Keelaghan studied history at the
University of Calgary and two of his influences there were Drs.
Margaret J. Osler and Sheldon Silverman. With an international following in Australia and England, Keelaghan plays a wide variety of venues from large festivals and concert halls to intimate folk clubs venues and often invites the audience for a beer after his performance. At the 1990
Northern Lights Festival Boréal, Keelaghan and guitarist
Oscar Lopez participated in a collaborative workshop exploring the fusion of Celtic and Latin music. The duo would later collaborate on two albums,
Compadres and
¿Buddy Where You Been?, further exploring that theme. In 1994, he won the
Juno Award for
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year for
My Skies. In 2003, Keelaghan won first prize (Folk Category) of the 8th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. His song "Cold Missouri Waters" was covered by the band
Cry Cry Cry in 1998. His songs have also included some by famed folk musicians. They include
Roy Bailey and
Garnet Rogers. Frequent guest musicians on his albums include
Stephen Fearing and
Hugh McMillan of
Spirit of the West. His 2009 CD,
House of Cards, produced by Keelaghan, is a collection of ten new original songs, some co-written with
Karine Polwart,
David Francey and others. The album received critical praise both in Canada and abroad. His 2022 album
Second-Hand includes songs co-written with
Catherine MacLellan,
Lynn Miles, J.D. Edwards,
Cara Luft, and
Dave Gunning. Since 2011, Keelaghan has been the Artistic Director of the
Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival in Owen Sound. In August 2025, Keelaghan taught Songwriting, Storytelling in Song and Performance at the five-day
Celtic College in Goderich Ontario. ==Discography==