Mick O’Connor (London, banjo)

London’s own Mick O’Connor, who plays Tenor Banjo, Mandolin, inherited a love of Irish music from his parents who came from County Kerry and Roscommon in Ireland. He learned tunes from the great London Irish musicians, including John Bowe, Bobby Casey, Tommy McCarthy, and Roger Sherlock, and is particularly influenced by Clare, Galway and Kerry styles of playing.

All Ireland winner on the tenor banjo in 1971, Mick has been playing since 1967 and is a veteran of the great days of the London Irish music scene of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. In 2013, he was honoured by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which bestowed its Bardic Award on him for his ‘exceptional contribution to the promotion of Ireland’s cultural traditions’.