Bill is out of commission until April 2023 due to hand surgery. Sorry.
Irish Ballads and Traditional Music. Solo, Duos, Trios, or Quartets with Uilleann pipes, guitar, fiddle, tin whistles, flute, highland pipes, bodhran.
Bill has performed publicly for many years for private parties, festivals, on the radio and in Irish pubs, both here and in Ireland, where he hosted numerous sessions, performed in pubs and GAA clubs, and also entertained for CIE Tours.
He plays solo and also with Ballycastle in its various permutations.
"Thank you and Andrew so much for playing at my in-laws 50th anniversary. U made the party so much fun!! We have gotten so many calls telling us how amazing you guys are. Apparently people were asking about you at the restaurant and listening by the doors! We hope we get to enjoy your music again...my husband said let's get them for everything!!" Best Eileen T. Event: June 2016 Anniversary Party
Brought such a special touch to our wedding, both the ceremony and cocktail hour. They were professional, friendly, and sounded amazing. We're so happy to have found them & highly recommend them. We received so many compliments!
Response from Bill O'Neal:
Thank you, Katie. We thoroughly enjoyed playing for your party on your and Brian's big day. --Bill
It was a pleasure meeting you and your band on Saturday. The music was great and we got so many compliments from guests. It really set the tone for the evening.
Bill, Andrew, and Chris played for the cocktail hour at our daughter's wedding which was an outdoor event at Mermaid Lake. They did a wonderful job and we received numerous compliments from our guests.
I have had the great pleasure of having Billy perform at many events I have run, everything from a small intimate pub night to an outside Irish festival to an event at the Trenton War memorial. At every event whether as a solo, duet or group, Billy has been the utmost professional, provided world class entertainment and entertained the crowds with a repertoire of music that appeals to all. Whatever you are looking for Billy can provide you will no be disappointed
I had the pleasure of meeting Bill several years ago and subsequently asked him to entertain audiences for various events over the past few years. I've found him to be a passionate musician with great talents and an all-around good guy. So many have witnessed him play solo, as a duet or with iterations of Ballycastle and gone home with a deeper sense/appreciation of Celtic music.
I now call Bill a friend, highly recommend you hear him play and perhaps engage him when you are looking for a great entertainer.
Bill's encyclopedic knowledge of these folk tunes and performance practice in this genre makes for a memorable experience. I consider him to be an institution in this area.
Bill has played at our family reunion and other events over the last 15 years. Bill's vocals, song choices and interaction with our family and friends has always been fantastic.
We love Irish music and we also love to hear Bill sing the songs.
The other musicians that Bill has join him in the events are also top notch!
Bill will bring that special added touch to your event.
We have a graduation party this summer. My first thought in the planning was to have Bill play at the event!
Thank you Bill and your friends for making our events lasting memories!
Price Range: $150 & up per player
Gig Length: 30 - 120 minutes
Languages: English
Numerous video and audio performance samples can be seen on my official website at (link hidden)
Bill and his band deliver an upbeat performance for cocktail hours, private parties, concerts and restaurant and pub venues. The band plays many traditional jigs, reels, etc and also most of the favorite Irish ballads.
See his set list tab for a list of some songs he performs.
Bill sings and plays acoustic guitar & harmonica.
Depending on the venue, he uses one or more of the following: Martin dreadnaught six string; Guild F body six string; Guild dreadnaught twelve string; Gibson Heritage six string; Godin Baggs Acousticaster six string; Gibson ES-125. All have electronic capability.
Bill O'Neal has performed publicly for many years, both here and in Ireland. His long-term haunts include Fiddlers Green in Co. Down, Sweeney's Saloon, Billy's Irish Pub/Tir na nOg, Phillips' Tavern, Div 1 AOH Hall and The Historic Eagle Tavern in Trenton; Shenanigan's in Manasquan; The Dubliner/Dublin House in Red Bank; Bristol AOH Hall; Ye Olde Anglesea Inn in Wildwood; and, most recently, hosting a weekly session for six+ years at Dubh Linn Square in Bordentown.
Acoustic or Amplified, depending upon your venue needs.
| April 23, 2016 • 5:00pm - 7:00pm | Wedding Cocktail Hour |
| May 23, 2015 • 4:00pm - 6:00pm | Wedding Cocktail Hour |
We perform many traditional tunes and ballads. Here are some examples. If we do not know a song, we can probably learn it if given advance notice. For recorded samples, please see Bill's website.
