Deirdre Murtha grew up steeped in the Irish music tradition, as a singer and step dancer. Through her father’s local concert organizing in CT, her family hosted a steady stream of Irish musicians touring the US who often gave impromptu concerts and lessons in their living room. Deirdre traveled to Ireland with her family and lived in Galway for one year during college, soaking up the session scene there. While living in NYC, and attended and sang at weekly Irish music sessions. She performed frequently with Linda Hickman, Patrick Ourceau, and Brian Conway, and met her husband Sean through the no-defunct Paddy Reilly’s session. She met Dan and Bonnie Milner at South Street Seaport through the city’s maritime music scene and, for 30 years after, they blended both Irish and Maritime music as part of the New York Packet, The Johnson Girls, and The Milners and The Murthas. Deirdre appears on several of Dan’s Folk Legacy and Smithsonian CDs.
A Parting Glass: Dan Milner, Mick Moloney and Irish Music in Greenwich Village