Quebec-born, Indiana-raised Barry Foy took up Irish traditional music in Chicago in 1975, introduced to it by L. E. McCullough, a friend from high school. He was composing avant-garde art music in college at the time. Joining the Chicago delegation to the All-Ireland Fleadh in Buncrana in 1976, Barry opted to remain in Dublin afterward. His 10 months there, in particular the exposure to the Kelly family at the Four Seasons pub, would prove formative in multiple ways. He also shifted from mandolin and tenor banjo to fiddle at that time. In the late 1990s, as a session leader in Seattle, Barry began compiling his observations on the etiquette and mechanics of the traditional session. They were published in 1999 as Field Guide to the Irish Music Session- as of this writing (2026), still the only book devoted entirely to the subject. In 2013, Barry and his wife, May Wu, moved from Seattle to St. Paul, Minnesota. The warm welcome they received there would deepen into cherished friendships and an active musical life. This has expanded in recent years into song lyric writing, including collaborations with local Irish music legend Dáithí Sproule – see additional audio: ”The island of woods”, lyrics composed by Barry, to Liz Carroll’s composition of the same title and performed here by Dáithí.