welcome

to the website of button accordion player damian mckee.

about

Damian McKee was brought up in Dunloy Co.Antrim, and is a renowned accordion player who has performed on a myriad of stages across the world.

He has amassed a wealth of experience onstage playing with Beoga since 2002, in earlier years as part of Comhaltas tours, a brief spell stepping in to play with Solas, and more recently playing with folk singer, Niall Hanna.

For decades, he has taught music and remains dedicated to passing on traditional music to all generations.

Damian is a prolific composer with a wide repertoire of self penned tunes, many of which have been recorded during his time with Beoga. Together, over 22 years they have released several critically acclaimed albums, earning a shortlisting for a Grammy nomination, and touring globally with notable performances including the BBC Proms in the Park, the USA Billboard Awards and, in 2018, the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury with Ed Sheeran.

In 2024 Damian releases Moyola Cottage, his debut solo album of 10 original tracks. Moyola Cottage is written from the heart and inspired by home, family and memories, featuring tunes ranging from melodic slow pieces to moody marches and of course a plethora of reels, jigs and polkas, arranged with a bit of attitude.

moyola cottage

Little did I think that it would take 47 years for this album to see the light of day. It is a far cry from where it all began in a room upstairs in Dunloy Parish Centre, when I was 7 years old. Every Saturday night, myself and my 5 siblings, along with my mother and father, would attend music lessons, with 4 of us sharing one accordion. Our accordion tutor was the late, great, Ronnie Bamber. My parents would take us to seisiúns and Fleadhs all over Ireland. A lot of time, dedication and love went into every road we travelled, memories I will treasure forever.

I’ve been writing music for a long time and a few of my compositions feature in the Beoga repertoire. However, it wasn’t until Covid forced everyone to stay indoors, that I started to stockpile a few new tunes for myself. I didn’t realise at the time, but it was the first step for me to think about putting an album of my own tunes together.

Moyola Cottage is the house where I now live and where my wife Mo grew up. The tune names I have picked are mostly about people and places that are very close to my heart, and I hope you enjoy listening to these tunes as much as I enjoyed writing them.

I would like to dedicate this album to my parents, Frank and Anne. They are missed immensely.

Damian