Ceol Álainn

Michael Dwyer - Traditional Music of Ireland (1975)

2011-12-30T15:08:00.006Z

320 kbps

Michael Dwyer - Traditional Music of Ireland
(Silver Hill Records - PSH 102 - 1975)

Recorded on his brother Finbarr's Silver Hill label, this is a lovely EP of Irish music played on the simplest of instruments by Michael Dwyer, and accompanied very tastefully by Kevin Taylor on piano. There was considerable wear on the record, so there are some intrusive artefacts here and there, but this is a lovely recording of a great player, and it's well worth a listen. Sadly Michael died tragically a number of years ago, and there is very little of his sweet whistle playing left behind. There is a short clip of Michael's playing which you can watch here.

1. Richard Dwyer's/Seán Sa Cheo [Reels]
2. The Sunshine [Hornpipe]
3. The Flax in Bloom/The Castle [Reels]
4. The Laurel Tree/Speed the Plough [Reels]
5. The Kid on the Mountain [Slip Jig]
6. The Heather Breeze/The Chattering Magpie [Reels]

Download

Paddy Cronin - The Rakish Paddy (1975)

2011-12-30T13:37:00.005Z

320 kbps

Paddy Cronin - The Rakish Paddy (Fiddler Records - FRLP 002 - 1975)

Recorded by Frank H.Ferrel in September 1975, this is an exceptionally rare (and now ridiculously expensive) recording of the famous Sliabh Luachra fiddler and flute player Paddy Cronin. He is joined on the record by Mary Irwin, who provides unexceptional vamped piano accompaniment, in accordance with the standards of the day. All in all, it's a somewhat underwhelming recording (considering the legendary status its rarity seems to have conferred upon it), made on low quality recording equipment which seems to emphasise the harshness of the top strings while somehow losing all the plosive attack of the flute. Nonetheless, in strictly musical terms it's a nice record, with solid fiddling from an exceptional player. The highlight of the album for me is probably Paddy Cronin's unique rendition of the Maid Behind the Bar, which he calls the Haymaker Reel. It's closely related to the variant of the Maid commonly played in C major, which is known as Jimmy McBride's. There is a nice clip of Paddy playing the East Kerry reel, The Girls of Farranfore, which you can watch here, and another where he plays The Girl Who Broke my Heart here.

1. Lucy Campbell [Reel]
2. The Humours of Ennistymon [Jig]
3. Eleanor Kane's/The Teetotaller [Reels]
4. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reel]
5. The Glen Allen [Reel]
6. The Ballydesmond/Denis Murphy's [Polkas]
7. The Haymaker [Reel]
8. Drops of Brandy [Slip Jig]
9. The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipe]
10. The Green Fields of America/The Short Grass [Jigs]
11. Killaghbeg House [Reel]
12. The Bunch of Keys/The Steampacket [Reels]
13. Scully Casey's [Jig]
14. The Girls of Farranfore (The Game of Love ) [Reel]
15. The Congress [Reel]
16. Reavey's/The Old Maid at the Spinning Wheel [Jigs]
17. Crabs in the Skillet [Jig]
18. Tobín's Favourite [Jig]
19. Rakish Paddy [Reel]
20. The Gold Ring [Jig]
21. The Braes of Auchtertyre [Reel]

Download

Lucy Farr - Heart and Home (1991)

2011-10-23T10:32:00.007+01:00

128 kbps

Lucy Farr - Heart and Home (Veteran - VT 123 - 1991)

A very tasteful unaccompanied recording of the brilliant Ballinakill fiddle player Lucy Farr, released to coincide with her 80th birthday. She is joined on several tracks by a concertina player, probably Roly Brown, who recorded the album. He also wrote a long and interesting article describing Lucy Farr's life and musical influences, which you can read here.

There are also a number of interviews with Lucy Farr which have been preserved in the Sound Archive of the British Library, which you can listen to here.

Reg Hall recorded Lucy Farr playing a number of tunes, which are also preserved in the British Library Sound Archive. They can be downloaded as a single file here. Many thanks to BS for putting this together (and, of course, the hard-working and wonderful people at the Sound Archive itself).

