Our Musicians

Anthony Bools

Anthony Bools

a.k.a. Booster, a.k.a. Boo

Weapon of Choice; Guitar and Vocals

One of the ‘Old Guard’ of Crawlers, Boo cut his musical teeth while occasionally patronizing school, and became interested in Traditional Irish music while attending on international pop superstardom. A gifted songwriter, he has recorded several albums and Eps with his band Caliban, with whom both he and fellow Crawler Larry Shaw have toured the planet extensively.

Mark Wale

Mark Wale

a.k.a.Wailer

Necessary Props; Guitar, Vocals, Fiddle, Banjo, Melodeon.

Mark has spent nigh on three and a half decades impressing assemblies with his vocal talents and draws inspiration from both branches of his highly musical family tree.

Eamonn Galldubh

Eamonn Galldubh

a.k.a.Sigmund, a.k.a. Galldubh Boy

Corset Disguised As; Uilleann Pipes

This young piper first came to prominence as a member of the youthful group Delos with Eamonn DeBarra (see no.11), Tomas O Brien(see no.5) and respected guitarist Fionnan DeBarra.

Trish Hutton

Trish Hutton

a.k.a. Tinkerbell

Object She Would Most Like To Colour Pink; Fiddle.

Definitely a favourite of crawl audiences, Trish was another early starter on the road to traditional superstardom. Having sessioned her way around the country, she formed the seminal traditional outfit Lia Luachra with famed guitarist John Hicks, renowned bazoukiist Declan Corey and Shane Bracken on the concertina.

Mark French

Mark French

a.k.a. Marky Mark, a.k.a. Frenchie

Licenced To Thrill With; Guitar, Vocals, Bodhran.

Mark is the Prime Mover of the pub crawl, the Grand Negus, El Presidente and the Commander In Chief of the Old Guard. The first musician to play on the crawl, Mark’s considerable musical history includes liasons with Emer Mayock(flute), with Larry Shaw(fiddle, see no.4) and with notable group Kila. A passionate festival fanatic, Mark has plied his craft at international venues, but calls Dublin his home and is a consistently familiar face at traditional music happenings in the capital.

Ray Dempsey

Ray Dempsey

a.k.a. Sugar Ray, a.k.a. The Principal

What’s In His Schoolbag?; Button Accordion.

Prodigious from an early age, this Waterford lad’s talents were polished by the accordion master Bobby Gardiner before Ray availed himself of every opportunity to add to his collection of tunes at sessions from Belfast to Dingle.

Oisin McCauly.

Oisin McCauly.

a.k.a. McCaulyCulkin

Chosen Specialist Subject; Fiddle.

A Donegal fiddle legend, this young musician has been playing sessions since he’s been able to hold an instrument.

Mick McNamara

Mick McNamara

a.k.a. Mickmac

Bag of Tricks; Guitar, Vocals, Bodhran.

A central figure at Dublin sessions for over a decade, Mick has graced the boards with such leading performers as Gerry O’Connor(banjo), Peter Browne(button accordion) and Anthony Ward (banjo/mandolin). He loves to play the U.S. circuit and is constantly in demand in Asia where he has built up a considerable following after several visits.

Eamonn De Barra

Eamonn De Barra

a.k.a. DeBaba, a.k.a. De B

Most Expensive Toy; Flute, Tin Whistle, Low Whistle, Piano, Vocals, Lego Xylophone.

Brought up in an intensely musical environment, Eamonn De Barra’s talents were evident from a very early age, as were those of his siblings. The Young Traditional Musician Of the Year 1999, he already has a formidable reputation as a live performer, although he is barely out of short pants.

Des Charlson

Des Charlson

a.k.a.Charlo

Raison d’Etre; Vocals, Guitar, Bazouki.

One of the leading lights of the city’s traditional folk contingent, Des has a veritable library of songs which he consistently augments and develops.

Aoife Ni Cormaic

Aoife Ni Cormaic

a.k.a.Aoife, a.k.a. Ms. Ni Cormaic

Most Necessary Fashion Accessory; Fiddle.

One of the fairer sex’s outnumbered representatives, what this musical minority lacks in numbers it adequately accounts for in talent and precision.

Andrew Leaton

Andrew Leaton

a.k.a.Shiny Head, a.k.a. Scottish Andy

Musical Armour: Fiddle.

One of the first international artistes to join the crawl troupe, Andy’s Scottish heritage adds a pan-Celtic flavour to crawl proceedings.

Alan Doherty

Alan Doherty

a.k.a.Bubblehead, a.k.a. You Can Call Me Al

Most Noticeable Attribute; Flute, Tin Whistle, Low Whistle.

‍Both space and good taste necessitate the neglect of many pertinent facts concerning this young Dublin flautist who often inspires awe when in full flow. He has been involved in several bands of note including Shinook (with renowned Achill whistler Des Cafferkey) and more recently has been laboriously putting the finishing touches to Grada’s first studio album (see no. 2).

Tomas O’Brien

Tomas O’Brien

a.k.a The Big T, a.k.a. Tombox

Prized Possession; Button Accordion (affectionately termed a “box”)

‍A recognized prodigy from an early age, Tom is respected the length and breath of the country as an inspiring and dedicated session musician, having come to widespread attention as a founder member of the youthful supertradstar group, Delos.

Larry Shaw

Larry Shaw

a.k.a. Sauce, a.k.a. Lar, a.k.a. The Outlaw

Defence Against Poverty; Fiddle

Hailing from the windswept savannahs of North Louth, Larry found himself weaned on the tradition by his musical parentage, influences still apparent in his unique style today.

Tommy Martin

Tommy Martin

a.k.a. Tompipes, a.k.a. Tom, a.k.a. Angela

Prosthetic Musical Appendages; Uilleann Pipes, Tin Whistle, Low Whistle, Flute, Fiddle, Guitar, Ugandan nose harp, African tongue drum, and basically anything capable of the vibrations necessary to produce sound.

Twice All-Ireland champion uilleann-piper, Tommy’s prodigious talent was nurtured from the tender age of twelve by both a musically accomplished ancestry and the attentive guidance of master piping tutors.

Brendan O’Sullivan

Brendan O’Sullivan

a.k.a. Bren, a.k.a. O’Suilleabhan, a.k.a. Breny

Instrument of Destruction; Fiddle (c.f. proper nomenclature for ‘violin’).

Perfecting his craft over a fifth of a century, Brendan meandered away from the early influence of traditional fiddle playing and experimented with the genres of classical, rock and jazz involving himself with groups the likes of the (rather aptly titled) Reckless Pedestrians, and Jack L.

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