TRADITIONAL TUNES:
WELCOME TO LIMERICK
BALLYDESMOND POLKAS/EGAN’S POLKA
KID ON THE MOUNTAIN
SWALLOW’S TAIL/GANDER IN THE PRATIE HOLE/HASTE TO THE WEDDING
OFF TO CALIFORNIA GALWAY HORNPIPE
GIVE ME YOUR HAND
CADESIN DON TE SIN CHRIS sings
THE MASON’S APRON
IRISH WASHERWOMAN/BLACKTHORN STICK/KESH JIG
RED HAIRED BOY/BOYS OF BLUE HILL/THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
THE RAKES OF MALLOW/ROLLING IN THE RYE GRASS
THE LILTING BANSHEE/THE CLIFFS OF MOHER
COUNTY ARMAGH
MERRY BLACKSMITH/TEETOTALER’S/THE RIGHTS OF MAN
RYAN’S POLKA
THE BRITCHES FULL OF STITCHES SET
MAZURKAS (CHARLIE LENNON’S/VINCENT CAMPBELL’S)
THE KING OF THE FAERIES
ASHOKEN FAREWELL
NEWRY HORNPIPE
HARVEST HOME
MUSICAL PRIEST
SONGS:
Arthur McBride
As I Roved Out
Auld Triangle
Auld Lang Syne
Back Home in Derry
Band Played Waltzing Matilda, The
Banks of Claudy, The
Banks of Red Roses, The
Bard of Armagh, The
Belfast Mill, The
Belle of Broughton, The
Be Thou My Vision
Black Velvet Band
Body of an American, The
Boys of the County Armagh, The
Boys of Killybegs. The
Boys of the Old Brigade, The
Broad, Majestic Shannon, The
Bunch of Thyme
Carrickfergus
Cavan Girl
City of Chicago, The
Clare to Here
Cliffs of Doneen, The
Cockles and Mussels
Come Out, Ye Black and Tans`
Croppie Boy
Cuckoo's Nest, The
Danny Boy
Death of Queen Jane, The
Deportees
Diamondtina Drover, The
Dirty Old Town
Do You Love an Apple?
Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down?
Donegal Danny
Down By the Salley Gardens
Down Our Street
Drunken Sailor, The
Fairy Tale of New York
Fiddler's Green
Fields of Athenry, The
Finnegan's Wake
Flower of Scotland
Flower of Sweet Strabane, The
Foggy Dew, The
Four Green Fields
Galway Shawl, The
Gentle Annie
Give Me Your Hand
Grace
Grand Affair, The
Green Fields of France, The
The H Block Song
Hard Times
Hills of Kerry, The
Holy Ground, The
Hughes Lives On Forever
I Will Love You
If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Irish Heartbeat
Irish Rover, The
Irish Wedding Song
I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers
I'll Tell Me Ma
John Barleycorn Must Die
Jolly Beggar Man, The
Jug of Punch
Kevin Barry
L.A. Unicorn
Lakes of Ponchatrain, The
Lanigan's Ball
Leaving of Liverpool, The
Leaving the Land
Leaving of Nancy, The
Let Her Go Down
Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard
Lord Randal
Lorelei
Lough Sheelan Eviction, The
Lullaby of London
Maggie's Song
Man You Don't Meet Every Day, A
Mary of Dungloe
Men Behind the Wire, The
Mermaid, The
Merry Ploughboy
Misty, Foggy Dew
Moonshiner, The
Mother's Love is a Blessing, A
Mountains of Mourne, The
My Lovely Rose of Clare
My Youngest Son Came Home Today
N 17
A Nation Once Again
Nancy Spain
Navigator
Neidin
No Man's Land (Green Fields of France)
Now I'm Easy
One (the one by U-2 )
Only Her Rivers Run Free
Ordinary Man
Paddle Your Own Canoe
Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore
Pair of Brown Eyes, A
Parting Glass, The
Raglan Road
Rambling Irishman
Rare Old Mountain Dew
Rare Oul Times
Rathlin Island Song
Reason I Left Mullingar, The
Ride On
Rising of the Moon, The
Roddy Mc Corley
Rooster Song, The
Rosin the Beau
Royal Canal, The
Rose of Allandale, The
Sally McLennan
Sean South
Second Violin
Seven Drunken Nights
Shores of Botany Bay, The
Shores of Lough Bran, The
Silver in the Stubble
Smoke & Strong Whiskey
Song of the Wandering Aengus
Song for Ireland
Sons of Molly (Maguire)
Sonny's Dream
Spancil Hill
Steal Away
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Streams of Whiskey
Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six
Streets of New York, The
Summer In Dublin
Sweet Sixteen
Take Me Home to Mayo
Thousands Are Sailing
Town I Loved So Well, The
Transit Van
True Love Knows No Season
Typical Irishman
Voyage, The
Water's Wide, The
Weila Weila Waile
When You & I Were Young, Maggie
Whiskey in the Jar
Wife of Usher's Well, The
Wind in the Willows, The
Wild Colonial Boy, The
Wild Rover, The
With a Bang on the Ear
Yarmouth Town
| Andrew Koontz | Fiddler/Violinist |
| Christopher Finnegan | Bodhran, Vocals, Whistles, Uillean pipes, Bass & Six String Guitar. |
| Kaitlin Doyle | Bodhran |
| Bill O'Neal | Guitar and Vocals |
Can provide my own sound when necessary.
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