Martin Wynne

Martin Wynne (1913–1998), from Everlawn, Bunninadden in south County Sligo, arrived in New York in 1948 after spending some years before and after the war in London, where he played with fiddler Joe O’Dowd in dance halls run by their fellow Sligo man Johnny Muldoon. Martin was immediately welcomed into New York’s elite Irish music circles among players who already knew his reputation as a composer of newly minted “traditional” melodies. A shy and retiring man, Wynne did not record or play in dance bands in New York. But he loved a good session and was always ready to share a tune with younger players, most notably Brian Conway, who credits Martin with teaching him the intricacies of the old Sligo bowing style. In 1989, Martin returned to Sligo, where he was made the honorary president of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, held that year in Sligo town.