Article Contributed by Dennis McNally
Published on 2026-09-18
Photo: Courtesy of Dublinesque
Eamonn Flynn grew up in a family that centered on joyous gatherings in which everyone sang, played, or told stories. His band Dublinesque furthers that spirit.
Born and raised in Dublin, Flynn adopted piano as his instrument and began to play with Rob Strong, father of Andrew Strong, the star of the popular Irish film The Commitments. Eamonn played keyboards on The Commitments soundtrack and toured extensively with them.
After moving to San Francisco, he spent 10 years working with Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters, along with other Bay Area musicians like Elvin Bishop and Maria Muldaur. But he always kept one hand in Irish music, working with the likes of The Black Brothers, siblings of Mary and Frances Black, and Finbar Furey.
After teaching a music course to kids at the Irish Center in San Francisco, Eamonn created a backing band for their end-of-term show—the result was Dublinesque.
Along with Flynn, the band features Darcy Noonan from Oakland on fiddle, who grew up immersed in Irish musical and dance culture, playing sessions at Berkeley’s Starry Plough from the age of nine.
On banjo is Hector Bragado, who grew up in Guernica playing and dancing to traditional Basque music. Felim Egan from County Offaly in Ireland completes the lineup on accordion and bodhran. Like Eamonn, Felim comes from an accomplished and well-known Irish musical family.
What began as a backing group for a show developed into a creative collaboration. Dublinesque have been delighting audiences with a combination of fiery, virtuosic Irish traditional music playing and moving original and traditional songs, all delivered in a celebratory show that mirrors the kind of parties Flynn grew up with in Ireland.
Their self-titled album features originals by Eamonn including “Sack ’Em Ups,” a droll story of grave-robbing in 19th-century Dublin, and “Butte, Montana,” about the town that became home to many Irish who endured appalling mining conditions in large part by holding on to their ethnic traditions.
As Irish critic Seán Laffey put it, “The well is not dry; Flynn is the bard to continue the canon of songs for Dublin, because every generation needs its memories and melodies.”
The album will be released in October by Little Village, a nonprofit record company with the mission of bringing harmony to a fractious world with diverse music that might not otherwise be heard.
