Maddy O’Neill-Dean is lead singer and plays guitar and hammered dulcimer for Mad for the Road and also memeber of the Irish Breakfast Band.
Maddy’s Irish music roots are set deep in her Irish upbringing in The Bronx, New York. With both parents from Ireland, Maddy spent her young years taking Irish step dancing in New York City, playing the guitar, and listening to The Clancy Brothers (and Bob Dylan)!
Maddy is also vice-chair of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE), an organization which promotes Irish culture, music, step, set & ceili dancing, the Irish language, and literature in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
Maddy also teaches Early Childhood music classes for very young children and their families called Music Together®
In addition to her wonderful roadie husband, John, Maddy is also the proud mom to Claire, Pat, and Kevin and son-in-law Eric. They’ve kept her rockin’!
Roadies : :
Joel Zlotnick learned his first tin whistle tunes in 1994 while living in Limerick, Ireland as a student and has since graduated to low whistle and bodhran.
photographed by Rob Farrell
Former band member Pat Dean's interest in Irish music started when he realized that most of it revolved around whiskey and death. The fact that these two traits figure so prominently in Irish music would shock someone who has no knowledge of Irish culture.
In October 2009, Pat relocated to Austin, Texas.
Rock it out in Texas, lad! Good luck with your stand-up comedy and music. We miss you.
Elaine George plays tinwhistle and mandolin. She is new to the Irish music scene, and has sung and played clarinet, flute, tenor sax and bari sax with various bands in past lives. When she’s not playing with “Mad For the Road,” you’ll find her out letterboxing or hiking with her two kids, Sarah and Ben, and their dopey but lovable Golden Retriever, Charlie.
