Biography
"One of, if not, the foremost fiddle player of his generation"
- McNeela Music
About Cathal Hayden
Cathal Seán Hayden was born on 13 July 1963, in the village of the Rock, Co Tyrone outside Pomeroy, an area immersed in traditional music. The third in the family of eight, he was born into a deep musical background. His father played the banjo and fiddle, and his mother was a pianist, while both grandfathers were fiddle players. His first instrument was a tenor banjo before since progressed onto fiddle.
Cathal recorded his first solo album, “Handed Down” in 1980, with his close friend and mentor, Arty Mc Glynn accompanying him on guitar. The tunes present on the album were all music that was passed down to him from his father through the years. Cathal has since released 3 more solo offerings with “Cathal Hayden” (1999), “Live in Belfast” (2006) and a solo banjo album “Hooked on Banjo” (2016) all to great acclaim.
Cathal’s first step into stardom began in 1988, with his participation in the band “Arcady”, which was set up by Johnny “Ringo” Mc Donagh, who was a previous member of Dé Danann and an accomplished bodhrán player. In 1991, after leaving “Arcady”, Cathal formed the group “Four Men and a Dog”, creating history as one of the most successful Irish Traditional groups of the decade.
Their first album, “Barking Mad” (1991) won critical acclaim from all circles and became one of the most successful Irish Traditional albums ever. It also went on to win the Folks Roots award for “Best Album” in 1991, becoming the first ever Irish band to pick this accolade, leading the band to release several albums since; “Shifting Gravel” (1993), “Doctor A’s Secret Recipies” (1995), “Long Roads” (1996), “Maybe Tonight” (2002), “Wallop the Spot” (2007) and “And the Band Played On” (2016).
He formed numerous alliances with other musicians, including the renowned Irish singer and songwriter Christy Moore and Bothy band piper Paddy Keegan but to name a few. Such alliances have taken him to far flung places like Brazil, playing for former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Tours of Japan with the famous O’Domhnaill family from Donegal and places like China, Iceland & the Faroe Islands as a guest of the Donal Lunny band.
Cathal has also toured extensively with accordionist Mairtin O’Connor and guitarist/singer Seamie O’Dowd for over a decade and together they have released two albums named “Crossroads” (2008) and “Going Places” (2012).
More recently he has formed a group with brother Stephen Hayden and Niall Murphy naming it the Bow Brothers for which they released an album of the same name “Bow Brothers” (2017) and performed all throughout Ireland and abroad.
Throughout the years, Cathal has earned admiration through his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, playing a pivotal role in the evolution of traditional Irish music, bringing it to a worldwide stage and making it more popular than ever before.