the quartet
the musicians
Seamus McGuire
In 1995, Sligo fiddle-player Seamus McGuire voiced a well-considered idea to Belfast cellist and composer, Neil Martin.
They had recently worked together on Seamus' solo album, The Wishing Tree, a recording which crossed boundaries and revealed an undeniable magic in their musical partnership. This, along with a love of both classical and Irish traditional music led Seamus to suggest the idea of forming a string quartet which might cross some more boundaries. Four years later, The West Ocean String Quartet held its first tentative rehearsals at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in the nurturing setting of Annaghmakerrig. The adventure had just begun!
Seamus' musical heritage is firmly embedded in the flowing fiddle music of south Sligo. His parents, Paddy and Jo passed on their love of this tradition, but encouraged a parallel love of classical music. Playing Coleman and Morrison fiddle tunes in the same breath as Kreisler and Bach seemed quite natural, and Seamus managed to do both with style. Musical barriers didn't matter very much. An important first step had already been taken.
In the years which followed, Seamus won all the top national awards in Irish fiddle music, played for a year with The Dublin Symphony Orchestra, and formed the internationally-acclaimed traditional group, Buttons and Bows with his brother Manus, the accordion-player Jackie Daly and Garry O'Briain.
The success of Buttons and Bows led to The Wishing Tree solo album and Seamus' meeting with Neil Martin. One step had led to another; a new musical journey had begun!