About
About the band
We’re Mark, Liam and Thomas, a folk, ballad and trad trio from Galway. We’ve been playing together since 2012.
Meet the band
Mark, Liam and Thomas have performed together since 2012. We play guitar, banjo, whistle and mandolin.
Mark Costello
Vocals · Guitar
Mark sings and plays guitar. He became interested in folk music at twelve after hearing a Luke Kelly recording following a local singing session. The Kings were his first experience of live performance; he also plays with other bands and as a solo musician. Outside music, he works as a teacher.
Liam O’Grady
Vocals · Banjo
Liam sings and plays long-neck five-string banjo. He grew up in Ireland and took up the banjo in his early teens. Alongside touring with the band, he works as a software engineer in London.
Thomas Ryan
Whistle · Mandolin · Guitar · Harmonica
Thomas is from Moylough, County Galway. He began tin-whistle lessons in primary school with Matt Cunningham. He plays whistle, mandolin, guitar and harmonica, and also performs with other groups. Outside music, he works as a biomedical engineer.
Our story
We started playing local venues around Galway in 2012. Our self-titled debut followed in 2013, and we released RíVive in 2016. Our influences include Luke Kelly and The Dubliners, The Fureys & Davey Arthur and The Clancy Brothers.
Since then, we’ve played pubs, theatres and festivals across Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe, the United States and the UAE. We’ve made three US tours, with stops including Rockwood Music Hall in New York, The Burren in Somerville, the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, the John Boyle O’Reilly Club in Springfield, The Bur Oak in Madison and Peoria Irish Fest.
After more than two years without a show together, we returned with a charity Christmas concert at The Mall Theatre in Tuam in December 2022. Since then we’ve continued touring and recording, with The Rare Old Mountain Dew, The Lonesome Boatman and The Banks of the Roses among our recent releases.
We’ve supported The Wolfe Tones and played alongside Leo Moran of the Saw Doctors, Sharon Shannon, Zoë Conway & John McIntyre and the Julie Fowlis band.
2012
Formed in Galway in May; first gigs in local venues.
2013
Self-titled debut album recorded at Black Rose Studios, Menlough. First single, Mayo, Take It Home. Support to The Wolfe Tones in Kilconnell.
2016
RíVive released. The Rocky Road to Dublin video filmed in Abbeyknockmoy.
2017
Right All Right. National TV ahead of Galway’s All-Ireland hurling final win — their first since 1988. An honorary concert for astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield in Limerick, who joined the band on stage for a song.
2018
Support to The Wolfe Tones at Semple Stadium, Thurles.
2019
St Patrick’s Festival, Luton.
2022
Sold-out charity Christmas concert, The Mall Theatre, Tuam — the first show in over two years.
2023
St Patrick’s Day on the Grote Markt, The Hague, with Sharon Shannon; London; headline at Zilleghem Folk Festival, Bruges; first US tour — New York, Long Island and Boston.
2024
Second US tour including a headline slot at Peoria Irish Fest; Belgium; The Rare Old Mountain Dew released on St Stephen’s Day.
2025
Netherlands tour and the UAE; The Lonesome Boatman.
2026
The Banks of the Roses, filmed in Rinville Park on Galway Bay.
Photos
Around Galway: Shop Street, the Long Walk, Salthill and Connemara.
