Had it not been for Fate, I would have grown up across the road from one of the World's most famous golf courses in Ballybunion, Co. Kerry. My parents were unable to buy the house of their dreams and Liam and I were packed up aboard the Cunard liner Aquitania and pointed towards Canada. We came to New York after 2 years in Toronto.

I spent 3 years at a boarding school in the Midlands of England and had the last year of secondary school at a huge public high school in NYC complete with pom-pom cheerleaders in short skirts. It was a change.

We sang Irish songs at home. Many of them were traditional. In 1961, Liam loaned me a recording of selections from Gavin Greig's "Last Leaves of the Traditional Ballads" by Robin Hall & Jimmy MacGregor. I became very keen to find out more about folk music.

In the early '70s, I started singing shanties at South Street Seaport and, shortly afterwards, became active at The Irish Arts Center in NYC. In the mid '70s, I formed a group called The Flying Cloud with Paddy Reynolds, a Sligo-style fiddler from Co. Longford, who later recorded with Andy McGann and Paul Brady, and with Brian Brooks who went on to play with The House Band. There were a number of personnel changes. We played at The Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1977 and recorded the same year. Brian and I also recorded in 1977 with our friends, The Starboard List.

With the help of friends, I ran a folk club at The Eagle Tavern in NYC for 10 years, finishing in 1984. I pretty much gave up music for my job in the airline business for many years after that.

I started singing and fishing again a couple of years ago and I finished up work with Lou Killen, Mick Moloney, The Irish Tradition and some NYC friends on my CD of Irish sea songs. Folk-Legacy put it out late last year. We're working on another CD with a different theme now.

I sing mostly with Bob Conroy and Brian Conway, both New Yorkers. Bob plays guitar and banjo and Brian is an outstanding Irish fiddler who won the All-Ireland Championship in 1986. Bob and I will be in Ireland, California and England before this year is over. I also organize the sea music concerts at South Street Seaport. I still work in the airline industry. I just don't take it so seriously anymore.

All the best,
Dan