(born 28 August 1979) is a fiddler, born in Dublin, Ireland, who attended

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, becoming a

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

Theoretical Physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

(1999) and earning a first-class BA degree (as the top student of his class) in 2001. He is known for developing a drone-based fiddle style heavily influenced by the

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...

and the music of . spent several summers working part- and full-time in the Irish Traditional Music Archives in Dublin, opening up a wealth of old recordings which influenced his repertoire and style. Together with uilleann piper Mick O'Brien, he recorded ''Kitty Lie Over'', named no.1 traditional album of 2003 by Earle Hitchner in American newspaper the Irish Echo. He performs regularly with West Kerry accordion player Brendan Begley, and has collaborated many times with singer . He has also performed with the Icelandic group Amiina, and with

Sam Amidon Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s ...

, The Waterboys, and others. He is a member of two contemporary traditional music groups: The Gloaming (with Martin Hayes, , Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett); and This Is How We Fly (with Petter Berndalen, Nic Gareiss and Seán Mac Erlaine). He has also worked in theatre, having been commissioned by the Abbey Theatre to write music, and works regularly with Gare St Lazare Players. He contributed music to the 2015 film ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

'', a set of reels recorded especially for the purpose with Mayo accordion player . As well as playing on violin and

Hardanger fiddle A hardanger fiddle () is a traditional stringed instrument considered the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard v ...

, plays an instrument made by Norwegian luthier Salve Hakedal, a fiddle with five bowed strings and five sympathetic strings, a cross between a Hardanger fiddle and a five-string violin or viola d'amore which he calls a Hardanger d'Amore, first made for American Hardanger fiddle player Dan Trueman, and commissioned by Caoimhín with the head and tailpiece of Salve Hakedal's Viola d’Amore model. uses crosstunings or scordatura (common in Norwegian and old-time American fiddling), and uses baroque and transitional bows made by Michel Jamonneau. also used to play a Viola Pellegrina Pomposa by American luthier David Rivinus, a highly asymmetrical five-string viola. Caoimhín also plays tin whistle,

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, and

, having been taught whistle and flute by Co. Clare flute-player

Michael Tubridy Michael "Mick" Tubridy (born 6 August 1935 at Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland) is an Irish musician, step dancer and structural engineer. Career In November 1962, he was a founder member of the traditional Irish music group, The Chieftains, ...

The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

and . In 2011, he premiered ''The Valley of the Lunatics'', a work written for him by Dave Flynn, at the Masters of Tradition Festival in Bantry. Part of this piece is used in the soundtrack to the film ''The Enigma of Frank Ryan''. In 2019, he and fellow Gloaming member Thomas Bartlett released a special self-titled album of studio collaborations the pair had recorded together during gaps in the group's touring schedule.

Discography

* (1999, out of print) *''Kitty Lie Over'' (2003, with Mick O'Brien) *''Where the One-Eyed Man is King'' (2007) *''Comb Your Hair and Curl It'' (2010, with and Catherine McEvoy) * (2010, with and Martin Hayes) *''A Moment of Madness'' (2010, with Brendan Begley) *''Deadly Buzz'' (2011, with Mick O'Brien) * (2012, with and Martin Hayes) * (2013, with and Martin Hayes) *''This is How we Fly'' (2013, with Seán Mac Erlaine, Nic Gareiss and Petter Berndalen) *''The Gloaming'' (2014, on Brassland Records and Realworld Records, with , Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett) *''Music for an Elliptical Orbit'' (2014, on Diatribe Records) *''Laghdú'' (2014, on IrishMusic.net Records, with Dan Trueman) *''The Gloaming 2'' (2016, on Brassland Records and Realworld Records, with , Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett) *''Foreign Fields'' (2017, with Seán Mac Erlaine, Nic Gareiss and Petter Berndalen) *''All Soundings are True'' (2017, with Garth Knox, on Diatribe Records) *''The Gloaming: Live at the NCH'' (2018, on Brassland Records and Realworld Records, with , Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett) *''The Gloaming 3'' (2019, on Realworld Records, with , Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett) * '' and Thomas Bartlett'' (2019, on Realworld Records, with Thomas Bartlett)

References

External links

*
Official website - and Thomas
* {{DEFAULTSORT:ORaghallaigh, Caoimhin 1979 births Living people 20th-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish fiddlers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Fiddlers from County Dublin Irish male fiddlers People educated at The High School, Dublin Scholars of Trinity College Dublin The Gloaming members 20th-century Irish folk musicians 21st-century Irish folk musicians 20th-century Irish fiddlers