The Dublin Trio is an exciting ensemble featuring three legendary Dublin musicians, Kevin Conneff, Tony Byrne and Joe McKenna. The three have performed together many times throughout recent years and released their debut album as The Dublin Trio last year, “The Pride of Pimlico”, to much acclaim.
“All three have strong pedigrees, and this collaboration bears the hallmarks of musicians whose appetites for adventure and exploration are as hearty as they ever were.” Siobhán Long – The Irish Times.
“Conneff’s warm voice is in impeccable shape, and he brings a fresh momentum to the title song” Siobhán Long – The Irish Times
Kevin Conneff is probably best known as the bodhrán player and vocalist of The Chieftains since 1976. A Dubliner, he first became interested in traditional Irish music in the 1960’s. In Dublin, he frequented O’Donoghue’s, The Pipers Club, The Clareman’s Association and the weekly session in Church Street. For many years, he and friends ran the prestigious Tradition Club in Slattery’s of Capel Street, where singers and musicians from all over Ireland and the U.K. performed. These included Willie Clancy, Séamus Ennis, Joe Heaney, Treasa Ní Mhiolláin, Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and Anne Briggs. Apart from touring and recording with The Chieftains, he has performed with Mary Bergin, Tim Edey, Redmond O’Toole, and from Nashville, Jeff White, Laura Cash and Deanie Richardson
Joe McKenna from the Liberties in Dublin studied the pipes in the Pipers Club where he learned from the great Leo Rowsome. Other influences were Patsy Touhy, Johnny & Felix Doran and Willie Clancy. Over the years he absorbed and extended the art of piping, creating his own individual style and techniques. Such was his passion for the pipes that he studied the pipe making skills of Matt Kiernan, which led to him buying a lathe and with Matt’s help he made his own pipes. These are the pipes he plays to this day. After winning a few All Ireland titles, Joe’s professional career began in the early 70’s when he played with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. In the late ‘70s he headed to the U.S. where his musical career took off very quickly, after he and his wife Antoinette,who played the harp, played in front of 8000 people at the National Folk Festival in Wolftrap, Washington. For the next fifteen years Joe and Antoinette played at all of the major Irish Festivals and gigs in America along with the Clancy Brothers, The Boys of the Lough, De Danann etc.
Tony Byrne, Dublin guitarist, has been involved in music from a young age. Starting out playing in rock bands as a drummer at age 11, Tony began performing around Dublin city centre venues at age 12. Following family holidays in West Kerry, Tony developed an Interest in Irish traditional music and has been involved in the performance, recording and teaching of it since leaving college in 1999. Past performances include concerts with acts such as Danu, Sharon Shannon, Michael mc Goldrick, Gerry o Connor, David Munnelly Band, Matt Molloy, Paul Brady, Julie Fowlis, Lunasa and many more.
