At the Augusta Irish Retreat, you will choose from many dynamic sessions centered around learning Irish tunes, songs and traditions. This year’s retreat will be hosted at the newly renovated (and historic!) Tygart Hotel in Elkins, WV. You’ll be treated to learning sessions and authentic Irish music played by master artists of the genre. Celebrate the culture you love with good friends, great music, and incredible instructors.

The concept of this weekend was dreamed up by Augusta Irish Week founder Mick Moloney along with Emily Miller and Seth Young, just before Mick departed this world too soon. The vision is being carried forward brilliantly by Brenda Castles and the Augusta team.

Register today to secure your enrollment. Once enrolled, you may call the Tygart Hotel at (304) 246-5022 for accommodations at the hotel itself or find lodging elsewhere in Elkins. Tell the Tygart you are with Augusta when you call!

Augusta offers students the option to purchase a guest pass for a spouse or friend. This pass, which may be purchased at registration, allows a spouse to attend all non-class activities (after lunch).

Schedule for Augusta Irish Retreat 2025:

Schedule subject to change. Specific class offerings for each period will be announced soon!

Tuition for the weekend is $395 and a meal ticket (optional) is $170. Students will need to reserve their hotel rooms directly with the Tygart Hotel at (304) 246-5022.

Augusta Irish Retreat 2025 | Artistic Staff

Brenda Castles (concertina, vocals)

Brenda is known both as a respected solo performer and as a member of Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America. She has a series of All Ireland Fleadh titles to her name in solo and group competitions. Originally from County Meath, she hails from a rich tradition of music held by her family and the musicians she credits as her extraordinary teachers. She herself is an in-demand teacher, privately and at festivals such as the Catskills Irish Arts Week. She currently is based in Dublin and New York and spends time performing around the world including recent gigs in Alaska. Her CDs, Indeedin’ You Needn’t Bother and The Light Side of the Tune have been critically acclaimed. In addition to being an accomplished musician and singer, Brenda is a licensed veterinarian. She once owned a horse named Rocky who was the companion for Irish champion racer Oscar Time.

Eimear Arkins (fiddle & vocals)

Eileen Gannon (harp)

Eileen Gannon has been lighting up the St. Louis music scene for many years. Eileen, a St. Louis native, is one of the top Irish harp players in the world. She has won numerous accolades including the highly coveted Senior Harp title at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (World Irish Music Championships). She has a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from St. Louis University and a master’s degree in Ethnomusicology from University of Limerick. Eileen has toured and performed all over the world and is a regular tutor at international festivals like the Catskills Irish Arts Week, and Scoil Eigse. Eileen also represented Ireland at World Expos in 2010 in Shanghai, China and in 2015, in Milan, Italy. Eileen launched her debut solo CD, The Glory Days Are Over in 2017, and has appeared on albums with Tommy Martin, Bernadette NicGabhann, Eimear Arkins , Kevin Buckley, and Robert Ryan.

Eileen studied classical harp with Laura Hearne and spent most of her summers growing up studying with various harp masters in Ireland.  Many of Eileen’s students have nwon honors in All-Ireland competitions. She also holds the TTCT teaching certificate awarded by Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eirreann. Eileen was a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and has performed with the Clayton and University City Symphony Orchestras. Eileen has also appeared with the Musical Diversions Society Orchestra and the St. Louis Women’s Chorale.While studying in Ireland, Eileen taught at the Limerick Municipal School of Music and performed regularly at Dromoland and Bunratty Castles. 

Eamon O’Leary (guitar, bouzouki & vocals)

Originally from Dublin, Eamon has lived in New York City for the last twenty years.

He has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, performing and recording with many of Irish music’s great players. In 2004, he and Patrick Ourceau released a live recording, Live at Mona’s, documenting their many years hosting a  session on New York’s Lower East Side. 

In 2012 he and Jefferson Hamer released an album of traditional songs, The Murphy Beds, described by the Huffington Post as “ten beautiful, crystalline songs.”

Eamon’s songwriting can be heard on the 2013 album Old Clump. 

Brendan Dolan (piano, Irish flute, tin whistle)

Brendan teaches traditional Irish music on piano and flute. He is the son of piano great, Felix Dolan, a mainstay of traditional Irish music in New York since the 1950s. His most recent recordings are with Brian Conway on “Consider the Source”, Billy McComiskey on “Outside the Box”, and Mick Moloney on “The Green Fields of America”. He can also be heard with Patrick Ourceau, Eamon O’Leary and Dana Lyn on the CD, “Live at Mona’s”. In addition to Irish music, Brendan spent several years playing Klezmer music in the acclaimed Andy Statman Quartet. With this ensemble he performed in concert with Itzhak Perlman at Yale University.

Brendan is an annual teacher at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins West Virginia, and the Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York. He maintains a vibrant school of Irish music for children in the New York City area, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Irish and Irish-American Studies at NYU.