Stonehill Student & World Ranked Fiddle Player

By: Christopher Confrey

She picked up her first fiddle at the age of five and by 11 she became the under 12 world champion fiddle player.
Maeve Flanagan, now an 18 year – old sophomore at Stonehill College, has been surrounded by music her entire life. “My mom and dad play the fiddle, they met through music,” Flanagan, a Pearl River, New York native said.
“The fiddle has always been there for me. Whenever my life gets stressful or I am feeling down, I know I can always turn to music,” Flanagan said. “I have met my best friends and have had the greatest experiences through music.”
“A fiddle and a violin are the same instrument,” Flanagan said. She explained that fiddle is a slang word for violin and refers to a more interpretative type of music as opposed to classical music.
“I hated playing at first. I put the fiddle up to my neck and I thought it was choking me,” she said.
With practice, though, Flanagan became more comfortable. “My mom would tape record tunes for me to learn and I would practice in my room for an hour a day,” she said.
By the time summer came, Flanagan, then six, became tired of the demands fiddling took on her time. “I learned to beat the system,” she said. “I would record myself playing the tunes I needed to practice and put them on repeat by the door to my room. My mom heard the tape and thought I was practicing away!”
“My mother caught on and I told her I wanted to quit and would rather go swimming with my friends,” Flanagan said.
For the rest of the summer, Flanagan kept her violin in its case. “I did not push her that first summer,” Rose, Flanagan’s mother said. “She was young and I understood she wanted to play with her friends.”
Like her daughter, Rose Conway-Flanagan came from a family of music. “My father played, but he never taught me or my brother,” she said. “My mother had heard some other children play and then decided she wanted us to play too.”
By the end of that summer, Flanagan decided she would give fiddling a second change. “The summer had ended and I was giving all of her friends’ lessons, so she wanted to come back,” Flanagan’s mother said.
At the age of 8, Flanagan began taking group lessons with her uncle, Brian Conway. The lessons were once a week for 45 minutes. “He was a tough teacher,” Flanagan said. “One girl started crying at the beginning of every class is anticipation of the upcoming lesson.”
Each week, Flanagan’s uncle taught the group a new tune. “He would teach us bit by bit, and then we would have to repeat it over and over until we memorized it,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan began fiddling competitions at the age of nine.
Her first competition was at Manhattan College. Flanagan placed third in the under twelve competition. “I played a waltz, and I played it wrong,” she said with a smile.
The next year, Flanagan, then ten, played first at the Manhattan College competition which meant she advanced to the Fleadh Cheoil na Eireann or Music Competition of Ireland.
“I went with my dad and my best friend Deirdre who also played the fiddle,” Flanagan said.
The competition in Ireland was like nothing Flanagan had ever seen in the United Sates.
“There were competitors from Ireland, Australia, Scotland and Saudi Arabia,” Flanagan said.
She did not place at the competition, but was not disappointed. “I didn’t really care, I was just having fun in Ireland with Deirdre,” she said.
The next year, Flanagan began taking her fiddling more seriously. “I practiced a lot more, and this time I knew what to expect” she said.
That year, Flanagan, 11, once again qualified for the Music Competition of Ireland. “I was not nervous because I had nothing to lose,” she said.
“I played two tunes, a real called Bonnie Kate and a jig called Keys to The Convent,” Flanagan said.
“After I played I heard an old Irish man say, ‘if that wee Yankee girl doesn’t win there is something wrong here,’” Flanagan said.
“I played my heart out and placed first,” Flanagan said. “I clearly remember winning. I had beaten an Irish boy who was favored to win. They called me by name and gave me a trophy with Eileen Ivers’, the most famous Irish musician’s, name on it. Then I played an encore,” Flanagan said.
“After a year I had to give the trophy back. My mother arranged for me to take professional pictures with my violin and my trophy which was so embarrassing,” she said.
Following her win, making her the top ranked under 12 fiddler in the world, playing the fiddle changed for Flanagan. “Before I won, no one knew who I was, there was no pressure, after though, it became so much harder,” she said.
At the age of 18, before returning to Stonehill College for her sophomore year, Flanagan competed in the senior competition in Ireland, the winner of which would be named the best fiddler in the world. Though extremely nervous, Flanagan placed third.
Today, Flanagan plays at venues all across the Northeast. “I have played at weddings, Irish Dancing competitions, Ellis Island, and in bars, a lot of bars,” Flanagan said.
Now a sophomore, Flanagan plays for her peers at Stonehill’s Concert Coffeehouse.
Her fellow students admire her talent. “I think it’s refreshing to see such a young person be so dedicated and not ashamed of it,” Megan Cross, Flanagan’s friend and roommate said.
Others recognize her rare gifts. “It’s a very unique talent that you don’t see too often and it’s great to be exposed to it,” fellow student Nicole Brisbois said. “She does a great office theme song,” friend Kevin Gill said.
Flanagan says her ultimate goal would be to win seniors at the Music Competition of Ireland. “I’ll never stop playing the fiddle,” Flanagan said. “I am going to make my kids play the fiddle because my mom made me and now I’m obsessed with it.”
“I don’t know where my life is going to take me but I know music is going to be a huge part of my life,” Flanagan said.