Gabriel was born in Athenry, a walled medieval town in County Galway that was founded in the 12th Century AD. Hailing from this well-known village, his music is filled with a strong sense of history and his love of storytelling is evident through his song, which belongs to another time and place. Gabriel grew up in an extremely musical household and by age fourteen he was a member of the Leitrim Ramblers Ceili Band traveling all around the Connemara Gaeltacht and throughout the west of Ireland. His talent was not limited to traditional, and he moved more into the showband side of the music when he joined Magic, which had numerous Top-Ten hits in Ireland. Here he got a taste of the entertainment side of music and appeared on Irish radio and television.

Gabriel is an extremely gifted and talented guitarist, pianist, bouzouki player, singer and songwriter. His musical artistry has always had him in high demand for many of the elite in Irish music circles. For five years he toured around the world with the Chieftains as their accompanist, worked and performed with Michael Flatley and toured with Cherish the Ladies, Eileen Ivers and Joanie Madden. Gabriel makes his home in Pennsylvania where he has his own recording studio and has recorded and produced many of the top traditional artists in America.