Dale Russ (Fiddle) Dale is from Connecticut originally but the Northwest has been his home for more than twenty years. He's been touring the States for most of that time with guitarist Mike Saunders and balances his time between teaching, his duo, a trio with Finn and Hanz Araki called Setanta and The Suffering Gaels. Legendary Irish fiddler Martin Hayes has said of Dale: "..he is one of the greatest fiddlers I know in Irish traditional music". No one who has heard Dale perform, with the Gaels or solo, can dispute that statement. His clear, ringing tone and lyrical interpretation of the music has quieted many the unruly audience. In 1993 he was invited to join the program for "My Love is in America", a concert / recording of 16 of the finest Irish fiddle players in America, assembled by Michael O Suilleabhain under the auspices of Boston College.

Conor Byrne (Fiddle) Like Tom, Conor's musical background is firmly steeped in the Irish tradition. He played extensively in Ireland and Canada before moving to Seattle. He has toured with Kevin Burke and has served on the faculty of the prestigous Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend. Conor's playing style is the perfect compliment to Dale's'. His ability to harmonize on almost any tune is an integral part of the Gaels powerful sound. With some spare time while touring with the Gaels, Conor established his own creatively named pub, Conor Byrne's, located in the up-and-coming Ballard district of Northwest Seattle. It has become what Murphy's was in the 80's... a mecca for some of the best Irish music on the West Coast. They even host an open session every Sunday night. Conor has since sold the pub, though it retains his name, and is now searching for some new endeavour.

Finn MacGinty (Guitar and Vocals) Finn is a native of Coole, Co. Westmeath in Ireland's midlands. He started off playing country music and then moved on to rock and roll. It wasn't until his mid thirties, while living in Japan, that he came to play Irish music. After meeting a Japanese fiddler named Atsushi Akazawa, Finn was amazed and not a little embarrassed that Atsushi knew more about Irish music than he did. Finn met the band in Murphy's in 1989, a place recommended to him by Akazawa, and his strong rhythmic playing style suited the energy of the Gaels. He uses an unusual but cool tuning called the "Method" that you might check out. He and Finn are also members of another upandcoming Irish band, called Setanta. They spend a lot of time touring in, of all places, Japan.