleann Pipers Club and performs widely throughout New England.
With a degree in music education and firsthand experience as an adult learner, Rosanne brings empathy, patience, and deep understanding to students tackling the complexities of the uilleann pipes.
Beyond teaching, she is an accomplished arranger, pianist for the Boston Comhaltas monthly céilís, and a Cape Breton-style fiddle enthusiast. A familiar face on the Boston Irish session scene, she plays both pipes and Irish flute with energy and joy.
Tara Lynch – Alumni & Former Director – Button Accordion
Tara has been playing Irish music since the age of 11, competing in in Fleadhanna and Slogadh in solo, duet, trio competitions and as member of the “Naomh Eoin” Ceili Band. As a teenager she taught with Gus Tierney in several locations in Co. Clare. Since leaving Ireland, Tara has continued playing and teaching the accordion in Europe and the US. She is a regular musician at the branch sessions and set dancing events