Brenda Castles hails from Co. Meath and honed her concertina skills under the tutelage of Rena Traynor and Mícheál Ó’Raghallaigh. She released two solo albums of concertina music in 2016 and 2021.
Brenda is a seasoned performer and often graced stages, both on concertina and vocals, alongside Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America. Beyond her musical endeavours, Brenda has delved into the realm of film, creating and producing the evocative short film ‘Plight of the Bumble Bee,’ complete with a traditionally inspired soundtrack of her own composition, for which she received the Brian O’Donovan Award in January 2025.
Notable recent Irish performances include a headline solo concert at Temple Bar TradFest, Dublin, an appearance on Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ’s Late Late Show, Earth Rising Festival in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and the ITMA’s Drawing From the Well concert in Dublin’s National Concert Hall.
