St. Patrick's Open Day

Corkman Donie Carroll has been involved in folk music as far back as the mid 60’s. Having played the folk and ballad scene for close to 30 years in Ireland, England, and Scotland, Donie came to New York for a six week stint in 1993, and within a few months got involved with some of the best musicians around. Very soon he found himself playing a weekly residency at Kate Kearney’s with some on New York’s best including the legendary fiddle player Andy McGann. After a number of years in the music scene in New York, Donie did a stint of acting on the recommendation of Mick Moloney, and he was cast in the Irish Repertory Theatre production of Sive and through this, Mick also invited him to become a member of the community band The Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra. It was during this time that Donie became aware of Redemptorist priest Fr. Joe Maeir and his work with the Mercy Center in the Slums of Bangkok. Very soon Donie and Mick were organizing fundraisers of different kinds. This fundraising has been ongoing since 2007 and supports the poorest of the poor in Bangkok, including the Slum Orchestra that Mick formed with local children playing their own traditional Thai music and dance.

City Stompers The American clogging of City Stompers is happy, fast and powerful, punching the rhythms straight to the crowd in legendary fiddle puppet style. Improvisational flatfooting and Irish sean nós add their own flair and visual impact to the music. City Stompers is a dance ensemble and music collective intent on sharing joy while contributing to the living tradition of American and Irish percussive and social dances. We’ve worked with Ashokan Center, Jalopy Theatre, the New York City Parks Department, Bronx Music Heritage Center, and Porchstomp to bring you dance and oldtime music. As choreographer, artistic director Megan Downes composes steps and builds group pieces that animate the tunes. As a dance caller, Megan introduces festival crowds and party goers to traditional Appalachian mountain squares and gives fun, friendly workshops in flatfooting, waltzes, ceilis, Irish sets and couple dances. City Stompers’ joyful ensemble is born of Megan’s weekly flatfoot classes.

Megan Downes (choreographer/ principal dancer) grew up dancing in New York City‘s traditional Irish music community, later teaching Irish dance forms throughout the city and at Lincoln Center before joining Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble to perform southern Appalachian clogging in Fiddle Puppet style along with its roots and branches in Irish and Canadian dance. Megan’s musical family and her first dance teacher Donny Golden have everything to do with her appreciation and fostering of dance and music as vibrant, living traditions.

Matheus Verardino (principal dancer/harmonica) is a musician and dancer originally from Brazil, who chose to steep himself in traditional American music and dance, and is currently a student of classical flamenco dance. Matheus tours internationally and records with Cole Quest and the City Pickers, a unique band led by the grandson of American folk legend Woody Guthrie. 

Sara Rowbottom (principal dancer) has been clogging and flatfooting since she discovered City Stompers in 2012. She trained extensively with Megan Downes and has taken class with Evie Laden, Ira Bernstein, Sharon Leahy, and Nic Gareiss. Sara’s diverse dance interests and training include Hip-Hop, West African, and Soca. When not dancing, she is a senior technical advisor for education and youth with the International Rescue Committee.

Nicole Ball (principal dancer) decided to become a musician and dancer while attending a folk festival performance featuring clogging and flatfooting. While living in Brooklyn, Nicole became an integral part of the old-time music community fostered by the work of City Stompers. Nicole is now raising a family in a region of the Catskill mountains of New York known for its folk music heritage and vibrancy. 

Jaden Gladstone (fiddle) grew up playing old-time fiddle and banjo. He plays music that you really want to dance to! When off-duty from fighting fires, Jaden leads old-time jams in New York City and is a favorite every year at Porchstomp, Flatfoot Flatbush and now, Square Foot, City Stompers’ newest monthly dance night at Francis Kite Club on Avenue C. 

Christian Apuzzo (vocals/ guitar) is a Brooklyn based vocalist, guitarist and music educator. Long Island raised, this musician started his journey as a certified public school music teacher, but has since found the wide-open pastures of the freelance music world in NYC. A bedrock presence in the city’s bluegrass, folk and song community, Christian performs with the Grass Messengers and is currently working on the latest recording of Cole Quest and the City Pickers. Christian teaches music lessons in classes for all ages at Jalopy Theatre in Redhook Brooklyn. 

Mikela Murphy (special guest artist, Irish fiddle) is an Irish fiddler and classical violinist and violist from Baltimore, MD, where she began her studies at age 10. Mikela is an alumnus of the Baltimore School for the Arts and holds degrees in music performance andpPsychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In 2019, Mikela and her fiddle teacher, Donna Long, were awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Folklife Apprenticeship grant to study the playing of past Irish fiddle masters. Mikela currently resides in New York City where she is pursuing graduate studies and can be found playing at local sessions. 

