Born in Ireland and brought to New York as an infant, fiddle player Mike Sullivan grew up in Brooklyn where he married and started a family. In 1913, at the age of 32, he moved to St. Paul where he became a mailman. Sullivan was active as a performer throughout his life in Minnesota, playing for dances, step dance contests, radio programmes, cultural exhibitions and social events. In dance halls and on riverboats, his “orchestras” provided music for square dancing and step dancing in a separate hall from where a “modern” band played. Daughters Catherine and Ann often accompanied him on piano. He teamed up with uilleann piper Patrick Linehan for years and later collaborated with Pat Doherty and fiddle player Mike Hughes. In 1926 Sullivan was named “Champion Fiddler of St. Paul” at a city-wide fiddling contest and his ensembles were sometimes billed as “Mike Sullivan’s Champions.” Sullivan embodied both Irish and American identity through his versatile music. Irish-American groups like the Ancient Order of Hibernians presented him as an authentic link to Ireland while events celebrating Minnesota history booked him to play and call square dances evoking the early days of the state.