Violin Virtuoso Zoë Conway and former member of successful Indie band ‘The Revs’, John Mc Intyre, have put their stamp on the Irish music scene in quite a unique way.
The husband-wife folk duo possess a rare talent to draw upon different music genres to express the versatility of their knowledge.
Living in Cooley, Co Louth with their two children Eóin and Fiona, the pair have gained international recognition; playing for Irish presidents and international sold-out shows.
Folk Duo Zoë Conway and John McIntyre shot at their home in Cooley, Co Louth.
\ Colum Lynch Photography
Early life
Living across the road from each other as children in Dundalk, Zoë and John were completely unaware of the profound impact they would have in Irish music.
Zoë’s musical career started as soon as she could walk. Inspired by her older sibling’s love of music, she quickly picked up playing the piano, the tin whistle and then, at age nine, the fiddle.
“I was born into music,” she says. “All day, every day, we listened to trad music at home. It was a total immersion and it’s amazing now, looking back, at how lucky I was.”
One day after school, Zoë was watching television and saw a girl playing classical violin.
“I still remember the exact afternoon – the girl was playing Vittorio Montis’ Czárdás and I was mesmerised by the music.
“I then asked my dad – who was a great support to all of us – if I could start playing classical music, too. We went around to a lot of teachers, but most of them said no – because I was too late starting.”
She eventually found a teacher, Sheila Thompson, who taught her nearly every day for five years.
“It was just luck – she must have seen my potential early on,” Zoë explains. “My dad didn’t pay for any of those lessons for me.
“Sheila went against the grain of every other music teacher,” she continues, “she made me sit for hours watching videos of the greatest players; things that tennis players or golfers might do, but not really musicians. I had quite a few difficult years, growing up – I put a lot of pressure on myself; constantly practicing both traditional music and classical music.
“Thankfully, that difficulty led me to where I am today as I straddle the two disciplines, and that’s exactly what myself and John have worked on for our gig in the National Concert Hall,” she adds.
Violin Virtuoso Zoë Conway at her home in Castletowncooley, just outside Carlingford, Co. Louth.
Family ties
Similarly, John was exposed to music at a young age, taking up guitar after he moved to the Cooley mountains from Dundalk.
“My dad is from Donegal originally, and was a musician himself, so growing up I would have spent time sitting in smoked-up pubs watching him play,” he recalls.
“When we moved to Cooley, we had no television for long enough that I began to learn the guitar. For years, people would say ‘Your daddy taught you the guitar,’ but I actually taught myself,” John laughs.
“All of my father’s family used to play the guitar, and playing music felt quite natural when we went to visit them in Donegal,” he continues. “We can see it is quite natural with our kids now, too.”
John’s career began as an electric guitarist with The Revs, where he toured extensively around the UK, USA, Australia and Europe.
International Acclaim
The pair have recorded on major film soundtracks, including the American coming-of-age film Finding You and Universal’s Riverdance: The Animated Adventure.
Zoë has recorded on Samson Films’ award winning Float like a Butterfly and Disney’s Artemis Fowl as a soloist, with a hand-picked symphony orchestra in London.
John is also a sound engineer and has recorded most of the pairs’ work at their home in Cooley.
“We have a nice studio here – it’s funny to think that what we are recording here in our home goes to London or Hollywood,” John says.
John and Zoë say the biggest achievement of their careers so far is simply the fact they are both full-time, professional musicians and they have been able to make a living this way from the start.
“I decided I wanted to be a professional musician when I was 13 or 14, and we were both out earning money at that stage,” Zoë says.
“The fact that we’ve managed to make a living this long is remarkable.”
Zoë tells Irish Country Living that her most memorable moment in music was playing at the Fleadh Cheoil in Drogheda.
“We were playing our own music and there was just something about the atmosphere that was so magical,” she recalls. “That evening, I was so proud of all the work I had achieved for myself and what we had achieved for traditional music as a whole. I said to myself, at the end of our last tune at the concert, ‘If this is as good as it gets, I’ll be very happy,’” Zoë smiles.
