Sean Quinn

In some of the posed group photos of 1950s New York Irish musicians, there is one lone youngster with a fiddle among the older men. That was Sean Quinn, oldest son of Louis Quinn. Sean is perhaps the only one in those photos left alive, and he is a font of information on the Irish music scene of the 1950s and ‘60s. Like Andy McGann, Sean took classical instruction, but he pursued it further, attending the famous Juilliard School and acquiring professional-level ability as an orchestral player. Sean never lost touch with his Irish roots, however, and as a teenager in 1965 became the first American-born musician to win an All-Ireland fiddle championship. With his musical siblings, Sean played in the Quinn family band, who toured Ireland in the 1960s and made an LP recording. He remains an active performer and teacher and has issued several recordings that include his own compositions in traditional style.