Born in Ennis, County Clare, along Irelands music-rich west coast, Gerry O'Beirne is a renowned singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (6 and 12 string guitar, tiple, and ukulele, slide guitar among others). Gerry grew up in Ireland and in Ghana in West Africa, and has since lived in England, California, and Mexico. Gerrys own compositions blend the passion found in traditional music with the freshness of contemporary song.
Gerry has toured the globe as a solo artist and with the Sharon Shannon Band, Patrick Street, Midnight Well, Andy M. Stewart, Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine, and the Waterboys. He has performed at the White House, opened for the Grateful Dead, and played electric guitar with Marianne Faithfull. He composed and recorded the score to River of Dreams, an artistic response to the River Shannon commissioned by the Irish Department of Arts and Heritage, and he has written music for film and theater.
As a producer, Gerry has a large number of albums to his credit, including Promenade by Kevin Burke and Michael ODhomhnaill (winner of the Grand Prix Du Disque at Montreux), "Irish Times" by Patrick Street, "Man in the Moon" and "Donegal Rain" by Andy M. Stewart, "First Foooting" by Anam, "The Connaughtman's Rambles" by Martin OConner, "Up Close" by Kevin Burke, "Lifting the Veil" and "Sacred Space" by Fiona Joyce, "To Anyone At All" by Clandestine, "Fine Small Storm" by Jen Hamel, "The Willow" by E. J. Jones, "Silver Hook Tango" by Australian singer-songwriter Kavisha Mazella, "When Two Lovers Meet" by Sarah McQuaid and most recently "Lumina" by Irish piper, low whistle player, and composer Eoin Duignan, which was hailed a stunning achievement by "Hot Press", Ireland's foremost music magazine.
Gerry's first solo album, "Half Moon Bay", featured his own songs and instrumental compositions. "Half Moon Bay" was citied as one of the 12 best releases of the year by "Performing Songwriter" magazine and was chosen as one of Folkworlds "Top Ten Albums" of the year. He has now released his second album "The Bog Bodies And Other Stories: Music For Guitar", which was named CD of the Month on the radio show Echoes.
Gerry has toured recently in Holland, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, performed solo at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and has taught musical composition from visual art at Swananoa Music Camp. He is currently at work on an album with fiddler Rosie Shipley.