Michael Oliver O'Shea (11 July 1947 – 23 December 1991) was an Irish musician who played a zither-like instrument of his own making, and released a self-titled album in 1982.
He went absent without leave, was court-martialled and jailed, and on his release lived in London where he played harmonica and mixed with folk musicians such as Peggy Seeger.
The basic dulcimer shape was taken from an instrument designed and made by an Algerian musician, Kris Hosylan Harpo, who accompanied me on his 'Zelochord' when I was playing Indian sitar in France during the summer of '78.
The result was a sound that pleased and fascinated me...[3]He busked in Covent Garden and the London Underground, with his Mo Cara, a 17-stringed instrument which he played using paintbrushes or (in some reports) chopsticks.
He worked on an unreleased project with Rick Wakeman, and toured with Don Cherry, but then returned to busking in Covent Garden, where he was seen by cartoonist and musician Tom Johnston, of The The.