[2] His Mother, Dilly, played a German two- row concertina and from her he learned his first tune – the fling What the devil ails you?
On his weekends off, he would visit the Catskill Mountains in New York where he played with renowned musicians such as Joe Cooley, Sean McGlynn and Andy McGann.
A year later they returnes to Ireland and they settled in Burncourt, a small village in south Tipperary near the town of Cahir, where they had two more daughters, Fiodhna and Lynda.
In January 2009, Fiodhna in her band Inis Oirr, entertained the Irish president Mary McAleese in the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Gardiner has also traveled extensively with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and is a member of the Brú Ború Troupe in Cashel, County Tipperary.
Bobby Gardiner's style of playing is particularly suited to Irish dancing because of his impeccable rhythm, creativity and his use of the single-button triplet, which has become his hallmark.