Brenda Castles

Brenda Castles graduated from the Vet College in Ballsbridge in 2001 and went straight to work in Cumbria during the foot and mouth pandemic. In between travelling the world after graduation, she worked as a locum all over the UK before coming back to Ireland to continue her work in the companion animal field.  She still does some part time work as a vet. 

Brenda comes from a rich tradition of music in Co. Meath, having learned concertina from Rena Traynor and concertina maestro, Mícheál Ó'Raghallaigh. She has several All-Ireland Fleadh titles to her name both in solo and group competitions and was a finalist in one of the early Young Traditional Musician of the Year competitions. Music has taken her around the world from Hong Kong to Reykjavik, Taipei to Tipperary.

In 2016 Brenda released her first solo album of traditional Irish music on concertina, Indeedin You Needn't Bother to critical acclaim and her latest album, The Light Side of the Tune has just been released.

Brenda is much in demand as a performer and teacher and is a regular at arts weeks and festivals globally.  She performs both as a solo artist and with the Green Fields of America collective.  She has recently completed a residency at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris and is fresh from a solo performance at Temple Bar Tradfest in Dublin.