MCTA Presents “An Irish Christmas” With John Doyle and Cathie Ryan
Dec 1, 2025 8:00 AM
Frostburg State University’s Mountain City Traditional Arts will host John Doyle and Cathie Ryan in “An Irish Christmas” on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. at 25 E. Main St. in Frostburg. The live entertainment is open to the public through general admission with a suggested donation of $15.
Doyle and Ryan are longtime friends who have shared decades of musical collaboration. Together they’ve toured as a duo throughout Europe, are members of the all-star ensemble The Irish Music Masters and are featured in the PBS special The Soul of Christmas.
From a musical family in Dublin, Doyle’s influences include well known English folk singers Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Richard Thompson and The Watersons; Scottish singers Dick Gaughan and John Martin; and fellow Irishmen Paul Brady and Al O’Donnell as well as his father, Sean Doyle - probably the biggest influence of all. Doyle went on the road as a professional at sixteen with the group Chanting. He went on to form the highly acclaimed super group, Solas, which took the folk and Celtic music worlds by storm, in no small part due to his powerhouse rhythmic guitar style and innovative arrangements. As a member of Solas, Doyle performed to sold out audiences nationally and internationally as well as appeared on many national television and radio programs. He’s since gone on to perform with a myriad of acclaimed musicians in multiple genres. Today, there are few artists more respected in the genre or more in demand in the studio as songwriter and performer.
With a professional music career spanning more than thirty-five years, Ryan has been in the vanguard of Irish music. She sings with luminous clarity and has a gift for unearthing gems from the Irish and American song traditions, as well as crafting originals that fit perfectly alongside them. Ryan has been featured on national and public television and radio throughout the world; Irish America Magazine twice named her one of the “Top 100 Irish Americans” and liveireland.com has twice honored her as “Irish Female Vocalist of the Decade.” When not singing, she leads tours of Ireland that focus on Irish music, folklore, myth and history.
“An Irish Christmas,” promises to be a magical evening with two of Irish music’s most highly regarded artists sharing their memories of festive Christmas traditions of Ireland in song, story, and in the pure joy of the season!
MCTA is a program of FSU and a founding member of Maryland’s Folklife Network. It receives support from the Maryland Traditions Program of the State Arts Council. For more information, call 301-687-8040.