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About Joe
 Joe O'Donnell is one of the finest electric violin players performing in the
Celtic tradition. He's also widely acclaimed as a first-class mandolin-player, singer and composer.
Born in Limerick, Ireland, Joe began taking classical violin lessons at the age of twelve.
After seven years of study he won two scholarships for the Royal Irish Academy of Music
to study orchestral work. When Joe left the Academy, he took up playing lead
guitar but returned to the violin two years later. During this time he played for various groups,
including Decca's Granny's Intentions,
who had also featured Gary Moore on guitar.
This started a busy and productive period in the world of progressive rock music,
with Joe playing a key role on both sides of the Irish Sea.
In 1971, Joe moved to London and joined Woods Band for nine months,
featuring Terry and Gay Woods, founder members of Steeleye Span.
It was at this time that Joe started making electric violins
for his own use, including violectra and 8-string violins.
In 1973, Joe joined East of Eden stepping into the shoes of their celebrated fiddle-player
Dave Arbus. He was featured on their hit album Another Eden and toured Europe with the band until
they split in 1978.
In 1977, Joe released Gaodhal's Vision, a concept album of his own compositions,
heralded as a fusion of Celtic music with jazz and rock. Drawing on Irish Celtic
mythology, the music tells the story of the exodus from the Carpathian Mountains
to Ireland by a race of people known as The Milesians. The project followed a deal
with Decca after Joe approached Tubular Bells producer Tom Newman and Jon Field.
Joe was joined on the album by Rory Gallagher, Steve Bolton, Theodor Thunder (Alan Price Band)
and David Lennox (Ginger Baker, Blodwyn Pig, The Equals). The album was
re-released in 2004 on Sony’s BMG label with three new bonus tracks.
In the 1980s, Joe lived in Guernsey. During this period he remained active in
folk-rock music, and appeared with various line-ups at festivals in Brittany
and the Channel Islands.
In 1998, Joe moved to Coventry, to work with producer and musician
Martin Jenkins, former member of acclaimed folk bands, Dando Shaft,
Hedgehog Pie and Whippersnapper. Joe released his album, Shkayla and around this
time formed the first line-up of the band, Shkayla with Martin and his guitarist son Ray Jenkins.
In 2004, Martin and Ray took up new projects and a new line-up of Shkayla was established,
when Joe recruited guitarist Dave Perry (ex-US band, In Athens and Norwegian
prog-rock band The Truth Monkeys) and keyboards-player Martin Barter
(ex-Birmingham band, The Alliance).
In 2006, the expanded five-piece line-up of Joe O'Donnell's Shkayla performed
Gaodhal's Vision at the Warwick Folk Festival. This introduced new band members,
drummer Paul Johnston (of Midlands folk-rockers Meet On The Ledge)
and bassist Mark Fulton.
The show also featured The Celtic Vision Orchestra conducted by
Christopher Evans, plus dancers Sinead Lightley,
Amardeep Nanra and Indigo Dance & Performing Arts. The show was recorded for
later CD and DVD releases.
In 2008, Joe completed the long-awaited new Shkayla album Celtic Cargo. He is now
touring with the band’s latest line-up in which Martin Barter and Mark Fulton have
been joined by guitarist Si Hayden and drummer Brendan J.Rayner.
Joe uses Sonic Violins and a unique ceramic
violin made by John Stevens
(Joe is pictured with ceramic violin above).
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