Co-founder of Intercultural Niche Strategies Inc with Holly Poirier. INS are a multicultural marketing firm that specializes in marketing entertainment products to ethnic American communities. Over the last 6 years they have been responsible for marketing many Irish/Celtic music acts to the Irish American community. Among acts associated with INS are Riverdance, The Chieftains, The Saw Doctors, Cherish the Ladies, Phil Coulter, Black 47, Eileen Ivers and Frances Black. Non music clients include, The A&E Television Network, The Irish Arts Center, The New York Irish Business Association and the first publicity campaign for Irish Connections Magazine.


Damien Dempsey comes from Donaghmede on Dublin's Northside whose father believes his son's musical ambitions are a way of avoiding real work in the real world. Damien's earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have when he was a toddler. Today he sings traditional Irish songs and runs songwriting workshops for children and single parents from the poorer parts of Dublin.

In 1997 he recorded and released a single called "Dublin Town" that went to #18 in the Irish charts with little or no promotion. The single was the most played track on Irish Radio for two weeks and was the first commercial affirmation of Damien as a performer and artist in his own right.

Dana, (born Rosemary Browne), from Derry, her music career began with a bang when she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in 1970 with the song "All Kinds of Everything." Through the '70s and '80s Dana continued to be a highly singer and with husband Damien Scallon wrote and performed many successful songs, many with Christian or religious themes, including "Totus Tuus - Totally Yours" which was number one in Ireland at the time of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979. Another highlight came in 1993 when she performed her music for the Pope and 120,00 young people at World Youth Day in Denver. In 1997 she ran as a candidate for president of Ireland but lost to Mary Mdlleese.


Danu are an Irish traditional music group based in Co. Waterford, made up of seven young male traditional musicians bailing from counties Waterford, Dublin, Tipperary and Donegal.


De Dannan's fusion of contemporary and traditional folk music has helped establish them as one of Ireland's leading folk bands. Formed in Spiddal, Co. Galway in 1974, the band, has featured numerous players revolving around the central duo of Alec Finn and Frankie Gavin. The original line-up featured Johnny McDonagh, Charlie Piggott, and Dolores Keane. The latter went on to record and perform in a solo capacity after appearing on De Dannan's 1975 debut. New singer Maura O'Connell left after the release of 1981's acclaimed The Star Spangled Molly to pursue a solo career, while her replacement Mary Black appeared on two albums, Song For Ireland and Anthem, before also leaving in 1986. The latter featured the returning Keane, who also appeared on the followup, Ballroom.

At various times the band has included vocalist Eleanor Shanley, cellist Caroline Lavelle, guitarist Brendan O'Regan, and accordionists Jackie Daly, Mairtin O'Connor, and Aidan Coffey.

To those unfamiliar with his steady, determined rise to the top, he appeared to have arrived suddenly with worldwide hits with "The Lady In Red" and its accompanying album, Into The Light. The reality is not so fanciful. Born in Argentina his childhood was rich in travel and experience; his father's career moved the family to Malta, Nigeria, Zaire and finally to Ireland. It was on the Emerald Isle where Chris still lives, with his wife Diane and their three young children, Rosanna, Hubie, and Michael- that he found his musical feet. In the grand setting of the 12th Century castle which his parents converted into a hotel, he learned to play the guitar - and he had performed literally hundreds of concerts there to audiences of enthralled guests before even seriously considering a career as a musician.

Encouraged by the possibilities, he headed for London in search of a recording contract and, after two years of dead-ends, secured a publishing deal which eventually led him to sign with A&M Records in 1974. The following year, Chris released his debut album Far Beyond These Castle Walls and "Turning Around", a single taken from it, became his first hit. Later re-titled "Flying", it Sold nearly 500,000 copies in Brazil and stayed number one there for more than 30 weeks. His next LP, Spanish Trains and Other Stories, then captured the imagination of Canada, resulting in Chris' first platinum disc. Since then, from Scandinavia to Australia, from the United States to the United Kingdom, his reputation has lengthened its reach through the successive studio albums. In October 1999 Chris produced another studio album, this time returning to the band format that was much loved from Into The Light. Entitled Quiet Revolution it contains 15 all new songs and was well received at launch.

This soft-rock band critically acclaimed in America are from Dublin. The band members are Colin Devlin, Peter Devlin, Sean Devitt. Their studio albums are Drift, Waiting and Consent and they have had a hit with the single "Almost Made You Smile," look out for their tour this fall.


The alias for Neil Hannon born in 1970 in Derry. Having recorded many albums and played on some of the biggest stages in the world the band continues to record and perform and is due in the U.S. later this year.


Joe Dolan is a legend and has been providing his special brand of entertainment for almost four decades, and it takes an exceptional man to keep "packing them in" after so many years. And pack them in he does! It is common for people to start queuing for a show two hours in advance of "doors open time and once inside, fans happily wait a considerable time to be served at the bar and happily squeeze into tightly packed seating. It's all part of the fun of a '70's Show" and creates a great atmosphere as they wait for the man himself to stride on stage, bursting into "Good Looking Woman" as he arrives.


Michael Valentine Doonican was born on 3rd February 1927, the youngest of eight children. He became known as Val because, growing up in Waterford on the South East Coast of Ireland, there were too many Michaels, Mikes and Mickeys around for him to be instantly identifiable. His TV shows ran for twenty four years, from humble beginnings on Thursday nights, to being the mainstay of Saturday night primetime television. Val went on to record over fifty albums, sales of which register in the millions, and he has fans all over the world. He charted many times with singles including, "Walk Tall," "The Special Years," "What Would I Be" and "Elusive Butterfly." Val is now a grandfather of two, and the father of a successful novelist, he divides his time between his homes in Buckinghamshire and Spain, and is enjoying the fruits of his years of work.


Dropkick Murphys formed in 1996 in Boston, MA. The band was originally some friends looking to play music for fun. They started playing in the basement of a friend's barbershop and their goal was to blend the musical influences they had grown up with (Punk Rock, Irish Folk, Rock, and Hardcore) into one loud, raucous, chaotic, and often out of tune mix that they could call their own.

Just as good malt whiskey matures with age, so too have The Dubliners who are celebrating 40 years in the music business this year. They have a new album out which has echoes fi·om the past as well as new material and they are touring Europe extensively to promote it. Now in their sixties, The Dubliners are regarded by many as the fathers of Irish pop music. They brought ballads and traditional music from small pubs and clubs to the international stage of popular music and influenced followers such as Planxty, The Pogues and U2. Speaking of these inspiring troubadours, Bone once said: "and then there was The Dubliners, more like The Clash and The Rolling Stones."

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