Mary Bergin (born 1949) is an Irish folk musician who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the tin whistle. She plays in both the Irish Traditional and Baroque styles.[1]
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Born in Shankill, County Dublin, to parents Joe and Máire (melodean and fiddle players, respectively), Mary started learning to play the tin whistle at the age of nine.[1] She won the All Ireland tin whistle championship in 1968. Her two virtuosic recordings of solo tin whistle, Feadóga Stáin (1979) and Feadóga Stáin 2 (1993), have been critically cited as "outstanding and unequalled.".[2]
Bergin moved to Spiddal, County Galway in the early 1970s and played with many of the up and coming stars of the Irish music scene, notably De Danann and Ceoltóri Laighin.[1] She is currently a member of the group Dordán, who perform Irish traditional music and Baroque music.
In addition to releasing two solo albums, which aided the popularisation of modern traditional Irish tin whistle playing, and three albums with Dordán, she has taught hundreds of students, in Ireland, across Europe, and in the United States, to play the whistle.[3]
Bergin was exposed to the music of many renowned musicians from an early age, but her style is particularly influenced by flute player Packie Duignan and the whistle playing of Willie Clancy. She plays the whistle "left-handed", with the right hand covering the upper tone holes, unlike most whistle players who play with the left hand on top. [3]
Bergin's playing is characterized by great feeling, technical virtuosity, and a respect for the music. Music scholar Fintan Vallely has described her playing as "brightly ornamented but uncluttered", with "crisp articulation."[4] Writer and flute player Grey Larsen uses similar terms, describing her playing as "precise", "elegant", and "streamlined."[3]