Marty Fahey is a Chicago-based Irish musician (button accordion and piano) who grew up playing music with the likes of Liz Carroll, Jimmy Keane, Michael Flatley, Johnny Harling and Tommy Masterson.  Like his peers, he was mentored by a generous and talented group of native Chicago Irish musicians – Eleanor Kane Neary, Johnny McGreevy and Joe Shannon – and also by a wonderful group of Irish immigrant musicians – Martin Byrne, Tom Masterson Sr., Seamus Cooley, Pat Cloonan, Nancy Harling, to name a few. He has also been deeply influenced by the accordion playing of Lar Gavin, the late Paddy Gavin and Paddy O’Brien.

His parents, Martin Sr., and Mary introduced and encouraged his interest via their own deep and direct involvement in local Irish cultural affairs: Martin, with his weekly Irish radio program and Mary, via her teaching/judging of Irish dancing. Since the 1980s, Marty has been active in the local session scene with musicians such as Martin Hayes, Tim Langen and Brendan Bulger and is also as a founding and current member of The Broken Pledge Ceili Band alongside other great players, including co-leader, Sean Ryan.

At a compositional level, he has been influenced by many people but particularly by the musical ethos of the following composers: Paddy O’Brien, Josephine Keegan, Ed Reavy, Liz Carroll, Billy Mc Comiskey, Paddy Fahey, Carl Hession, Brendan McGlinchey, John Brady and Charlie Lennon. As well, the melodies of the likes of Damien Connolly, Michael Rooney, Ryan Molloy, Eileen O’Brien and Liz and Yvonne Kane have been inspirational. In 2021, Marty published a book of his compositions – The Dreamer – which features over 100 of his tunes dating back to the mid-1970s. https://martinfahey.com

Professionally, Marty spends his time as the Curator for The O’Brien Collection, a unique assembly of Irish art, sculpture and furniture outside of Chicago.  As an art curator and a musician, Marty brings both a curatorial and a musical perspective to the appreciation and exploration of Irish art and culture. These dual passions find monthly expression in Notre Dame’s Keough-Naughton Institute’s website series -” Irish Art Amplified”.

https://irishstudies.nd.edu/initiatives/special-projects/irish-art-amplified/.

(As you will see and hear in the link to the Saothar series below, four of his compositions featured are directly inspired by his interactions with pieces of Irish Art.)

Marty lives with his wife Patti on a little horse farm outside of Chicago where they are both enjoying their new roles as Grandparents.