McDermott's Handy: You Gotta Have Harp Productions

McDermott’s Handy

Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley are the husband-wife duo who have been performing traditional Irish music together in the Delaware Valley (South Jersey/Philadelphia region) as McDermott’s Handy since 1979. These talented multi-instrumentalists put on a super concert and combine their strong vocals and equally strong backing accompaniment with a commanding stage presence that comes from hundreds of performances in front of all kinds of audiences.

With a huge repertoire they’ve built over 30 years of playing traditional music, they sing in Irish and English. Kathy mainly plays harp and fiddle and occasionally adds 5-string banjo and bodhran. Dennis plays guitar, flute and tinwhistle and can be counted on to add in mandolin or bouzouki when the arrangement requires.

Kathy DeAngelo

Kathy has rhythmic, driving harp and fiddle styles, with the nuances of one instrument influencing the other. With a strong voice that belies her diminutive stature, she’s as much at ease with a heart-rending ballad as a rousing comedic song and has a special affinity for Irish emigration songs.

She’s been playing and performing Irish music since meeting fiddler Ed McDermott in 1971; taking up the fiddle herself in 1976 and the harp in 1984. She’s been a catalyst on the folk harp scene since the early ‘90s. She co-founded the nationally-recognized Harpers Escape Weekend in 1991 and has taught at other harp conferences as well. She is a popular harp and fiddle teacher in the Delaware Valley and directs the Delaware Valley Celtic Harp Orchestra.

In addition to their McDermott’s Handy CD, Come Take the Byroads, Kathy has produced and recorded the Harpers Escape Ten Years of Tunes CD as well as published its companion music book of harp arrangements.

Dennis Gormley

Although he can play practically any instrument and any music style (and actually has worked and recorded in bands from bluegrass and country to jazz), Dennis is simply one of the most artful guitar players around. Whether it’s flatpicking a dance tune, finger-picking his way behind a song they’re singing or providing rhythm accompaniment to Kathy’s fiddle or harp playing, Dennis is a tremendously skillful and tasteful player. He is also the consummate flute and tinwhistle player as well with an incredibly large repertoire of dance tunes.

Dennis is active in the Irish music community in the Philadelphia area and has been playing on the folk scene since the early ‘70s. In addition to anchoring a local weekly seisiun, he’s a sought-after accompanist for ceilis. He teaches Irish music on guitar, tinwhistle and flute both privately and in classes for Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. Dennis has recorded with many other artists in addition to McDermott’s Handy’s CD, Come Take the Byroads.