Biography

Born and brought up in Scotland, Mairéad is a winner of many All-Britain and All-Ireland traditional music titles.

Mairéad began traditional music classes by learning the penny whistle. She soon moved onto the concert flute to become both a fine soloist as well as an integral part of ceili bands. She is now an accomplished musician, both in whistle and flute, winning gold at the All-Ireland championships.

Mairéad is considered to be one of the most outstanding players of Irish traditional music of her generation. In 2004 she was invited by Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw to perform in his Harvest musical which opened Celtic Connections that year.

Studying for a Masters at the prestigious University of Limerick will be the ideal preparation for Mairéad’s future as a professional musician.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award is helping to fund Mairéad to study Irish Traditional Music Performance at the University of Limerick.

Since the Award