Seán Ó Riada

My mother and father were both professionals all their lives, playing for silent pictures, variety, and teaching.

My father, in fact, was very proud of teaching the late great Seán Ó Riada for his first five or six formative years in Adare, County Limerick.

He used to tell me that, uh, Seán had the makings of a great classical violinist or pianist until he turned his great talents to traditional music, for which he did so much.

I was taught first as a violinist and won my first competitions at Sligo Feis Ceoil, then Cork and Dublin.