Nate Sabat (bass) Nate Sabat is an award-winning bassist, singer-songwriter, arranger, and instructor based in Brooklyn. A native New Yorker, he attended LaGuardia High School as a vocal principal and went on to study upright bass at the Berklee College of Music. He has performed at festivals and venues across the globe from Celtic Connections to Carnegie Hall. Nate's bass playing—while rooted in American folk music—goes beyond any conventional notion of the instrument's role within the genre. With a relaxed, vocal sound and equal fluency with pizzicato and the bow, Nate takes full advantage of all the sounds and textures the bass has to offer. GRAMMY-winning cellist Eugene Friesen says, "Nate has so much going for him: the ability to propel any groove with chops and subtlety, a sweet bow sound that can vocalize any melody, fiercely great intonation, and, most importantly, a musical intelligence and intuition that operates with a constant smile.”

James Cleveland is a fiddler and a teacher at the Irish Arts Center, NYC for the last 20 years, and has introduced hundreds of players to the instrument.  He plays regularly in sessions and for numerous dances, events, festivals, and stage plays. With concertina player Jim Norman, he produced Glad Tidings, an album of holiday and traditional tunes. He can be seen in the film Beautiful People about the Dempsey’s Irish music session in the East Village and in the No Irish Need Apply episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS.

Zohra Coday is a concertina player originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Zohra grew up learning Irish music and dancing at St. Louis Irish Arts and competed at various events, such as the Midwest Fleadh Cheoil and Fleadh Cheoil Na hEireann. In 2019, she attended the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick where she completed an M.A. in Irish traditional music performance under the instruction of concertina player Tommy Fitzharris. Zohra has performed in the U.S., Ireland, and Asia as well as played for Irish dance competitions, or feiseanna, in the U.S. and Europe. Outside of performing, Zohra has taught concertina lessons for almost 10 years in St. Louis and now in New York. She currently teaches concertina classes at Irish Arts Center.

Megan Downes grew up dancing in New York City‘s traditional Irish music community, later teaching Irish dance forms throughout the city and at Lincoln Center before joining Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble to perform southern Appalachian clogging in Fiddle Puppet style along with its roots and branches in Irish and Canadian dance. Megan’s musical family and her first dance teacher Donny Golden have everything to do with her appreciation and fostering of dance and music as vibrant, living traditions.

Joe has been professionally dancing for 10 years. He has performed all over the world with Lord of the Dance, Riverdance, Feet of Flames, and countless other shows. Most notably, Joe has performed on Broadway with Michael Flatley for his final performances of Lord of the Dance and also performed at the Dubai World Expo with Riverdance.

Raised with a deep and abiding respect for his culture, James Keane draws most of his musical inspiration from the belief that traditional music is more than a mere pastime or entertainment, but rather, in a very real sense, is a living history of the Irish people. Born in Drimnagh, Dublin, in 1948 James began teaching himself the button accordion not long after his sixth birthday, and was first taught the essence of the tradition by his parents and family.  By 1963 he had won the first of four All-Ireland accordion titles and had co-founded The Castle Ceili Band, alongside his brother Sean and Mick O’Connor, which would in time emerge as one of the most admired and often imitated ensembles of the era. Over the years James has played with the likes of Matt Molloy, Joe Burke, Liam O’Flynn, Tommy Peoples, Kevin Conneff, and Paddy Glackin, and has recorded eight highly acclaimed studio albums, and appeared on many classic records. In addition to performing, James has presented multimedia lectures, which can be seen at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress

Lorraine has had  a long and distinguished career since she studied in Ballyfermot Senior College more than 20 years ago. Her work in animation has taken her around the world, to studios in the Czechia, Germany, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Cambodia, and the UK. Her first job was with the newly formed Cartoon Saloon where she and fellow classmates made E-cards, advertisements and pilots while developing THE SECRET OF KELLS. 

From there she moved across Europe following animation productions in Czechia and Germany before she returned to Ireland to found A Man & Ink with Jeremy Purcell to work on TV series and short films. One such TV series took her to Asia, taking on the role of overseas director working with teams in Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh. It was also with A Man & Ink that she wrote and directed her award winning short film A CAT CALLED JAM. 

For much of her career Lorraine has frequently worked with renowned Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, including TV series PUFFIN ROCK and PETE THE CAT, and feature films such as THE SECRET OF KELLS, THE PROPHET, THE BREADWINNER, and the newly released feature film, PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS, on which she also directed Isabelle’s flashback sequence.

