Áine Fitzpatrick (Flute & Whistle)

Áine Fitzpatrick is a native of the Gaeltacht of Ring, Co. Waterford. She moved to London at the age of 2, where she began attending Irish music and dancing classes, along with her sister Clare, now a fine fiddle player. She started competing in Fleadh Cheoileanna at the age of 10 and won the Great Britain Fleadh to qualify to her first All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. She then returned to Ring to live. She continued to compete for many years and was quite successful, winning 3 All Ireland Titles on Flute, and several Provincial titles as a solo and group musician.

Áine was lucky enough to grow up in Ring, a beautiful peninsula west of Dungarvan, which was a great base for a young musician growing up. Not only did she have her sister to join her for a session, but there were many young musicians of the same age in Ring at the time.

Áine has performed in numerous shows and has toured extensively with her music. She played with the Comhaltas Tour of Britain and Australia and also toured Europe in 1999 with Pure Irish Drops, a German based tour project, which featured in the Folkworld live act top ten for that year. Áine has also performed to audiences in Dubai, America, and Kuwait and has been playing in the West Waterford show "Booley House" for nearly 15 years. She now teaches tin whistle and flute to almost 100 children a week here in Ballyduff Upper, fulfilling her wish to teach and hand over the music to the younger generation. Read more about Ballyduff music and dance classes.