The Young Irelanders in Van Diemen's Land — A musical history

The Young Irelanders in Van Diemen's Land  is performed by The Young Ireland Collective, which includes musicians and narrators, selected from Tasmania's traditional Irish music community (and beyond).  Four or five people are engaged for each performance.

Performers to date have included:

Annie Parsell (vocals, bodhran). Annie is a music teacher and musical director for various choirs including the Tasmanian Grassroots Union Choir, which has performed internationally. 

Barry Higgins (flute, uilleann pipes, voice of the Young Irelanders). Barry is trained in drama and his Irish accent gives him the perfect voice for delivering direct quotes from the Young Irelanders from the 19th century. He is an accomplished actor and traditional musician.

David Elliston (accordion, vocals). Dave is a jazz musician who also has a love of colonial music. His typical “bush habitat” is The Wallaby Track Bush Band.

Elise Okell (fiddle). Elise trained in classical violin but her interest transferred to traditional Irish fiddle playing under the mentorship of Tim Whelan (South Australia). She currently plays with various bands, and at trad sessions, in northern Tasmania.

John Hickey (guitar, script development). John has a strong interest in Tasmania's colonial history and selected the music, and developed the narrative for The Young Irelanders in Van Diemen's Land. He has a history of playing in folk bands and in backing local and visiting traditional musicians.

Kathy Hickey (whistle). Kathy is an award-winning whistle player who kindly filled the breach in Spring 2022 when one of our regular performers was marooned by rising floodwaters.

Leueen Barber (fiddle). Leueen is acknowledged as one of the finest traditional fiddlers in Australia and plays with numerous celtic bands, including the Luke Plumb Ceilidh Band.

Mat Woolley (vocals, mandolin). Mat is a regular folk performer and songwriter. He has played lead roles in musical productions including Cuffay and the Brother Slaves and Loveless in Hobart.

Robert Zielinski (fiddle). Robert is based in Western Australia but lived in Ireland for many years. He won the prestigious Michael Coleman award for being Traditional Fiddler of the Year in Ireland in 2000. In 2025 he was awarded the Instrumentalist of the Year at the Australian Folk Music Awards. Rob has a vast knowledge of Irish traditional music and is an acclaimed maker of violins for classical and folk musicians.

Susannah Clark (fiddle). Susannah has a background in classical violin and Music Therapy. Having spent her early years in Scotland, she has grown up with a love of Scottish and Irish fiddle music.