“One of the finest and truest purveyors of Irish traditional music in the Delaware Valley” —Irishphiladelphia.com
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 50 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.
Award-winning Artists
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann & Hall of Fame recognition: "For sheer impact on the Delaware Valley’s Irish music community at large, the husband-and-wife duo of Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley has been a tour de force in promoting and perpetuating Irish traditional music for decades," said the CCE-DV Comhaltas branch when they nominated the duo for their work with the Next Generation Irish music program, the South Jersey Irish Seisiún, and for their many other Irish music associations and contributions.
Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley were inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Hall of Fame at the Comhaltas North American Convention at the Hilton Parsippany, Parsippany NJ in 2014. They join an illustrious list of traditional Irish music icons that includes Cherish the Ladies' Joannie Madden, uileann piper Jerry O'Sullivan, box player Billy McComiskey and legendary players of the past Ed Reavy, Andy McGann and Martin Mulvihill.
Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame: in 2015 Kathy and Dennis were inducted in a ceremony at the Commodore John Barry Irish Arts and Cultural Center in Philadelphia for their decades of contributions to the Irish music community.
NJ Heritage Fellowship: In 2023 Kathy was among the first recipients of the newly-created folk arts heritage fellowship from the NJ State Council on the Arts.
Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2025 from the Somerset Folk Harp Festival for their work in building the harp community and promoting the playing of the harp.
Reviews “One of the finest and truest purveyors of Irish traditional music in the Delaware Valley”
Irishphiladelphia.com "They are ...a virtual folk orchestra" The Irish Echo
Kathy has rhythmic, driving harp and fiddle styles, with the nuances of one instrument influencing the other. She’s sings a heart-rending ballad with as much ease 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 took over management of the Somerset Folk Harp Festival, which she ran from 2009 to 2022, one of the premier harp events in the world. She She was among the first recipients of New Jersey's Heritage Fellowships from the NJ State Council on the Arts in 2023, recognizing her lifetime of performing traditional music and contributing to the folk arts community. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in 2025.
In addition to their two McDermott’s Handy CDs, Come Take the Byroads and Bound for Amerikay (released Aug. 2013), Kathy has produced and recorded the Harpers Escape Ten Years of Tunes and Another Ten Years of Tunes CD as well as published their companion music books of harp arrangements. To purchase those products, click here.
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 CDs, Come Take the Byroads and Bound for Amerikay.
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Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley were inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Hall of Fame at the Comhaltas North American Convention at the Hilton Parsippany, Parsippany NJ in 2014. They join an illustrious list of traditional Irish music icons that includes Cherish the Ladies' Joannie Madden, uileann piper Jerry O'Sullivan, box player Billy McComiskey and legendary players of the past Ed Reavy, Andy McGann and Martin Mulvihill. 