1. Within a Mile of Dublin [Reel]
2. John Naughton's/John Blessing's [Jigs]
3. Sliabh Aughty [March]
4. The Fisherman's Lilt (The Kerryman's Daughter) [Reel]
5. The Regent (The Boys of the Town)/The Killimor [Jigs]
6. Paddy Fahey's [Reel]
7. Packie Byrne's [Jigs]
8. Gan Ainm [Fling]
9. The Kilnamona [Barn Dance]
10. Frank Downey's [Hornpipe]
11. Stepping Stones/McShane's Rambles [Jigs]
12. Lucy Farr's [Reel]
13. Paddy Fahey's [Jig]
14. The Pullet and the Cock (Drag Her Round the Road) [Reel]
15. The Ballinakill [Polka]
16. Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine/Tomgraney Castle [Hornpipes]
17. Andy Davy's [Reel]
18. Pat McMahon's [Jig]
19. The Hunter's Purse/The Hare's Paw [Reels]
20. Sonny Comer's [Fling]
21. Terry Teahan's/Gan Ainm [Polkas]
22. McGovern's [Reel]
23. Martin Kirwan's [March]
24. Pat Burke's [Jig]
25. The Ragged Hank of Yarn/The Maids of Mitchellstown [Reels]

Download

Once again I have used a piece by the wonderful painter Jane Ridout for the album cover. Her paintings of a number of traditional musicians are quite exceptional, and they are available to view here.

Fluters of Old Erin (1990)

2011-08-28T15:57:00.006+01:00

48 kbps

Various Artists - Fluters of Old Erin: Flute, Piccolo & Whistle Recordings of the 1920s & 30s (Viva Voce - 002 - 1990)

1. John McKenna & Michael Gaffney
2. Gardiners' Sligo Traditional Trio
3. Tom Morrison & John Reynolds
4. Tom Morrison & John Reynolds
5. Stephen Moloney & Tommy Whelan
6. Tom Doyle & Michael Cashin
7. Peter Guinan
8. Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band
9. The Rosaleen Quartet
10. William Cummins
11. Paddy Finlay & Michael Coleman
12. The Fingal Trio
13. John Sheridan and His Boys
14. John Sheridan and His Boys
15. Tommy Breen
16. Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band

A series of 78 recordings from the 1920s and 1930s, put together and released on cassette by Harry Bradshaw in 1990. Unfortunately, the bit-rate here is ridiculously low, so modern compression artefacts detract from the already technologically limited sound quality. Nonetheless, it's a valuable recording, and a great source for anybody interested in the sound of traditional Irish music in the United States during this period. There is some lovely playing here, and great techniques that have long-since ceased to be used by most traditional Irish musicians. Be prepared for typical 1930s piano accompaniment...

The cover features an old photograph of John McKenna and Michael Gaffney.

1. The Five Mile Chase/The Duke of Leinster [Reels]
2. The Cork/The Quarrelsome Piper [Hornpipes]
3. The Sweet Flowers of Milltown/The Boys from Knock [Schottisches]
4. The Dunmore Lassies/The Manchester/The Castlebar Traveller [Reels]
5. The Pipe On The Hob [Jig]
6. The Kerry/The Shannon Shores [Reels]
7. Off To California/The Liverpool [Hornpipes]
8. My Darling Asleep/Yesterday Morning [Jigs]
9. The The Newport Lass/The Hag With The Money [Jigs]
10. Dwyer's [Hornpipe]
11. Lord McDonald/Miss McGuiness [Reels]
12. Brian Boru's/The Return From Fingal/Brian the Brave [Marches]
13. Bradley's Favourite [Reel]
14. The Black Rogue [Jig]
15. Eileen [Set Piece]
16. The Blackberry Blossom/Bonnie Kate [Reels]

Download

Joe Heaney & Gabriel O'Sullivan -Joe & the Gabe (1979)

2011-07-08T13:58:00.007+01:00

320 kbps

Joe Heaney & Gabriel O'Sullivan - Joe & the Gabe: Songs and Music of Galway
(Green Linnet - SIF 1018 - 1979)