Family first
Although Zoë and John often have to travel for work, their top priority is their two children – Eóin and Fiona – who are also musically gifted.
“When we were expecting our first child, we had to get it into our heads that there was a possibility that they would not be musical and would rather sports or other hobbies,” Zoë says. “Thankfully, they both love playing instruments and we love to hear our children play in our home.
“The most important thing to us is that our kids are happy and they don’t feel like we’re deserting them if we go off to play at a concert or something,” John adds.
Folk Duo Zoë Conway and John McIntyre shot at their home in Cooley, Co Louth.
\ Colum Lynch Photography
From a Forest to a Fiddle
This past September, Zoë was named RTÉ Concert Orchestras Associate Artist ahead of the orchestra’s concert, which will take place on 15 November, 2023.
“This has been the biggest project of our lives to date,” she says. “The first half of the concert features the world premiere of From Forest to a Fiddle accompanied by a live performance of my score.
“The idea started during lockdown. We began watching these beautiful films of people making pottery in their workshop. The films were peaceful and creative and something I dreamt of translating in my own work,” she adds.
Zoë and John then got the idea to film master craftsman Jim Mc Killop in his workshop in Co Louth as he makes a fiddle.
“Jim is very knowledgeable; he studied in Cremona in Italy – a place where the best violins in the world are made,” Zoë says.
The film captures Jim encapsulated in his own creative process, turning a rough piece of sycamore into a delicate fiddle.
Zoë composed melodies for the piece – which is 45 minutes long – and then handed it over to John to add colour to the piece.
“Some of the arrangements I made pulled the melody in a different direction,” John explains. “We both spent countless days perfecting it before handing it over to orchestrator, Gavin Murphy, who writes the piece for the orchestra.”
Whilst the film is on show at the National Concert Hall, Zoë will be performing on fiddle, John on guitar and they will be accompanied by the orchestra.
This project was supported by An Táin Arts Centre, The Arts Council and was commissioned by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Tickets for the event start at €15 and can be purchased at nch.ie
Read more
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Violin Virtuoso Zoë Conway and former member of successful Indie band ‘The Revs’, John Mc Intyre, have put their stamp on the Irish music scene in quite a unique way.
The husband-wife folk duo possess a rare talent to draw upon different music genres to express the versatility of their knowledge.
Living in Cooley, Co Louth with their two children Eóin and Fiona, the pair have gained international recognition; playing for Irish presidents and international sold-out shows.
Folk Duo Zoë Conway and John McIntyre shot at their home in Cooley, Co Louth.
\ Colum Lynch Photography
Early life
Living across the road from each other as children in Dundalk, Zoë and John were completely unaware of the profound impact they would have in Irish music.
Zoë’s musical career started as soon as she could walk. Inspired by her older sibling’s love of music, she quickly picked up playing the piano, the tin whistle and then, at age nine, the fiddle.
“I was born into music,” she says. “All day, every day, we listened to trad music at home. It was a total immersion and it’s amazing now, looking back, at how lucky I was.”
One day after school, Zoë was watching television and saw a girl playing classical violin.
“I still remember the exact afternoon – the girl was playing Vittorio Montis’ Czárdás and I was mesmerised by the music.
“I then asked my dad – who was a great support to all of us – if I could start playing classical music, too. We went around to a lot of teachers, but most of them said no – because I was too late starting.”
She eventually found a teacher, Sheila Thompson, who taught her nearly every day for five years.
“It was just luck – she must have seen my potential early on,” Zoë explains. “My dad didn’t pay for any of those lessons for me.
“Sheila went against the grain of every other music teacher,” she continues, “she made me sit for hours watching videos of the greatest players; things that tennis players or golfers might do, but not really musicians. I had quite a few difficult years, growing up – I put a lot of pressure on myself; constantly practicing both traditional music and classical music.
“Thankfully, that difficulty led me to where I am today as I straddle the two disciplines, and that’s exactly what myself and John have worked on for our gig in the National Concert Hall,” she adds.
Violin Virtuoso Zoë Conway at her home in Castletowncooley, just outside Carlingford, Co. Louth.
