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The Castle Ceili Band (the early days)
left to right - James surrounded by The Shamrogues following his CT. debut!
James Keane, Sean Keane, Sean Burke, Mick O'Connor,
Con Hayes, Johnny McNamara
 Born in Drimnagh, Dublin in 1948, James Keane took up the button accordion at age six, drawing his primary inspiration
from his mother, father and uncles (musicians all) and the rich cultural legacy of their home counties of Longford and Clare.
By the age of ten, he had become a fixture on the late 1950's Dublin traditional scene where he literally walked among the
giants of the music - Seamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome, Sonny Brogan, Tommy Reck - and homed his stills under their guidance and
artistry. While still in his early teens James co-founded what would become, in short years, one of Ireland's most heralded
music ensembles, the Castle Ceili Band.
("LIVE IN DUBLIN" Recorded at Whelans , November
10th 1998 and is available from: OSSIAN U S A www.ossianusa.com )
 The world debut of James Keane's new Shanachie Records release was Nov 4th, 1999 at Chief O'Neills Hotel and Ceol The
IrishTraditional Music Centre Smithfield, Dublin.The Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society hosted the New England
debut of James Keane's n album, "Sweeter As The Years Roll By" at the Historic First Church Congregational in
Fairfield, CT.
Along with his brother, fiddler Sean Keane and flute player
Mick O'Connor, he managed to assemble a roster of musicians that bridged three generations and whose names, today, seem to
have been plucked directly from the annals of Irish music history. Joe Ryan, John Dwyer, Liam Rowsome, Michael Tubridy, Bridie
Lafferty and West Clare fiddler John Kelly, whose parallel commitment to both the Castle Ceili Band and Sean O Riadas Ceoltoiri
Cualann (later to include Michael Tubridy and Sean Keane) created as noted writer and musician Fintan Vallely has termed it,
"The Melting Pot from which the Chieftains would emerge."
 Box player extrordinaire and a man with a joyous devotion to his music which is tremendously
uplifting, self-renewing and triumphantly alive with emotion. That is James Keane."Jim
Kelly, Irish Music Magazine.In 1965,at the height of their popularity (when an appearance
by the Castle guaranteed a sold out dance hall anywhere in the country), they won the All-Ireland Ceili Band Championship
at the Fleadh Cheoil Na hEireann in Thurles, County Tipperary; an event that is still spoken of, in traditional circles, in
fond and fabled remembrance.
The All-Ireland medal with the Castle, though, was not James'
only success in championship competition. At a time when winning an All-Ireland title meant going head-to-head with other
future legends of the music, he emerged victorious as a soloist on four occasions - three of which were consecutive wins in
the senior accordion division - an achievement that has yet to be equaled.
With the coming of the Dublin folk revival of the mid-1960s,
James' abilities, accomplishments and vast knowledge of the music, thrust him into the role of musical mentor to a great number
of his contemporaries. Among those who have acknowledged James Keane's profound influence on their careers during that period
are singer/guitarist/composer Paul Brady, multi-instrumentalist (now musicologist), Dr. Mick Moloney.
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