Born in Cóbh, a small harbour town on the Great Island in Cork harbour in the south of Ireland, Joe Mullen manages to combine songs and stories of an age gone by with own compositions in the tradition of the ancient bards.
When a young man he learned his trade as a woodworker in the local shipyards.Moved to Belgium in the late eighties he initially also worked on boats and later, following his passion for wood, he qualified as a professional guitar builder.
The Irish language, though only learned in school as a child has always been an important influence.