Frankie Gavin
Frankie Gavin was born in County Galway in 1956 on the eastern side of Lough Corrib and has been playing Irish traditional music since the age of four when he started on the tin whistle. At the age of seven he made his debut television appearance on Irish TV and had appeared on American television by the age of nine. Martin Rabbitt taught him to read music in Galway, but he is largely self- taught and has a remarkable ability for learning music by heart.
Listen to
Frankie Gavin
- Man of The House /The Providence [2.45Mb]
- Maud Millar's [2.21Mb]
- Miss Langford's /Tailor's Thimble [2.47Mb]
Listen to
Hibernian Rhapsody
- Hibernian Rhapsody 3 [3.02Mb]
- Hibernian Rhapsody 5 [2.58Mb]
In 1973, at the age of seventeen he was placed first in the All Ireland Under-18 Fiddle Competition and in the All Ireland Under-18 Flute Competition, both on the same day.
In the early 1970s he started playing at the sessions in the Cellar Bar, Galway, with, among others, Alex Finn, the late Mickey Finn, Johnnie (Ringo) Mc Donagh and Charlie Piggot. The sessions moved to Hughes' Pub in Spiddal and in 1973 De Danann was formed.
Although De Danann has had many highpoints over a quarter of a century, particularly with the singing of Dolores Keane and Maura O'Connell and the box playing of Mairtin O'Connor, Frankie Gavin's fiddle playing has always been a central feature of its repertoire.
Frankie Gavin has done immense work for the promotion of Traditional Irish Music worldwide and, together with his colleagues in De Dannan, has helped to increase its acceptance both by younger generations with versions of rock tunes such as Hey Jude and by proponents of classical music with renditions of classical pieces such as The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.
For more information visit Frankie Gavin's Website
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