Shannon Dunne

Biography

Shannon Dunne (ND ’98) is an acclaimed sean-nós dancer, concertina player, singer, community organizer, and educator. She is an Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor for the Department of Irish Language and Literature and the founder/director of the Notre Dame Céilí Band.

Her work with master sean-nós dancers such as Róisín Ní Mhainín, Pádraig Ó hOibicín, Gearóid and Patrick Devane, to name but a few, has given her intimate access to the tight-knit Connemara dance community and has afforded her a place among the top sean-nós dancers in North America. The Washington Post called her dancing, "Playful musicality! Spirited and fun!" and she was a qualifier for the All Ireland Fleadh in 2017, as MidAtlantic Champion. Her multi-generational dance company, Shannon Dunne Dance has many titles and commendations to their name, including 2 All-Ireland medalists and 1 All-Ireland special commendation.

Shannon's talents and abilities have been recognized by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her collaborative nature has seen her dance on stages across the globe, like the Millennium Stage, Symphony Space, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, with groups such as Mick Moloney's Celtic Appalachia and Green Fields of America, Kitchen Quartet, Childsplay, and Washington Sound Museum.

In 2016 she released "The Connemara Stockings", an instructional dance DVD and a CD of music to accompany the dance. In 2019, her duo Sineadh Fada (with All-Ireland multi-instrumentalist Alex Boatright) released "Won't You Stay for Tea?" which features Shannon's dancing and singing. The album is said to be "One to check out if you love the pure drop!" (Dan Neely, Irish Echo).

She is a 1998 graduate of Notre Dame, and came back in 2021 as a guest lecturer in the Department of Irish Literature and Language, teaching classes in tin whistle and sean-nós dancing. She is now an Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor, devising 4 classes for the department including the Céilí Band program. She also seeks to bring traditional music into the community, starting the Westville Correctional Facility Irish Music Club, an Irish music program for inmates receiving their associate or bachelor's degree through the Moreau College Initiative.