Eoghan plays the love of the Irish tradition, fiddle, and masters this delicate instrument with confidence. Born in Cork, Ireland, he grew up with traditional Irish music and culture, Irish (Gaelic) was his first language, his earliest music studies were in the Cork School of Music where he took lessons, at the age of six, with Gary Cronin. However, besides these classes and music in the home the family also travelled around to master classes, Fleadheanna Cheoil and summer schools. He developed a very individual style from an early age, much admired by his teacher, Gary and other adult performers. Eoghan is very deeply into his music and would consider Tommy Peoples, Tommy Potts and Edward Cronin as inspirational fiddlers.

Eoghan is not the typical Irish fiddler, his fiddle is an instrument of expression to be coaxed, tamed and taken to its limits to explore his enthusiasm for music. He amazes listeners with his outstanding ability and the control he has of risk. He plays fiddle (but not as we know it), described as a “real killer punch”. His approach can be found way back in the tradition and this is the part of the tradition that Eoghan is most proud of and he is one of its enthusiastic exponents. Eoghan's mastery of the vibration of horsehair on string is simply stunning. He is an astonishing traditional fiddle player with solo performances that have great power and energy. A US critic noted of his slow air playing “Eoghan performs solo, and his fiddling is exquisite to say the least. Each note carries a hint of pain and sadness within it, and one is put into a solemn and reflective mood.” He plays with tremendous verve and accuracy in ensemble. His solo performances have left audiences clambering for more with very intense and prolonged excitement. The fiddle he plays is over 100 years old.

“Eoghan Neff ... is an outstanding traditional fiddle player. His solo performances have great power and energy but he also plays with tremendous verve and accuracy in ensemble. This often occurs with his brother with whom he forms a traditional music ensemble that offers exciting and exhilarating performances of a very high standard. I believe that they will become one of the foremost such ensembles of their generation. Eoghan is honest and hard-working. He is dedicated and committed. He is realistic in his approach to his artistic life. He is a pleasure to work with..” David Harold Cox, Professor of Music, UCC.

Eoghan’s great love and knowledge of music has resulted in many projects including an on-line “Kora Directory” (a result of his researching various music traditions), a special essay study into “The Music of the Javanese Gamelan with Comparisons to Irish Traditional Music”, etc. It has also resulted in his own world culture programme “NOMAD” on Cork Campus Radio where he shares a global experience with his listeners. The show which included weekly interviews with some of the leading international artists. He also produced a weekly column, FÁNAÍ, featuring these interviews on the national daily newspaper ‘LÁ’.

One member of an audience was so inspired by the playing of Eoghan in concert that he, Fionán Cogan, put pen to paper :

He has performed and toured with Riverdance the Show in Europe and has collaborated with Tommy Peoples, Anxo Lorenzo, Martin Tourish, among others. Until recently he was archivist with a great team of dedicated people at the Irish Traditional Music Archive, Dublin. In college he performed and toured with College traditional fiddle group Fiddlesticks ensemble under Dr. Liz Doherty; with Jazz Collage under Paul O’Donnell; with Efficient Céilí Band under Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin; and with The UCC Gamelan ensemble.

His enthusiasm and flair for improvisation brings his fiddle into innovative fusions with diverse genres and musical collaborations; Cyprian Love, Paul Booth, and many others.

Also performing live and being interviewed on radio and television, both at home and abroad. TV performances include “Fleadh” RTÉ, “Geantraí” and “Flosc” TG4.

Eoghan is the recipient of the first British Forum for Ethnomusicology Award for the best postgraduate paper presented at the BFE annual conference, hosted by Newcastle University, UK. Eoghan’s paper was entitled ‘Different Histories: Aural and Literate Representations of Banish Misfortune’, concerning two distinctive readings of Irish music history based upon a critical examination of extant musical scores and sound recordings.

Séan Ó Riada Memorial Prize from National University of Ireland, Cork, (UCC). Presented for “deepest understanding of the nature of Irish Traditional Music”.

Dónal 'Doc' Gleeson Instrument Tuition Award from National University of Ireland, Cork, (UCC). It is presented to those “who have demonstrated exceptional performance ability”.

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Scholarship from National University of Ireland, Cork, (UCC).

Awarded 100% by Peadar Ó Riada at Feis na Laoi. “At the recent Feis na Laoi, adjudicator Peadar Ó Riada, commenting on the playing of 13-year-old Cork fiddle player Eoghan Neff, remarked that it had been worth his visit alone to hear such excellence of playing. Adding that the old traditional style was remarkable and put him in mind of a young player he heard some 20 years ago who is now known the world over. He then promptly awarded it 100%. Eoghan Neff comes from a family well known in Irish traditional music circles in Cork. Both he and his brother Flaithrí, who is aged 15 and already a multi award winning uilleann piper, are among the finest young players around ...” Evening Echo, April 18, 1994 - Paul Dromey 'Folk File'.

Champion at Pan-Celtic fiddle championships; at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann duet championship as well as numerous other Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann competitions and countless other Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann competitions; and championships in An tOireachtas.

Awarded the “GRADAM” “Best Music Award” in Scotland at Féile na gColáistí (Festival of Colleges), the “GRADAM” for his theatre score for a newly written play “Selkie” by fellow student, Deirdre Ní Chonghaile.

“TradWrap” earned Eoghan a top mark and First Class Honours in his final BMus year. An arrangement for a Self-Taught project for the Department of Music, UCC. It included THE DUB REEL, "ALL I WANNA SAY" by MICHAEL JACKSON, "BOOTILICIOUS" by DESTINY'S CHILD. TRADWRAP.

