Heather Cole-Mullen - banjo & fiddle duet

Artists Profile

Shane Mulchrone and Heather Cole-Mullen explore the traditional music of North Connacht on fiddle, banjo, melodeon and song. Musicians since childhood, they have learned their music from well-respected traditional musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including John Carty, John Gannon, Kevin Henry, and Rosie Stewart. They have been featured on television and radio, and have performed and taught at numerous summer schools and workshops both at home and abroad. They began playing together regularly in 2012, and since then they have performed together around Ireland, the U.S.A., and Cuba.

Shane Mulchrone is from near Ballina, Co. Mayo and has been playing the banjo for over 20 years. His early tutors included John Carty and Tommy Finn, and his music is additionally influenced by the local musicians of Mayo and Sligo. He has taught at numerous summer schools and workshops around the country and abroad, including the Joe Mooney Summer School, Scoil Acla, and Scoil Éigse at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. He has featured on television and radio and performed internationally in Europe, America and Cuba. Shane plays regularly at sessions and festivals around the country and is in the process of completing his highly-anticipated debut CD.

Heather Cole-Mullen grew up outside of Boston and began playing violin at 4 years of age. She was raised on New England contra dancing and music and began playing Irish music at 15. She learned Irish fiddle primarily from George Keith, but also studied briefly with Tommy Peoples, who was based in Boston at the time. She began learning accordion a few years later and her music is strongly influenced by the Gannon family, originally from Connemara. She spent several years in Chicago, where she met Kevin Henry and Albert Neary, among many others, and became interested in music from the North Mayo/South Sligo area where she now resides. Heather hosts the Irish music radio program ‘From the Shamrock Shore’ on the Louisiana station KRVS and has been featured on television and radio in Ireland and America. She has performed and taught in the U.S.A, Europe, and Cuba.