Mairead Hurley is a concertina player from Ballymote, Co. Sligo,a region steeped in a rich musical tradition. She is currently based in Dublin. Coming from a very musical family, Mairead originally began playing tin whistle and flute, learning from her father Michael, before eventually settling on concertina as her preferred instrument. She has won numerous medals at All-Ireland level, including the prestigious title of All-Ireland Senior concertina champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Letterkenny in 2006. Mairead has performed and taught at various workshops, festivals and summer schools in Ireland, the UK, Germany, USA and Canada. In 2007 she was featured on the RTE radio programme "The Bloom of Youth", and has also made television appearances on the Fleadh programme and The Late Late Show on RTE. She is currently attempting to complete a PhD in astronomy in DCU but really likes playing the concertina much more than looking at galaxies.
