Jackie started playing music as a child with a melodeon which had been in the family home for many years. He played regularly at house dances in the area, a popular form of recreation in rural districts in those days, and later became a member of the Kilgarvan Dance Band which played in halls around south Kerry. Though he never formally learned music, always playing by ear, he also played the saxophone, mainly with his friend and neighbour Dermot Hickey who was also in the Kilgarvan Dance Band. While a lover of all kinds of music, Jackie had a particular liking for jazz and was an ardent admirer of Mick Delahunty who had one of Ireland’s leading bands. He has never lost his love for traditional Irish music and was chairman of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE) in Kerry for a seven-year period starting in the mid-sixties. Jackie says his time with CCE was one of the most enjoyable of his life and he also loved dancing polka sets.