Tommy Caulfield

Thomas Caulfield (1903-1987) was born in Ballinlough, County Roscommon, Ireland. He began to play the violin as a young man; though he was also a stepdancer and singer, playing violin was his primary contribution to the Irish music scene in Philadelphia. Caulfield came to the United States in 1924 and settled in Philadelphia with his aunt and uncle, and there became acquainted with a number of Irish-born musicians who were, or would become, prominent in Philadelphia's Irish community.