At Home With Irish Arts Center: Doireann Glackin and Sarah Flynn Perform "The Housekeepers"

Growing up, I encountered a wide variety of music, both at home and around the city of Dublin, but Irish traditional music has always had a special hold on me. I became fascinated with the concertina from an early age and this fascination continues to present day. 

At the age of 10 I was given my first concertina and began learning it under the guidance of Caoimhe Peat, Aoife O’Connor, Mairéad Hurley, and Noel Hill. I have been inspired and influenced by many other legendary musicians of past, present, and various localities. These include people like Ella Mae O’Dwyer, Mary MacNamara, Bobby Casey, and Jesse Smith. 

In Dublin today there is an incredibly vibrant traditional music scene. The countless enjoyable sessions and musical gatherings in the Cobblestone and the Pipers Corner, and as a teen in Ceol sa Chlub, have had a significant impact on my musical development. I am really fortunate to be surrounded by great musicians who inspire and constantly surprise me.

On the day my sister Siún was born, my father brought me to get my first fiddle. I was three years of age. I can never remember starting to play; we never attended formal lessons. Instead, it was something that always went on in our house. My father taught myself and my siblings to play and his father taught him. 

Growing up in Dublin there was no shortage of great players to look up to, and great music to get involved in. As a teenager my school and social life revolved around the craic we had in the school music bands in Coláiste Eoin and Coláiste Íosagáin. Saturday nights were spent in Henrietta Street, in Na Piobairí Uilleann for Ceol sa Chlub. Once the summer came, we’d all head for the Willie Clancy week and from there to my mother’s homestead in Cúil Aodha, where I was lucky enough to meet great singers and musicians who I still idolise as exponents of traditional music and song. 

There’s a long-established tradition of family-based music in Dublin that goes back to the great music of the Church Street and Thomas Street clubs, where my grandparents were involved. I was very lucky that when I started playing, I was welcomed wholeheartedly and encouraged no end by these musicians, of all generations, who I now call great friends. 

I couldn’t but mention my grandmother Maureen Glackin, who was a great supporter of our playing music and a great friend. Although she was probably our harshest critic, she was also our biggest fan.