Willie and his brother Joe (now a Capuchin monk) were students of Martin Mulvihill. Willie is a devotee of the old-time style of fiddlers from east Galway and east Clare and formed a musical partnership with flute player Mike Rafferty. With Mike , he made the recording The New Broom. Willie and his wife Siobhán, a flute player from east Clare, have raised a large musical family and taught students young and old in New Jersey and at the Catskills Irish Arts Week.