I am studying on the BA course at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick, where I am taught by Siobhán Peoples.
I started learning fiddle in England at the age of three, with the 'suzuki method'. I had a very short-lived classical career, deciding at an early age that it was not to be. Living near Cambridge, with its thriving folk music scene, I was then introduced to Hazel Fairbairn, a fiddle player who taught me by ear from that time until the end of 2005. I played in sessions in Cambridge over the years with musicians like Hazel, Josie Nugent (from Ennis), Lucy DeLapp, Sarah Roberts, Cath Coombes, Martin Green, Andy and Eileen Wilson, and many others.
My Cambridge Irish influence has been mainly from the Clare and Sligo fiddle styles, but after discovering the fiddle music of Donegal (via Altan) at quite a young age, I formed a very strong interest in the approach and repertoire. I started going to An Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy in Gaoth Dobhair every new year and have been inspired by countless musicians there. Living in Cambridge proved a blessing in disguise, as I was exposed to many different individual styles of fiddling and have been able to draw from those.
Nowadays I play with Suffolk guitarist and friend Joe Bardwell. We have recorded a demo and are hoping to do some gigs together this year.
When I first moved to Ireland I began playing with Denis McAuliffe, a mandolin player from Cratloe, County Clare. We had our first 'proper' public performance while recording a set of reels for the RTÉ Radio programme Ceili House.
I have played as half of a fiddle and piano duo 'Fotla' - we reached the semi-finals of the BBC Young Folk Awards in 2004.
I have been writing tunes for as long as I can remember, and find it a completely natural process. One of my reels, "The Journeywoman" (which was originally a birthday present for my Swedish friend, fiddler Jennikel Andersson) has been performed by Flook, Damien O'Kane, and was played by Brian Finnegan's big band "The Singing Tree" at Celtic Connections 2008.