The Druids Irish Folk Band – Songs & Stories of Ireland

The band was formed in 2008 and quickly became a leading act on the Irish Folk and traditional music scene. Winning awards locally and nationally for their culturally unique music.

After nearly ten years The Druids are now an integral part of the Irish Folk Scene. Their songs carry the story of Ireland, songs and stories which are delivered with passion and conviction. The Druids have completed tours of Ireland, Scotland, UK, Denmark, Belgium, and Spain. Having toured constantly over the past number of years The Druids are now a well established group. Their live show is a must for all lovers of Irish song music and history. It is both entertaining and educational. The Druids are winner of Best Live Act at the Irish Folk Music Awards 2017.

The Druids Current Line Up:

Mick O’Brien (Wexford now living in Nurney Kildare)
Mick has been described in recent times as “The Best front man” in Irish Music. His story telling and analogs before songs build a profile about the song and at all times captivates the majority of an audience into THE DRUIDS experience. Mick who comes originally from Ballycanew Co. Wexford(now living in Newbridge) has been around the block in terms of music, travelling the world with groups such as CITY FAIR and THE SHAMROCKERS,Mick also worked with the famous comic SHUAN CONNORS for some years. But his love at all times has been for the songs of Ireland and the history in which they tell.


Gary Lawlor (Clane, Co.Kildare)
Gary started playing music from the age of 5 years old, tin whistles and singing were his passion and especially songs and stories of Ireland.

Coming from a long line of Traditional Irish music within his family he started to learn how to play guitar at 10 years old. He also studied music as a subject in my Junior certificate and obtained a C Grade on higher paper. During these 3 years he learnt how to play the recorder.

Gary started to perform music live in pubs and venues professionally at the age of 22 years old. He now plays Guitar and sings Irish ballad, folk songs.

In 2008 he formed The Druids as an original member. In September 2014 he took a career break from the band for family reasons. During his time within the band he has recorded 3 Albums and toured regularly with the band over 5 years.

In 2018 he re-joined The Druids on a full-time basis. Gary’s key attributes within music is Singing, Playing Guitar, Tin Whistle.


Neil Harney (Athlone Co. Westmeath)
Neil started playing the button accordion at the tender age of nine. He developed his skills and technique under the guidance of James O' Donoghue, a profound accordion player/teacher in the Athlone area of County Westmeath.

Though a traditional instrument , Neil developed a very modern style of accordion playing as he grew up listening and learning from the skills of Sharon Shannon, Mairtin O' Connor and Dermot Byrne.

It became evident that Neil's talent was growing as he started to win many competitions for playing the accordion including the Ferbane Feis Ceoil and the Roscommon Fleadh which would be the most prestigious underage competition in the world.

Having spent a few of his teenage years as a DJ, Neil started to experiment with combining traditional music on the accordion with other genres including dance, pop, country, folk and hip-hop. At the age of 18 he then formed his first band " OnRail " which focused mainly on mixing genres as this was where he started to excel.

The band were on the road touring mainly the midlands region of Ireland for a few years until Neil got the call to move to Dublin to further his career in becoming a full-time working musician. At the age of 25 , Neildecided a move to Dublin was best to further his career and gain more valuable experience playing to tourists from all over the world on a daily basis. His base for performances was Templebar , Dublin. Performances mainly took place in pub venues but also included corporate events and festivals (Electric Picnic).

It was here he got the chance to play with the best trad/folk musicians in the country of Ireland. This also led to many trips/tours around Europe where he got a chance to gain tour experience and also play to different audiences.

Neil was a full time musician in Dublin right up until March 2020 when the covid19 pandemic hit and going down another career path looked likely until the summer of 2020 when he got a call from a former musician Zak Moran to whom he played many years with in Dublin and also formed a group at that time called " Hibernia ". Zak was a member of '' The druids " for a number of years and they were on the look for a new melody player to join the band. Neil was delighted the opportunity arose and took it when joined the band in June 2020.

As gigs were minimal because of lockdowns in Ireland the band did numerous amounts of practice and began to create a new sound which really only started to come to life in September 2021 when restrictions began to lift. The band started to tour the country of Ireland again and Neil also got his first tour to the UK with the band in November of 2021.Neil began to share some ideas with the band on new material and this will be evident as the band moves forward into a new era. A new album is also on the horizon which he plays on numerous tracks and will be shared with the public in April 2022. Neil looks forward to working with the band into the future so that they can form a new sound which will hopefully reach all four corners of the globe.


Kevin Rooney (Santry, Co Dublin)
Kevin started his musical journey at a young age, singing before he could say a word.

He was born into a musical family with all siblings being in bands or singing songs as Gaeilge at the Feis Ceoil and other events.

His dad has been a musician all his life singing a plethora of genres from Irish ballads to showband songs, to rock and roll and modern pop songs.

When Kevin was 10, hedecided to really try play the guitar more than just a little strum. He started busking in Dublin City centre when at the age of 12 with a friend.

Playimg the unique style of Irish Folk songs.

Kevin had been performing at school events, small gigs and talent shows when he wasn’t busking or at school.

Although he had been singing ballads in this time, it wasn’t until he was 16 that he relearned the guitar in DADGAD tuning and started learning how to accompany traditional Irish dance music at Ceoltóiri Chluain Tarbh with the teaching of Darragh Lynch the guitarist from the band Lankum. That was a turning point for Kevin as 8 years on he is now only playing Irish music and almost solely playing in DADGAD having had more lessons from some excellent players such as Cillian McCabe, Mark Kelly (Altan) and Seán O’Meara (The Ollam).

Kevin had been The Druids stand in player over a number of years and in late 2021 Kevin joined the band as part of their UK Tour. In 2022 the opportunity arose for a full time position with The Druids and he was delighted to accept. He has brought a new Unique sound to The Druids. Kevin plays Guitar, 6 string Banjo & Sings