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| The
Early Years |
1 of 3
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| Frankie
Gavin was born in County Galway in 1956 on the eastern side
of Lough Corrib, in a place called "Corrandulla". Frankie
hailed from a very musical family, and is the youngest of
four, with older brother Sean playing the accordion and sisters
Marion and Noirin also heavily involved in Irish traditional
music. Frankie's father, J.J. Gavin played the fiddle, while
his mother, Mary Crehan from Ballygar, and her brothers all
played music on the accordion or fiddle. |
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Frankie has been playing Irish traditional music since
the age of four when he started on the tin whistle. At the
age of seven he made his debut television appearance on
Irish TV and had appeared on American television by the
age of nine. Martin Rabbitt taught him to read music in
Galway, but he is largely self-taught and has a remarkable
ability for learning music by heart.
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In 1973, at the age of seventeen he was placed
first in the All Ireland Under-18 Fiddle Competition and
in the All Ireland Under-18 Flute Competition, both on the
same day.
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| Frankie
Gavin was heavily influenced by the early 78 US recordings
of Michael Coleman and James Morrison, which he listened to
at home and has always had a high regard for the latter. |
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