Tim Collins is a concertina player, teacher, recording artist and composer who lives in Crusheen, County Clare. A member of the Kilfenora Céilí Band since 1994, and he has toured and recorded extensively with the band over the last thirty years. He is founding co-director of Consairtín: The National Concertina Convention and is also founding director of the groundbreaking Irish Concertina Ensemble (ICE), the first of its kind in Ireland.

His growing list of Commissioned Works and Arts Awards include:

• 2022: Breith- A Clare celebration of Irish Independence. Funded by the Decade of Centenaries Project Award scheme. This 90 minute multimedia show traces the path to Irish Independence from 1916 to 1921.
• 2021: “I fought the War’: Revoicing Clare Women and their experiences during the Irish War of Independence. Funded by the Decade of Centenaries Arts Project Award scheme (Clare Arts). The work is based on the testimony of 6 Clare women who lived during the period.
• 2020: ‘Faoi Gheasa’. A music suite commissioned by Music Generation for the launch of the Irish Concertinas Orchestra.
• 2017: Clare My Heart My Home – A song commissioned by Fleadh TV to celebrate the opening of Fleadh Cheoil Na hÉireann, in Ennis, County Clare in 2017. It has since become the ‘unofficial’ Clare anthem.
• 2016: An Pocaire Gaoithe – an instrumental suite commissioned by Clare County Council. The suite was written for the Irish Concertina Ensemble (Padraig Rynne, Caitliñ Nic Gabhann, Edel Fox, Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Tim Collins) and in collaboration with the Clare String Ensemble (Sharon Howley, Eimear Howley, Sínead Heagney and Brian O’Grady).

In addition to his music and teaching career, he is a former a Fulbright scholar and he holds a PhD from the National University of Ireland, Galway. His primary research interest is exploring the complex connections between people, music, landscape and place, thus combining his academic and artistic background.