Homecoming concert for Limerick's Derek Hickey
ADARE musician Derek Hickey is to embark on a two-week nationwide tour this February with a homecoming concert in Limerick among the 12 dates.
Ireland’s national music touring and development organisation, Music Network are organising the tour that features 2024 TG4 Gradam Ceoil Musician of the Year, Hickey, along with 2024 TG4 Gradam Ceoil Group of the Year, The Kane Sisters and 2024 TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2024 Young Musician of the Year, Macdara Ó Faoláin.
The Limerick concert takes place on Wednesday, February 12 at the Lime Tree Theatre at 8pm.
Derek Hickey is widely acknowledged as one of Ireland’s most prominent and influential master accordion players.
His musical journey began at the age of ten, when his uncle left an accordion in the family home.
Derek learned dance tunes within weeks, though he didn’t begin lessons until the age of 12 under the tutelage of Dónal de Barra.
His professional career began when he joined the Shannonside Céilí Band, founded by the Liddy family. In 1992, at just 18, Derek joined Johnny ‘Ringo’ McDonagh’s band Arcady, and three years later he was invited to join De Dannan, recording two albums and touring extensively until they disbanded in 2003.
In 2023, Derek performed at the National Concert Hall as part of the third series of the Irish Traditional Music Archive’s Drawing from the Well.
Derek is currently the button accordion tutor on the BA Irish Music and Dance at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
The tour runs from February 11-23 and aside from Limerick among the other venues are glór in Ennis on Sunday, February 16 at 3pm and St John's Theatre & Arts Centre in Listowel on Saturday, February 22 at 8pm.
Joining Hickey on tour will be Liz and Yvonne Kane, known as The Kane Sisters, who are highly-respected fiddle players from Letterfrack, Galway and, native Irish speaker Macdara Ó Faoláin, who is a bouzouki player from An Rinn, Co Waterford.