Katie Linnane is a fiddle player and former step dancer, born and raised in NY, a hotbed for traditional Irish music. Katie's music reflects her early days learning from the legendary Willie Kelly and her upbringing in a household steeped in Irish music. It is through Willie, that Katie cultivated an affinity for Clare music and developed a keen ear for great repertoire. Katie has competed in the All-Ireland, Scotland, England, and World Championships for Irish Step Dancing since a young age, with nearly 15 years of experience and numerous titles to her name, including 2nd place in Oireachtas Rince Na Cruinne. Alongside her dancing pursuits, Katie is a sought-after fiddle teacher and performer across the Northeast and Europe. Katie’s current musical focus is a duo with husband, Ivan Goff (Danú) on uilleann pipes and flute. She plays and teaches in festivals across the country and in Ireland such as St. Louis Tionól and Dungarvan Tradfest. Katie opened her first Irish traditional music school in East Haven, CT, while simultaneously attending university. After completing her masters in occupational therapy, she moved her music school to Pearl River, NY where she continues to teach privately today. She has toured the U.S. with productions such as Tomáseen Foley, as lead fiddle player and dancer and plays solo and duet concerts across the Northeast, including NYU Glucksman Ireland house and Princeton Folk Music society. Immersed in New York City’s thriving Irish music scene, she can be heard alongside musicians like Cillian Vallely (Lúnasa), Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer (The Murphy Beds), Tony DeMarco, Liz Hanley, Alan Murray, and John Morrow.

John Morrow comes from a musical family in Co. Leitrim. Traditionally a fiddle and flute part of the country, John’s musical style developed through playing sessions in Leitrim and neighboring counties with his brothers and local musicians such as the Cornafean Ceili Group, and Antóin MacGabhann. John has won Senior All Ireland titles at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann on banjo and mandolin, and has taught workshops at Scoil Éigse, Joe Mooney Festival in Drumshanbo, and Elkins in West Virginia. An avid traveler, John has been a vibrant part of the session scenes in Dublin, Sydney, Montréal, and now New York.

Laura Neese is a dance artist and educator from Staten Island, NY, where she developed a love for dance under the mentorship of Rosemary Cappozalo and studied Irish dance with Niall O’Leary. Described as “ethereally romantic” by the Dance Enthusiast, Neese has performed works by artists including Darrah Carr, Melissa West, Sean Curran, Ann Carlson, Maho Ogawa, and KitchenSink Collective, among others. Performing credits range from Jacob’s Pillow, to the Today Show, to Wexner Center for the Arts. Neese presents her own stage and site-based choreography at venues in New York City and nationally.

Caoimhe Nic Giollarnáith is originally from county Kildare. She attended Irish language medium schools and graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway, summa cum laude with BA and MA degrees in modern Irish. She has several years of teaching experience as an adjunct professor. Caoimhe currently teaches Irish language and literature undergraduate courses at Lehman College, CUNY. In the past, she has taught Irish language courses at Fordham University, Manhattan College, and Rosetta Stone. In 2015, Caoimhe worked as a researcher and guest speaker on the Irish Film and Television Academy award nominated Irish language television series GAA USA. Caoimhe has featured as a guest on several Irish language radio shows on Raidió na Gaeltachta, Ireland's national Irish language radio station. She is a board member of Gaeil Nua-Eabhrac, a non-profit which aims to promote the Irish language in New York. Caoimhe has organized Irish language and cultural events at the Irish Consulate, New York. She also teaches Irish to the families of the Irish Consular team.

Andy started his training in Irish dance from the age of 8 and quickly became All Ireland, All Scotland, Great Britain, and North American champion. After a successful competitive career, he went to perform across the globe with Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and, Heartbeat of Home. As dance captain for Riverdance, he has been fortunate enough to perform on major television shows such as America's Got Talent, The Late Late Show, and Good Morning America. Andy is a choreographer, creating routines for So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars. During the pandemic, Andy turned his attention to direction and undertook his masters in theatre direction from Mountview performing arts academy in London. This led to Andy directing multiple plays by playwright David Gilna, who often brings his performances to New York City and assistant directing Le Cheile in Dublin’s Three Arena.  Alongside great friend, Brandon Asazawa, Andy co-created their new venture JiGGiG, an Irish dance entertainment company located in the U.S. with the aim of spreading Irish culture and providing professional dancing opportunities for local Irish dancers..

Barry Fergus Paddy Ó Séanáin is known the world over as the greatest spoofer of his generation. He first came to prominence when he was 16 with the Irish six-piece band Harbour Lights, and more recently has played a residency in the glamorous Tara Rose venue on Manhattan’s West Side. His vocal stylings have been described as “the noise your washing machine makes when you forget to empty your pockets” (Rolling Stone) and “sultry” (Empire). In his spare time, Ó Séanáin, or Séan-atra as he is widely referred to, enjoys eating raspberries in Central Park and making necklaces out of old Pepsi cans from the 1990s.

Ciara O’Shea is a multi-genre singer, musician and dancer. She earned her BA in Irish music and dance from the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick and she has performed at festivals and venues across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA. She has performed her original music in venues across Ireland and the USA, and has been billed alongside artists such as Jack O’Rourke and Karan Casey. With several titles and accomplishments to her name, Ciara now lives in New Jersey where she teaches Irish traditional music and produces a series of punk-rock concerts with 561 Collective.

