Conor Arkins

A multi-instrumentalist, researcher and teacher from Ruan in North Clare. With music and song in the house from a very young age, Conor quickly took to the fiddle and the flute and hasn’t looked back. His Clare style is representative of his local area and he as a particular grá for the playing of airs influenced by his teacher, Eileen O’Brien. This sympathetic understanding of the art of air playing led Conor to record his first and soon to be released  album; An Duanaire, a complete anthology of a series of airs from both the vocal in instrumental traditions.

A graduate of University College Cork, Conor was awarded two first class honours degrees, a BA in Music and Irish and a BMus. During his undergraduate studies, Conor was a recipient of the prestigious Quercus Talented Students Scholarship. He is now currently pursuing postgraduate research in UCC funded by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences’ Excellence Scholarship Program.Having received the Staff Gebruers Memorial Prize in Music, Conor’s research has also been co-funded by the Jago Trust. His research interests focus primarily on the music of West Clare, in particular the fiddle musics of Bobby Casey and Junior Crehan.

Currently recording an album with renowned Donegal accordionist Martin Tourish, their music weaves a spell of sensuous intimacy from start to finish. The album, Underground Cathedral, is scheduled for release in Summer 2020. Conor is in high demand as both a performer and teacher, having toured extensively at festivals and as a cultural ambassador for the Department of Foreign Affairs all around Ireland, the USA, Africa, Asia and Europe. When not abroad Conor runs several school based and extracurricular music education programs in the Cork County area.