Matt Cunningham – king of the jigs and reels

Musical maestro Matt Cunningham’s is not only celebrating 50 years as a traditional musician, he is 30 years working as a music teacher too!

Matt – from Headford – is a household name in the Irish music world, having become one of the most popular performers within the set and céilí dancing traditions.

His recordings for dancers have been lauded for preserving the tradition of set and céilí dancing across the globe.

“Thanks to Matt, dancers from Brisbane to Ballybofey and Beijing to Boston come together regularly to dance to his music while keeping the tradition alive,” remarked a spokesperson for the Headford branch of Comhaltas.

Although best known for his performances on accordion and fiddle, Matt’s ability to captivate an audience with a slow air on whistle has won him a legion of fans, with almost 100,000 YouTube hits alone for one of his whistle performances.

His emotive and haunting delivery of such compositions on the whistle has led him to perform before St Pope John Paul II and the Kennedy family.

In the early years of his career, Matt spent many nights performing in the very popular entertainment venue Teach Furbo in Connemara alongside the likes of Planxty, the Wolfe Tones and the Dubliners.

Derek Warfield of the Wolfe Tones has fond memories of that time.

“Music flowed from Matt whether it was entertaining at a céilí, cabaret or today as he is teaching. Matt performed as a guest with the Wolfe Tones from 1969 until 1983. When Matt shared the stage with us and opened the shows with tunes, he always had the crowd clapping and dancing instantaneously,” he recalled.

Matt only started teaching music reluctantly 30 years ago after requests from numerous parents who wanted their children to play.

“It just wasn’t something I had contemplated doing before that. Once I started however I just fell in love with it; I don’t consider it’s work as I really enjoy interacting with the young people every week and it’s a delight to see their development over time and to know that I am passing on the music in my own small way.”

Matt is also an accomplished Irish country singer and has performed with many of Ireland’s best known country artists over the years, including the late Larry Cunningham in the 80s. The pair worked on a cruise liner to the Caribbean together at one stage and during their time on board shared a cabin.

“It was very funny because although we weren’t related we had the same surname and always hung around together. The staff who hadn’t a clue who we were used to refer to us as Mr & Mrs Cunningham when they would see M & L Cunningham written on the dinner reservation,” he laughed.

Matt continues to perform both in and outside of Ireland with gigs around Ireland, the UK, Portugal and North America this year. In May he and his band will join musician Joanie Madden and her group Cherish the Ladies to perform on a cruise throughout the Caribbean.

Matt made his first recording in 1984 and since then has released 26 CDs and six DVDs. He received a platinum disc in 1996 for the worldwide sales of his Dance Music of Ireland collection. He also later published a music tutor book containing 298 traditional tunes.

To coincide with his 50th year in the music business, Matt has launched a special edition 50th Anniversary CD with his best loved tracks.

During Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann this August, Matt will be awarded a Bardic Award by the Ard Comhairle of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann at a special awards ceremony in Sligo town and TG4 will be airing a special documentary on him later this year.