TOMMY O’SULLIVAN
Born in London into a family with their roots deep in the
heart of the West Kerry Gaeltacht.Tommy was raised in a melting pot of sounds
from the rhythms of The Beatles on the radio and his parents Irish records on
the turntable. Tommy was always a keen singer and by the time the family moved
back to West Kerry in 1972 he had already begun playing guitar.By his mid teens
he started performing locally in Dingle,already a popular tourist destination
largely due to the movie epic ‘Ryan’s Daughter’which was filmed in the
locality.Encouraged by local publican and musician Fergus Flaherty,Tommy
started to explore the world of traditional music.He dabbled with open guitar
tunings and listened to everybody from Paul Brady and Dick Gaughan,to the
acclaimed West Kerry musicians The Begley Family.Through trial and error he
eventually settled into the DADGAD tuning,a trade mark sound of his later
recordings.In 1982,with Ireland in deep recession,Tommy again moved to London.There,amongst
the swell of a wave of Irish immigration,he
found himself engulfed in a stream of
traditional music from all over Ireland.Amid this vibrant scene,Tommy
quickly established himself as a useful guitar player and singer.Many of the
musicians in and around this circle would later come to national and
international attention such as
John Carty, Mike McGoldrick,Dezi Donnelly,Sean Keane,Ron Kavana, and actor
Patrick Bergin( a regular bass player on the scene).
Tommy also took a keen interest in
the English folk club scene and became friendly with amongst others Barry
Dransfield and Martin Simpson.These influences can be heard in his rendition of
‘The Grey Funnel Line’ which he recorded on the Sliabh Notes album ‘Along
Blackwater’s Banks’in 2003.All in all,Tommy kept his base in London for 10
years.There were however a few notable side trips:In the spring of ’86 he travelled to the U.S. with fiddle
player Tommy McCarthy.They performed as ‘in flight entertainers’ for Virgin
Atlantic airlines a feat that prompted a headline in the evening press
proclaiming “The first ceili at 5000ft”!(Tommy McCarthy went on to open ‘The
Burren’in Boston which has become one of the most famous Irish American music
venues in the States).
Returning again to London ,Tommy embarked on the first of
many trips to Denmark.Eventually he joined ‘Ashplant’a Copenhagen based band
with Danish and Irish members.Ashplant regularly toured and played at festivals
all over Scandinavia.Tommy continued to tour with Ashplant until he eventually
returned to Ireland in 1992.Within a year he released his acclaimed debut album
‘Legacy’.Among the musicians featured were Matt Cranitch and Steve Cooney . 
Shortly after the release of ‘Legacy’,Matt,Tommy and
‘4 Men and a Dog’ box player Donal Murphy formed ‘Sliabh Notes’.To date they
have recorded three albums:Sliabh Notes,Gleanntan,and Along Blackwater’s
Banks.They have built an enviable reputation and have performed at many
international festivals.One of the bands many highlights was on the streets of
Cork city in Sep.2005 when along with Michael Flatley,The Kilfenora Ceili band
and nearly 7000 dancers they entered ‘The Guinness Book Of Records’ for the
largest gathering of people to play and dance the siege of Ennis!
In 1997 Tommy also began touring
regularly with ex-Bothy Band virtuoso piper Paddy Keenan.Having featured on
Paddy’s solo album ‘Na Keen Affair’,Tommy booked a sellout tour of Ireland for
the duo.They later went on to record the much acclaimed album ‘The Long Grazing
Acre’which was released on the compass label in 2003.The pair continue to tour
and appear at festivals worldwide.
Tommy’s long overdue second solo
album was recorded in 2006 and released this year.Entitled ‘Song Ablaze’it is
an ambitious project with songs that range from traditional Irish and
traditional American to the works of contemporary writers again from both sides
of the Atlantic.The album includes an international cast of such stellar
musicians as 2006 grammy award winner Tim O’Brien(USA),Shetland fiddle master
Chris Stout,champion harp player Catriona McKay(Sco),David
Robertson(Sco,Capercaillie),James Blennerhassett(Irl,Mary Black/Brian
Kennedy)Eilis Kennedy(Irl)and Pete Grant(USA)