Family ties
Similarly, John was exposed to music at a young age, taking up guitar after he moved to the Cooley mountains from Dundalk.
“My dad is from Donegal originally, and was a musician himself, so growing up I would have spent time sitting in smoked-up pubs watching him play,” he recalls.
“When we moved to Cooley, we had no television for long enough that I began to learn the guitar. For years, people would say ‘Your daddy taught you the guitar,’ but I actually taught myself,” John laughs.
“All of my father’s family used to play the guitar, and playing music felt quite natural when we went to visit them in Donegal,” he continues. “We can see it is quite natural with our kids now, too.”
John’s career began as an electric guitarist with The Revs, where he toured extensively around the UK, USA, Australia and Europe.
International Acclaim
The pair have recorded on major film soundtracks, including the American coming-of-age film Finding You and Universal’s Riverdance: The Animated Adventure.
Zoë has recorded on Samson Films’ award winning Float like a Butterfly and Disney’s Artemis Fowl as a soloist, with a hand-picked symphony orchestra in London.
John is also a sound engineer and has recorded most of the pairs’ work at their home in Cooley.
“We have a nice studio here – it’s funny to think that what we are recording here in our home goes to London or Hollywood,” John says.
John and Zoë say the biggest achievement of their careers so far is simply the fact they are both full-time, professional musicians and they have been able to make a living this way from the start.
“I decided I wanted to be a professional musician when I was 13 or 14, and we were both out earning money at that stage,” Zoë says.
“The fact that we’ve managed to make a living this long is remarkable.”
Zoë tells Irish Country Living that her most memorable moment in music was playing at the Fleadh Cheoil in Drogheda.
“We were playing our own music and there was just something about the atmosphere that was so magical,” she recalls. “That evening, I was so proud of all the work I had achieved for myself and what we had achieved for traditional music as a whole. I said to myself, at the end of our last tune at the concert, ‘If this is as good as it gets, I’ll be very happy,’” Zoë smiles.
Family first
Although Zoë and John often have to travel for work, their top priority is their two children – Eóin and Fiona – who are also musically gifted.
“When we were expecting our first child, we had to get it into our heads that there was a possibility that they would not be musical and would rather sports or other hobbies,” Zoë says. “Thankfully, they both love playing instruments and we love to hear our children play in our home.
“The most important thing to us is that our kids are happy and they don’t feel like we’re deserting them if we go off to play at a concert or something,” John adds.
Folk Duo Zoë Conway and John McIntyre shot at their home in Cooley, Co Louth.
\ Colum Lynch Photography
From a Forest to a Fiddle
This past September, Zoë was named RTÉ Concert Orchestras Associate Artist ahead of the orchestra’s concert, which will take place on 15 November, 2023.
“This has been the biggest project of our lives to date,” she says. “The first half of the concert features the world premiere of From Forest to a Fiddle accompanied by a live performance of my score.
“The idea started during lockdown. We began watching these beautiful films of people making pottery in their workshop. The films were peaceful and creative and something I dreamt of translating in my own work,” she adds.
Zoë and John then got the idea to film master craftsman Jim Mc Killop in his workshop in Co Louth as he makes a fiddle.
“Jim is very knowledgeable; he studied in Cremona in Italy – a place where the best violins in the world are made,” Zoë says.
The film captures Jim encapsulated in his own creative process, turning a rough piece of sycamore into a delicate fiddle.
Zoë composed melodies for the piece – which is 45 minutes long – and then handed it over to John to add colour to the piece.
“Some of the arrangements I made pulled the melody in a different direction,” John explains. “We both spent countless days perfecting it before handing it over to orchestrator, Gavin Murphy, who writes the piece for the orchestra.”
Whilst the film is on show at the National Concert Hall, Zoë will be performing on fiddle, John on guitar and they will be accompanied by the orchestra.
This project was supported by An Táin Arts Centre, The Arts Council and was commissioned by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Tickets for the event start at €15 and can be purchased at nch.ie
Read more
Editorial: all roads lead to Lyrath Hotel for the Women & Agriculture conference
Land-based horticulture apprenticeship takes off
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