Irish immigrants, many of them refugees from the Wexford Uprising of 1798, started arriving in the Lower River Inhabitants area of Richmond County, in the early 1800s, joining the French, Empire Loyalists, Acadians, and Scots who settled before them. The wave of Irish folk landing in the community tonight aren’t coming to stay, but their music will surely leave just as lasting an impression. One of the names that has endured in the area since that time is Doyle, and one of the performers who has certainly left an impression on Celtic Colours audiences over the years is past Artist in Residence John Doyle. The influential, Dublin-born guitar player, singer, and songwriter will be making his tenth appearance at the Festival. This time around, he’s playing in a trio with multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Mick McAuley from Kilkenny, and versatile fiddler and composer Oisin McAuley who was raised in Carrick, County Donegal. Fergus O’Byrne was also born in Dublin, finding his way to St. John’s, Newfoundland in the early 1970s as a member of the popular band Ryan’s Fancy. The banjo, bodhran, guitar, and concertina-playing singer has performed with Jim Payne, a leading performer, collector, and producer of traditional Newfoundland music for almost 30 years. Donna Marie DeWolfe is a lively, upbeat fiddler from nearby River Tillard, 20 minutes away, who loves playing for dances and will be accompanied by veteran piano player and step dancer Joël Chiasson.