Tucson Irish Music Showcase February 27-28, 2026

Mary Bouley is a classically trained musician on the Harp has performed with world renown groups including Cherish the Ladies and The Chieftains. Mary currently plays as the duet Strike Your Fancy with Keith Reins.

Margaret Eller also know as Margy Hennessy grew up in Clonmel County Tipperary Ireland. Margys father has the best singing pub in Ireland where she was exposed to lots of Irish music.Margy (Mairead) loves to sing in her native language and share that with others. She learned to play the bodhhran from the late great Paul Phillips from Belfast Northern Ireland.Margy has lived in Tucson for over 25 years and has raised her family here.

Having just picked up the B/C Irish button accordion in 2007, J.P. Thom-Gronachan is finally ready to pass on some of that knowledge. Music for J.P. started formally in 1958 with cornet, spread out from 1965 with guitar, then 5-string banjo, mandolin, and many others through the years. Teaching started in 1976, been doing it in the private lesson sphere ever since. Currently teaching at The Chicago Music Store in Tucson and participating in Irish music sessions wherever found. J.P. also sings regularly from the Sacred Harp with a local Tuscon group.
He has more than 25 years of experience at breaking down music practicum and music theory into bite-size pieces for any student, whether that student is 8 years old or 80. Although J.P earned a B.A. in music from Arizona State University, his focus and background is in the non-conventional or ethno musicological fields such as folk strings and free reed areas.

Born and raised in Dublin, Beth Solinsky began Irish Dancing at the local church hall with the neighborhood children on Saturday afternoons. Fast forward many years, a transatlantic move to Tucson, marriage and children. Beth returned to Irish dancing at the request of her oldest daughter, who wanted to compete in a parent/child 2 hand competition at Feile Rince Tucson. That began a long dance career, first with the Bracken School if Irish dance and then The Maguire Academy of Irish Dance. She is delighted to be back again with the Bracken School. As well as becoming an assistant teacher and ceili coach, she has competed in multiple Feiseanna, and Western Regional Oireachtas, winning competitions in adult solos, championships, and team events. Beth also is very active within the local
Irish community promoting Irish dance and culture at various events and venues.

Mikey Dunlaveybegan his music career as a is a singer and guitarist in 1997, inspired by The Dubliners and Clancy Brothers. He later formed The Celtic Hooligans band performing for more than a decade in the western PA/NY region. Mikey later took up the Uilleann Pipes and studied at the Ceol na Coille school of Irish Music in Letterkenny, Ireland. He's learned from such piping greats Martin Crossin, Joe Abarta, and Kieran O'Hare. Mikey and wife Katie formed The Wild Swans in 2023 and have performed in many concerts and festivals in the Southwest. 

Dave has been playing and teaching mandolin for many years. Inspired by a live performance of DeDannan in the 1980’s, Dave became enamored with the emotional variety of Irish music. He has performed and recorded with Round the House, the Privy Tippers and STEAM, and is involved with many local music projects. These include Puca and the Wild Ones, Kismet and the Mighty Open Band for the Tucson Friends of Traditional Music. Currently, he is a teacher and director at the Colorado Roots Music Camp, and has been on staff at Steve Kaufman’s Kamp since 2017.

Mariah Mccammond on Fiddle, a Tucson native Mariah McCammond has performed in local bands such as Loveland and Ex-Cowboy, and has appeared in musical productions such as Big River and Always Patsy Cline. She currently performs in her own projects Hatpin Duo and Thistle & Bear, and teaches music privately through her own music studio.