Seamus McGuire

Seamus McGuire was born in Sligo, renowned worldwide as the natural home of traditional Irish fiddle-playing. He grew up in a family which nurtured diverse musical interests - the recordings of Fritz Kreisler and Yehudi Menuhin took turns with Michael Coleman and James Morrison on the family record player. These early influences were to have a long-lasting effect, and Seamus is now recognized as one of Ireland's most versatile fiddle players, at ease with both traditional and classical music.

At the age of fifteen he won the prestigous Fiddler of Dooney competition, and a few years later the Oireachtas senior fiddle title. This was followed by a period of classical playing with the Dublin Symphony Orchestra.

In 1983, Seamus and his brother Manus joined Jackie Daly and Garry O'Briain to form Buttons and Bows, one of the most influential groups in Irish music in that period. They introduced a new dimension to the tradition with elegant waltzes from Quebec and Ontario, and hauntingly beautiful airs and harmonies from Shetland and Scandanavia.

Buttons and Bows recorded three critically-acclaimed albums and toured extensively in the US and Canada.

Along with the flute-player John Lee and guitarist Arty McGlynn, Seamus recorded 'The Missing Reel', a unique album of forgotten fiddle and flute music from County Leitrim, now regarded as an essential part of any collection of Irish music recordings.

In his solo recording, 'The Wishing Tree', released in 1995, Seamus explores his interest in classical music and music from other world traditions. One of the best-known tracks from the recording is 'We and the moon are neighbours', a love song learned from Fairouz, the great Lebanese singer.

Among the guest musicians on 'The Wishing Tree' was Neil Martin, the Belfast cellist and composer. This meeting led to a musical partnership based on their mutual grounding in both traditional and classical music. In 1999 Seamus and Neil founded The West Ocean String Quartet, an ensemble which has recently been described as 'managing effortlessly to combine tradition and innovation like nothing on earth'.