Sinéad McKenna (fiddlde)
Sinéad McKenna is an Irish musician from Augher, County Tyrone. As a multi-instrumentalist and singer, she is deeply rooted in traditional Irish music, drawing inspiration from the styles of her great-uncles Pete and Pat McKenna, as well as fiddle masters Tommy Peoples and Ed Reavy.
Her talent has been recognized through many performances in Ireland and internationally, including in Europe, the United States, and Dubai. Sinéad has won several awards at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and the prestigious Ed Reavy International Fiddle Competition in 2019. She has also appeared on television platforms such as RTÉ, TG4, and the BBC in the documentary The Northern Fiddler.
After moving to Belfast for her studies, Sinéad became an active part of the local music community, collaborating with renowned artists and participating in events such as Belfast Tradfest and the Pádraig O'Keefe Festival. In 2022, she was awarded the first Gradam Ceoil scholarship by Belfast City Council, allowing her to dedicate herself to her debut album, Faoi Lán Ceoil, set for release in March 2024. This album showcases her unique fiddle talent and her sensitive interpretation of traditional songs in both English, and Irish Gaelic.
Sophie Bardou (fiddle)
Having received classical training followed by jazz studies, Sophie Bardou specializes in traditional music, particularly Irish music. She energizes folk dances with the Collectif MARKUS and, more recently, the quartet Les Morues. In the realm of Irish music, she leads numerous musical projects, including the Lutecia Ceili Band with Tiennet Simonnin and the Doppler Trio with Elien Badaire and Samuel Gauthier.
Sophie is also very active in teaching and transmitting her musical knowledge. She conducts ensemble music workshops (Ris-Orangis, Nantes), taught Irish fiddle in Paris for 20 years, and gives numerous Irish fiddle masterclasses. Since 2017, she has been collaborating regularly with the Philharmonie de Paris, focusing on the exploration of Irish music.
Jillian O'Malley (flute)
Jillian O'Malley is a flute and tin whistle player and composer from Louisburgh, County
Mayo, now based in County Clare. Her traditional style and repertoire are strongly influenced
by musicians from Mayo, North Connacht and Gaeltacht Chonamara. She has won numerous
All-Ireland titles at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann down through the years, including the 2013
Senior Flute, Senior Tin Whistle and Senior Flute Slow Airs competitions in Derry. Jillian
was awarded the prestigious Seán O'Riada Gold Medal for flute players in 2020.
Her performance credits include television appearances on TG4's Ceolaireacht featuring
Mayo musicians, and Hup!, recorded live at Féile Chois Cuain, the traditional arts festival in
Louisburgh where she has served on the organising committee for the past ten years. In recent
years, Jillian has taught and performed at Ireland's leading traditional music festivals and
venues including Féile na Laoch, Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, Kilfenora TradFest, UCC
TradFest and Féile Chois Cuain. Later in 2026, Jillian will be performing with Ceoltóirí
Chualann in the National Concert Hall, Dublin.
Jillian has spent the past 8 years working as a professional Irish Language Translator. Having
spent a few of those years in Brussels, she is really looking forward to returning to Belgium
and to attending the Namur Irish Music Festival for the first time.
Micky Fearon (singing)
Micky Fearon is a talented singer and guitarist from Lurgan, Armagh. Honing his skills from local sessions and festivals, Micky is known for his powerful voice and guitar accompaniment throughout Ireland and further afield.
Micky is a member of the up and coming band « The Railway Boys », alongside renowned musicians such as Oisin Murphy and Pearse Larkin, who have recently performed at Electric Picnic, one of Ireland's biggest music festivals.
Micky also forms an international duo with Sinéad McKenna a sought after fiddler and multi instrumentalist from Tyrone. They have recently performed across France together in places such as Lorient , Normandy and Paris.
Samuel Gautier (concertina/accordion)
A multi-instrumentalist, Samuel Gauthier has devoted himself to Irish music for many years, first on the tin whistle and transverse flute, then on the concertina, and more recently on the accordion. A knowledgeable musician, he has been attending sessions and festivals for a long time and has been invited to give concertina workshops at various festivals across France. He is recognized by his peers, including in Ireland, for his solid sense of rhythm and musicality. He co-founded the group A Fig For A Kiss with Sophie Bardou in 2009, and more recently the Hoopoe Ceili Band in 2022 and the Irish Doppler Trio in 2023.
Élien Badaire (multi-instrument)
Elien Badaire studied at the Conservatoire d'Angers, where he obtained a DEM in jazz guitar in 2022. At the same time, inspired by a trip to Ireland and the music practiced in his family, he discovered Irish music and attended numerous Irish music festivals and sessions in France and Ireland.
After becoming a professional musician, he founded the Duo Taman (jazz and Irish music) with Baptiste Renou, then the Irish Doppler Trio (Irish music) with Sophie Bardou and Samuel Gauthier, as well as the Hoopoe Ceili Band (Irish dance music) with Camille Philippe. Over the years, Elien has quickly become one of the leading banjo players in this repertoire in France.
Ronan Healy (set-dancing)
Ronan Healy is a native of Kildare in Ireland but he lives in Belgium where he works as a teacher of English. He has been dancing Irish set dancing since his youth and has been teaching it for many years in his adopted country of Belgium, where he also organises traditional Irish music and dance events. He can teach set dancing in both English and French.
Cillian McCabe (guitar)
Cillian McCabe is a guitar, banjo and bouzouki player from County Monaghan in Ireland. He has played extensively throughout Europe and North America including a residency in Disney World in Florida. He hails from a very musical family, one grandparent being the founding organiser of the famous Féile Oriel in Monaghan and another the first cousin of renowned piper and collector Séamus Ennis. Cillian has also been teaching Irish traditional music for many years and will teach traditional accompaniment on the guitar and bouzouki this year in Namur. He usually plays in “drop D”, but he knows common tunings and, of course, welcomes trainees using a different tuning.
Lucas Lejeune (Junior workshop)
Lucas is a musician from Namur and a great enthusiast of Irish music. He grew up in a family deeply rooted in music — his mother being a classical flute teacher — and he is also the nephew of the late Jean-Louis Lejeune, founder of the Marsinne Folk Festival.
In traditional music, he has specialised in several instruments (fiddle, flutes, tin whistle, piano). His fiddle playing style has been particularly influenced by Bríd Harper, Kate Ní Shé, Sophie Bardou and Sinéad McKenna. He regularly performs at folk dances and concerts throughout Wallonia.
He teaches an instrumental ensemble class based on oral transmission at the Conservatory of Huy and also teaches transverse flute in various music academies in Belgium.