Seán Smyth facts for kids

Seán Smyth is a talented Irish musician. He comes from Strade, a town in County Mayo, Ireland. He is famous for playing the Irish fiddle and the Tin whistle. He even won national championships for both instruments when he was young! Seán is probably best known for playing with the popular band Lúnasa for many years. In Lúnasa, he played alongside other amazing musicians like Kevin Crawford (flute and whistle), Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes and whistle), Donogh Hennessy (guitar), and Trevor Hutchinson (bass).

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Seán Smyth was born in Strade, County Mayo, Ireland. This area is close to Foxford. Seán isn't the only musician in his family! His sisters, Cora and Breda Smyth, are also well-known fiddle players. Breda also plays the tin whistle. Cora Smyth is famous for performing in Michael Flatley's big dance shows, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Before he became famous with Lúnasa, Seán won the All-Ireland senior champion title for both the whistle and the fiddle. He was very young when he achieved these honors. His first solo music album, called The Blue Fiddle, was released in 1993. This album was so good that Irish Echo magazine named it one of the "ten best albums of the year."

Music Career and Lúnasa

After his first album came out, Seán Smyth went on tour. He performed in countries across Scandinavia and Europe. He was joined by Donogh Hennessey, Trevor Hutchinson, flute player Michael McGoldrick, and uilleann piper John McSherry. This group also toured in Australia in early 1997.

These five musicians eventually decided to form an Irish traditional music group called Lúnasa in 1997. Later, Kevin Crawford joined the band, replacing Michael McGoldrick on woodwind instruments. Cillian Vallely also joined, taking over from John McSherry on the pipes. Lúnasa became very popular and spent two decades touring all over the world. They also recorded many successful albums together.

Seán Smyth has also played on other music recordings. These include a collection of songs called Ceol Tigh Neachtain (from 1989) and Music at Matt Molloy's (from 1992). He also appeared on Brendan O'Regan's album A Wind of Change (1992), Alan Kelly's albums Out of the Blue (1997) and Mosaic (1999), and Dónal Lunny's album Coolfin (1998).

External Links

• Lúnasa Homepage