Soundpost and Bridle
The whole album was arranged by Flaithrí and Eoghan, but worthy of particular mention is :
# 5. An tSíor-Ghaoith (The Eternal Wind), Radharc an Iolair (The Eagle’s View), An Choill Dharach Chiúin (The Oak Wood Silent). The title of Flaithrí’s piece in this set is An tSíor-Ghaoith, (The Eternal Wind). The titles of Eoghan’s two pieces in the set are Radharc an Iolair, (The Eagle's View) and  An Choill Dharach Chiúin, (The Oak Wood Silent).

Ar Scáth a Chéile (Each Other’s Shadow)
The whole album was arranged by Flaithrí and Eoghan, but worthy of particular mention is :
#4. Clockworx (NB arrangement by Eoghan)
#8. The Octopus (NB 3rd tune The Octopus composed by Eoghan)
#5. Róisín san Ind (Slow air composed by Flaithrí; Reel composed by Eoghan)

QUOTES attributed :

“... Eoghan's convulsing fiddle traces shadows where few fiddlers deign to venture ...” Irish Times, Siobhán Long.

“... Fiddle strathspey has great control, reels tend to be break-neck but skill rescues them by astonishment. ... fiddle with breathtaking syncopation ... and experimental thrust, with impressive fiddle ...” The Sunday Tribune, Fintan Vallely.

“... Eoghan's ferocious (and betimes precocious) fiddle ... virtuoso playing from start to finish ...” The Irish Times, Siobhán Long.

“... magical music on fiddle ... Eoghan's syncopated fiddle champing at the bit ... gives full rein to his imagination on a set of strathspeys and reels ending with The Gravel Walks and Jenny's Chickens. His rendition of Caoineadh Uí Neill shows great maturity ... The playing is wonderful ...” Irish Examiner, Pat Ahern.

“... an absolutely perfect fiddle slow air ...” Alex Monaghan, UK.

“... playing is stunningly accomplished, exuberant and dynamic ... beautifully executed ... but the real killer punch is Eoghan’s fiddle playing. He plays with a syncopated attack and his phrasing and bending of notes, like rock/blues guitar, add incredible drive and power to the dance tunes ...” Clancys Irish Music Radio, Austin Kenny.

“... Clockworx sees Eoghan coaxing an extraordinary range of sound from his multi-tracked fiddle. He bows, plucks, strums and scrawls his way through an unnamed reel in a tick-tock arrangement dedicated to his great great grandfather, a clockmaker and jeweler who came from the Black Forest to Cork in the mid-19th century ...” Irish Examiner, Pat Ahern.

“... Eoghan's fiddle style contains a distinctive jagged edge ...” Irish Music Magazine, John O'Regan.

“...his fiddling is exquisite to say the least. Each note carries a hint of pain and sadness within it, and one is put into a solemn and reflective mood ...” Greenman Review, Naomi de Bruyn, USA.

“... fiddle playing that walks on the wild side of all things traditional alludes to a distinctive and personalised from of music ...” Irish Music Magazine, John O'Regan.

“... singy, breathing, melancholic ...” Muse, Mic Moroney.

“... Eoghan's ‘Caoineadh Uí Neill’ ... incorporate all the pathos and soulful loneliness one could wish for ...” Evening Echo, Paul Dromey.

“... Eoghan’s fiddle playing has been rightfully described as a real killer punch ...” FolkWorld, Tom Keller, Germany.

 “... an exceptional talent. Eoghan's playing of a slow air during the Specialist Fiddle Concert [Cork Folk Festival, 1997] was a revelation, a remarkable interpretation for one so young ...” Irish Music magazine, Paul Dromey.

Eoghan is awaiting his PhD in music, on the solo fiddle music of Ireland, at Cardiff University and has earned many prestigious awards at international level for both performance and academic work where he has already a number of publications in ethnomusicology and traditional music studies.

First Class Honours Master of Arts degree (MA) in Ethnomusicology from University of Limerick. Eoghan had the distinction of topping the class.

First Class Honours Music degree, BMus from National University of Ireland, Cork, (UCC). End-of-year examinations for each year saw him gaining the highest mark in his class.

Top First Class Honours mark in his final year Super Option BMus performance from National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC).

College Scholar of academic distinction title from National University of Ireland, Cork, (UCC) for achieving the top position in his BMus year. Eoghan received this title for every year of his studies, an excellent result for any student but particularly for a traditional musician.

“The Music of the Javanese Gamelan with Comparisons to Irish Traditional Music” a research study essay.

The Fiddle in a Tune: Perspectives on the Donegal Tradition
Neff, E., (July 2006), The Fiddle in a Tune: Perspectives on the Donegal Tradition, North Atlantic Fiddle Convention: connecting cultures, Elphinstone Institute, Aberdeen University.

"Banish Misfortune": Edward Cronin and post-famine fiddling of Ireland
Neff, E., (April 2007),"Banish Misfortune": Edward Cronin and post-famine fiddling of Ireland, British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference 2007 - BETWEEN FOLK AND POPULAR: THE LIMINAL SPACES OF THE VERNACULAR, International Centre for Music Studies, Newcastle University.

Using a Cognitive Model of Irish Traditional Fiddle Playing in the Development of a Teaching Aid for Improvisation
Neff, F., Neff, E., Pitt, I., (2007), Using a Cognitive Model of Irish Traditional Fiddle Playing in the Development of a Teaching Aid for Improvisation, 3rd International Conference on Automated Production of Cross Media Content for Multi-Channel Distribution (AXMEDIS), i-maestro workshops, Barcelona 2007.

Fiddle Filings: Classicism and Coleman
Neff, E., (April 2008), Fiddle Filings: Classicism and Coleman, British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference 2008 - THE ART OF MUSIC, The School of Music, Cardiff University.