Bill The Bard

I’m a ballad collector, singer, musician, writer, amateur historian, and performer hailing from Co. Tipperary in Ireland and host of The Lost Songs of Ireland Podcast.
I have a deep interest in Irish folklore, mythology as well as Irish music, songs and literature.
My passion is collecting old, lost and forgotten songs and ballads and working to reconstruct them, set them to music to record and perform while sharing their stories, touching on folklore and local history.
My first book on this topic is recently published and available in selected book shops and online via my website.

I’ve been either putting on shows or performing for almost two decades spanning many genres over the years and have plenty of experience on, as well as behind the stage. As Bill The Bard I’ve hosted workshops as part of The Munster Fleadh 2024, National Heritage week and the Bealtaine festival in Tipperary as well as festivals and bar gigs up and down the country, in the UK and on mainland Europe.

As well as this I like to play old well loved Irish ballads by the likes of The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The Pogues, Dominic Behan, Percy French and many, many more as well as some of the old unknown songs I’ve reconstructed. For me the story is as important as the song.