Donnchadh Mac Aodha is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Dundalk, Co.Louth.

He studied music and Irish at University College Cork, where he was a Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholar. During his time at UCC, he was the recipient of numerous awards, including 2 Quercus College Scholarships for academic excellence, the Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Undergraduate Award, a Dónal 'Doc' Gleeson Award for performance, a Dr HH Stewart Literary Prize, and a Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Bursary.

Donnchadh’s compositional output engages with the boundary of contemporary music and traditional Irish music, drawing on his extensive experience as a traditional harper and flute player.He has studied with leading figures including John Godfrey, Jeffrey Wheeter, Jack Talty, Seán Doherty, Federico Gardella, Nicola LeFanu, and Petr Kotik, and his works have been performed at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, Ostrava Days Festival, Cork International Choral Festival, West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival, Livorno Music Festival, and New Ross Piano Festival. He is a recent recipient of the 2026 Irish Heritage Composition Bursary, which will support his forthcoming Masters in Composition at the Royal College of Music, London.

As a performer, Donnchadh is a 4-time All-Ireland Champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and a member of the Armagh-based Colla Céilí Band. He has performed extensively at home and abroad, including at Irish Embassies in Hong Kong, The Philippines, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa as part of St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and has appeared before Presidents Michael D. Higgins, Mary McAleese, and Catherine Connolly. He has performed on numerous occasions on Raidió na Gaeltachta, RTÉ Television, and TG4. A 3-time finalist in the Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada Competition on flute and harp, he holds the Mícheál Ó hEidhin medal from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Grade 8 with distinction on harp from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and an Advanced Recital Certificate on Piano from the RIAM, where he studied under Maria McGarry; he also studied piano under Michael McHale at the CSM. Donnchadh enjoys tutoring privately and at summer schools and festivals across Ireland, including the Joe Mooney Summer School and Féile na Tána.