Michael Coleman (31 January 1891 – 4 January 1945) was a virtuoso Irish fiddler from County Sligo, and a major exponent of the Sligo fiddle style. Early years Michael Coleman was born in Knockgrania, in the rural Killavil district, near Ballymote, County Sligo, Ireland. His father, James Coleman, was from Banada in County Roscommon, and a respected flute player. Michael was the seventh child of James and Beatrice, and the surviving half of a pair of twins. As a child he learned step dancing and fiddle playing, and performed at local houses. His elder brother Jim had a high reputation but was never recorded. In his formative years Michael was influenced by Uilleann pipers (a type of bagpipe), including Johnny Gorman. He left school in 1908, at the age of 17. He competed at the Sligo Feis Ceoil in 1909 and again in 1910, and was placed joint third on both occasions. In 1914 he moved to Manchester, England to live with his older brother Pat, but returned home after several months. Immigration to the United States In October 1914, at the age of twenty-three, Coleman sailed to America with his friend John Hunt. Initially he stayed with his aunt in Lowell, Massachusetts and briefly joined the Keith Theatres vaudeville circuit. In 1917, he settled in New York City, and married Marie Fanning, originally from County Monaghan, Ireland. They had one child, Mary. Recording years Between 1921 and 1936, Coleman recorded eighty commercial 78-rpm records for many record labels, including Shannon, Vocalion Records, Columbia Records, Okeh Records, New Republic, Pathe, O'Beirne de Witt, Victor Records, Brunswick Records, and Decca Records. Some of these were re-issued under the Intrepid, International Recording Company, Coral Records, Ace of Hearts Records, and Shanachie Records labels. Coleman was usually accompanied by one of the following pianists: Kathleen Brennan, Arthur P. Kenna, John Muller, Eileen O’Shea, Edward Lee, and Ed Geoghegan. However, on three 1934 78 discs (six sides) for the Decca label, Coleman was accompanied by tenor guitar player Michael "Whitey" Andrews. Flute players Tom Morrison and Michael Walsh, and piccolo player Paddy Finlay, separately accompanied Coleman on a few of his 1920s recordings. In 1940, Coleman recorded four solo aluminum acetates for private collector James Carroll at the Wurlitzer Studios in New York, NY. In 1944, Coleman recorded ten tracks for the Decca controlled World Broadcasting Company on two, separate, 16-inch transcription discs. These