Mary Bergin was born in Shankill, County Dublin, Ireland. Her parents Joe and Máire were melodeon and fiddle players, respectively. Mary started learning to play the tin whistle at the age of nine.[1]
In addition to releasing two solo albums, which aided the popularisation of modern traditional Irish tin whistle playing, and three albums with Dordán, Bergin has taught hundreds of students, in Ireland, across Europe, and in the United States, to play the whistle.[3]
Bergin was exposed to the music of many renowned musicians from an early age, but her style is particularly influenced by flute player Packie Duignan and the whistle playing of Willie Clancy. She plays the whistle "left-handed", with the right hand covering the upper tone holes, unlike most whistle players who play with the left hand on top.[3]
Bergin's playing is characterized by great feeling, technical virtuosity, and a respect for the music. Music scholar Fintan Vallely has described her playing as "brightly ornamented but uncluttered", with "crisp articulation".[4] Writer and flute player Grey Larsen uses similar terms, describing her playing as "precise", "elegant", and "streamlined".[3]
^Vallely, Fintan; Piggott, Charlie (1998). Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians. Nutan. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. pp. 28–33. ISBN1-86059-067-5.
^ abcLarsen, Grey (2003). The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle. Mel Bay Publications. p. 405. ISBN0-7866-4942-9.