Jeremy has been working in the animation industry for over 20 years. After graduating from Ballyfermot Senior College in 1999, his start in the industry came with the then fledgling Cartoon Saloon. Many late nights were spent working on some of the early Cartoon Saloon pieces, such as FROM DARKNESS and REBEL, which later became BRENDAN AND THE SECRET OF KELLS, the studios first feature film and first Oscar nomination, on which Jeremy worked as the effects supervisor. 

In 2014 he returned to Cartoon Saloon to work on SONG OF THE SEA as the effects supervisor. Two more feature films, THE BREADWINNER and THE PROPHET, and another two TV series, PUFFIN ROCK and PETE THE CAT, followed. In 2019 Jeremy started work as director on a project that over the next 3 years and 1 global pandemic later would become the recent cinema release movie PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS.

Autumn Rhodes is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, playing on flute, concertina, tin whistle, and uilleann pipes, as well as singing in Irish and English. She has been a professional musician since the age of 14, touring the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the UK with such groups as Soltré, The Jammy Dodgers, Mira, The Golden Gate Céilí Band, Gránna, and Buncrana, as well as with artists Maldon Meehan, Tim Hill, and Julie Henigan. She grew up in rural Northern Indiana before moving to San Francisco to start an Irish music instruction studio. She has recently relocated to New York City.

Matt Stapleton, a predominantly self-taught guitarist from upstate New York, is a sought after accompanist for the Irish traditional music scene in New York City where he operates two popular weekly sessions, Hartley’s in Brooklyn and Grace’s in Manhattan. He has backed up some of the great traditional musicians from the U.S. and Ireland, and has been an artist in residence at a number of venues around the country, from Washington DC to Las Vegas, to St. Louis, to name a few.

Alexandra Williamson was awarded the Meg Hunt Artist In Residence at the Wrangell Mountains Center, in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska for the summer of 2021. She has taught and performed at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and the Alaska Folk Festival. Alexandra attended Montclair State University receiving a BFA in dance and a minor in musical theatre. She studied Irish dancing with the Davis Academy. Alexandra attended the Morris County Academy for Visual and Performing Arts High School where she was encouraged to integrate modern and contemporary dance with traditional Irish step dancing. Alexandra has performed on the TODAY Show and Good Morning America, and has toured internationally, most recently at Project Arts Center in Dublin, Ireland.

The IAC  Céilí band has been in existence since the 1970's.  They have performed annually at IAC’s community events, at nursing homes throughout the city, and at the NY Athletic Club. Several of their members started off as students with Irish Arts Center’s education programs. If you are interested in IAC’s class offerings our spring term just went on sale this week and will begin the week of April 11. If you are interested in joining the Céilí band please feel free to speak with the musicians after the performance.

Since 1998, Darrah Carr Dance has created a unique blend of Irish step and contemporary modern dance. The company incorporates Irish music, step dance footwork, and spatial patterns within contemporary choreography and presents a bold new twist on conventional Irish dance. Artistic director Darrah Carr calls her style ModERIN: a playful combination of the words Modern (dance) and ERIN (an Irish American reference to Ireland). In commemoration of the company’s 15th anniversary season in 2013, Macater Press published ModERIN: Contemporary Irish Dance Works–Darrah Carr Dance. This impressive artist's catalogue documents the company’s lasting impact on the field of Irish dance and features stunning images and in-depth descriptions of their major repertory works.

Siobhan Egan-Moore was born in Philadelphia, PA, and moved to the west of Ireland at a young age. While living in Foxford, Co. Mayo, she began traditional music lessons at age eight with Martin Donoghue. Learning by ear, she started on the tin whistle and then went on to the flute, piano accordion, bodhrán, and fiddle. When her family returned to the Philly area in 1980, Siobhan started performing at festivals and concerts up and down the East Coast with her brother and sister, Seamus and Rory. A founding member of Cherish the Ladies, she toured worldwide with the band for almost 13 years and recorded seven CDs, many of which feature her own compositions. Since leaving the band, Siobhan has enjoyed teaching the bodhrán at Irish Arts Center.

Kieran McCarthy Fell is a flute and whistle player originally from Long Island, New York. She began her musical studies on guitar at age 8, and took up the flute at 9, which led to an undergraduate degree in music performance from UNC Chapel Hill. In middle school, Kieran taught herself the tin whistle, and in 2013 started learning Irish flute as part of an independent research fellowship studying the overlap and divergence between the worlds of classical and Irish traditional music. This research resulted in a paper, published in a peer-reviewed journal in December 2014, and a lasting love for playing trad. Kieran plays and performs regularly at sessions and gigs in the NYC area, and teaches private lessons on both whistle and flute.