Join New York Irish Center and the wonderful curator Don Meade as the Blarney Star concert series makes its triumphant return to the stage. Don will host a variety program featuring uilleann piper Ivan Goff and fiddler Katie Linnane, singer Catherine O'Kelly, and students from the Annemarie Acosta School of Irish Music and Dance.
Ivan Goff and Katie Linnane are a musical power couple based in Pearl River, New York. Ivan was born in Dublin, where his musical mentors were uilleann piping greats Dan O’Dowd and Mick O’Brien. He has played the pipes and flute with high-profile groups that include Dervish, Danú, Lúnasa, Téada, Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America and the Ghost Trio. Ivan is a veteran of Riverdance, Peter and Wendy and other theatrical, film and orchestral productions. Fiddler Katie Linnane grew up in a musical household, learning chiefly from her mother Kathy, a prominent local Irish music teacher. She is now among the foremost Irish fiddle stylists in North America and frequently performs with Lúnasa flute player Kevin Crawford and other top musicians at Swift Hibernian Lounge in Greenwich Village.
Catherine O'Kelly, from Tappan, New York, is an outstanding traditional singer, as well as a fiddler. Currently attending Loyola University in Maryland, she has been a stand-out performer at the Catskills Irish Arts Week.
Pianist and piano accordionist Annemarie Acosta's School of Irish Music and Dance, based in Queens, has nurtured the talents of hundreds of young New Yorkers. Many have had great success in traditional dance and music competitions, including 2022 All-Ireland senior accompaniment champion Ryan Ward.