Eimear Arkins
Where do you live? St. Louis, MO.
Current company and position? Professional touring musician Irish music, song and dance instructor with St. Louis Irish Arts.
First job and what it taught me? When I was eight years old, I was offered my first “job” as a performer in a local cultural show in Co. Clare. I learned very quickly how important practice and preparation are, and how valuable a skill it is to be able to adapt on the fly! Regardless of where the performance is; how big the stage is; what role you have in the show; or how many people are in the audience, I learned from an early age that you need to show up on time, have practiced in advance, and be ready to put on a good show. I also learned that you need to be flexible and be able to adapt to situations as they arise because you just never know what might happen on/off the stage.
How do you embrace your Irish heritage? I live and breathe it. I was born and raised in County Clare and moved to Missouri in 2014. I am a full time traditional Irish musician and singer and perform all over the USA, Ireland and beyond. I have given workshops and performed at Irish and Celtic festivals throughout the USA including Catskills Irish Arts Week; CelticFest Mississippi; Ohio Scottish Games; Peoria Irish Fest; Minnesota Irish Music Weekend; Gulf Coast Cruinniú; and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. I have toured with various shows and bands including Tomáseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas; Cherish the Ladies and Téada. I have represented Ireland as a performer at numerous festivals around the world including Rennes Expo, France; Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival, Estonia; Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France; World Expo 2010 and 2015; Latium World Folkloric Festival, Italy; Europäische Jugendwoche, German and Cultural de la Consumacion de la Independencia in Mexico City. It is a privilege to share Irish music, song, dance and the Irish language with audiences around the world.
I am a qualified Irish music instructor with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (TTCT) and dance instructor with An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (TCRG) and put both of these qualifications to good use as a music, dance and song instructor with St. Louis Irish Arts, the largest Irish music and dance school in North America. I’m delighted to be able to share and pass on these traditional arts to my students and it brings me great joy to see them connecting with their own Irish ancestry, or developing their own links to Ireland through music, song and dance.
I am heavily involved in the Irish music scene in St. Louis; perform regularly with the students and teachers of St Louis Irish Arts; and I also organize a monthly Irish music session for kids and adults. Every spring, I assist in the promotion and programming of The St. Louis Tionól, which is a festival dedicated to celebrating and promoting Irish music, song and dance. The festival invites a number of performers from Ireland every year as well as a cohort from the USA, and attracts attendees from across the midwest and further afield.
Although there are not that many Irish born people living in St. Louis, the Irish music scene there is very strong and I am delighted to have made it my home away from home.
Something people would be surprised to know about me... Although music is my full-time profession, I graduated from University College Cork in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Law (International). During my degree I spent a year studying at St. Louis University School of Law which was my introduction to life in Missouri. I attended Graduate School in Missouri and graduated from The University of Missouri - Columbia in 2016 with an LLM in Alternative Dispute Resolution and a Masters in Journalism with an emphasis on Strategic Communication.
Biography: Eimear is an award-winning musician and singer from County Clare, now living in St. Louis. She has toured the world with many acclaimed bands, shows and with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann on concert tours throughout Ireland, Britain, North America, Canada and China. Eimear is a qualified Irish music and dance instructor and has given workshops at festivals worldwide including Féile Séamus Creagh, Newfoundland; Viljandi Pärimusmuusika Festival, Estonia; and Festival Interceltique de Lorient, France. In 2018 she released her debut album, What’s Next? and was awarded “Best Newcomer” from LiveIreland in 2019. Eimear released her second album, Here & There in 2024.
