George Murphy
Singer-songwriter and storyteller George Murphy is a veteran of the Northern Irish folk music scene. Hailing from the small town of Dungiven, Co. Derry – a place known as a breeding ground for musical talent – he is well versed in the folk singing tradition. Murphy’s Bar on the town’s Main Street played host to many great music sessions and folk gigs down through the years, and as a regular attendee to such events, George Murphy was able to amass a huge repertoire of folk songs that he would take with him to sessions and folk festivals all over the UK and Ireland.
A teacher by profession, George took early retirement in the 2000s and has since had a hand in many aspects of promoting Irish folk music in Northern Ireland. He has toured with many bands, including Failte with his friends Jim Millar and Jimmy O’Hara, as well as recorded and performed with Maranna McCloskey. He has helped organise folk festivals in the Roe Valley and North West, including The Roe Valley International Folk Festival and several Fleadhanna Cheoil. He is also a member of the cross-cultural group, Tongues, Tones and Tapping.
George now tours as part of a folk duo with Frank Cassidy in support of his debut album, Still In One Piece. Already, he has toured as a solo act in Scotland and the North of England, supporting the likes of BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner Chris Wood in folk clubs.
2011 will see George make appearances across the UK and Ireland, including appearances at a number of folk festivals.
Frank Cassidy
Frank Cassidy’s name has been synonymous with the bouzouki and traditional music accompaniment since the 1970s, when he toured with the acclaimed folk singer Jane Cassidy, his sister. As part of this duo, Frank has shared the stage with all of the classic acts of the 1970s Irish folk scene and performed on the much-loved As I Roved Out BBC series. He has also been enlisted as accompanist for some of the best musicians in the country, including Paddy Glackin, Jim McKillop, Sean Maguire, and Planxty co-founer Liam Og O’Flynn.
Frank served his time as a session musician for an array of English folk acts whilst living near a folk record label/studio in London. His music has taken him across the UK, Ireland and Europe, and throughout the 1980s and 1990s he has played with Curlew and the famous Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band.
As the principal of St. Louis’ Grammar School in Ballymena, Frank has been forthright in preserving Irish music and culture, taking school musicians on tour abroad and bringing into the recording studio to capture the upcoming talent in the Ulster traditional music scene. Having stepped out of the music scene in recent years, Frank is ready to immerse himself in the spirit of the folk culture that he has upheld for the most of his life as part of a new duo with George Murphy.