Recorded by Peter Bellamy in 1979, this raw, unaccompanied album features songs by Joe Heaney (Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) and tunes by Gabriel O'Sullivan, known affectionately as the Gabe, on whistle, flute and fiddle. The Gabe was from Headford in East Galway, and he first learned his music from Tommy Coen, a fellow East Galway musician, when he went to work in Galway City. He later became interested in the Ballinakill style of flute playing, listening to 78s of the Ballinakill Céilí Band, and the flute playing of Tommy Whelan ('the greatest flute player of all from Ballinakill') and Stephen Maloney in particular. Gabe's flute playing, with its punchy, breathy attack, contrasts dramatically with the unbroken flow of the music of Paddy Carty, who might be considered the most famous exponent of the East Galway style of flute playing. The Gabe's personal style seems to have come from the old Ballinakill players:

Indeed it was the flutes that made them so special. Their breath control, their fingering, their timing, but above all they employed a very hard way of blowing, which, honest to God, the modern players now haven't a clue about. They always blew a very, very hard low D and went up to their tune from that, and the living echo of that hard D was right through their music. There's very few people outside of East Galway I've heard able to do this, and indeed nobody these days even tries. So that's it - the music shaped my being. It's my whole reason for existing.

Joe Heaney, or Seosamh Ó hÉanaí, came from Carna in West Connemara, a place where few could afford musical instruments, and where music was more often expressed in song. Heaney learned many of his English songs from his father, also a fine singer, and his Gaelic songs from his cousin Colm Keane, from whom Séamus Ennis is said to have collected no less than 280 songs.

You can watch a short video of Heaney singing the comic song Cúnla here.

1. Jack Coughlin's Favourite [Reel]
2. The Gabe's Miss McLeod [Reel]
3. The Widow from Mayo [Song]
4. The Duke of Leinster/The Kylebrack Rambler [Reels]
5. My Blessing on the Big Jug and it Full [Air]
6. Amhrán Muiginse (The Song of Mynish) [Song]
7. Whelan's [Jig]
8. The Lady on the Island [Reel]
9. The Banks of the Sweet Dundee [Reel]
10. Mama's Pet [Reel]
11. The Pipe on the Hob [Jig]
12. Martin Wynne's 2 [Reel]
13. Skibbereen [Song]
14. The Shaskeen [Reel]
15. Dónal Óg [Air]
16. Badoinn Tir Niad (The Teer Nee Boatman) [Song]
17. The Carraroe [Reel]
18. The Belles of Tipperary (The New Policeman) [Reel]
19. The Bogs of Shanaheever [Song]
20. The Green Blanket [Jig]

Download

Paddy Cronin - Kerry's Own (1977)

2011-07-08T11:09:00.004+01:00

256 kbps

Paddy Cronin - Kerry's Own (Outlet - OAS 3002 - 1977)

Paddy Cronin: Fiddle
Shea Walker: Guitar
Gogey McCullough: Bodhrán

A classic recording from the Outlet Records stable, featuring Gneevegullia native and Boston immigrant Paddy Cronin, brother of Johnny Cronin. The bodhrán accompaniment is a little wild and obtrusive but, thankfully, it was recorded on a separate channel, so it has been possible to remove it from the mix. Therefore both the original recording, and a version without the bodhrán accompaniment, are available for download. The latter is a few cents lower in pitch than the original recording.

Many thanks to BS for providing the manipulated version of the recording.

1. The Girl Who Broke My Heart/Tom Steele [Reels]
2. The Frieze Breeches [Jig]
3. Biddy Mickey's/The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipes]
4. Apples in Winter/The Trip to Galway [Jigs]
5. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reel]
6. This is My Love, Do You Like Her? [Single Jig]/The Pipe on the Hob [Jig]
7. Tom Billy's (The Ballydesmond)/Din Tarrant's [Polkas]
8. The Boys of Cunnamore/Billy McCormick's [Jigs]
9. The Bashful Batchelor/Reavy's [Hornpipes]
10. Dowd's 9/Kennaw's [Reels]
11. Farewell to Ballinahulla/The Kilkenny [Jigs]
12. The Mullingar Races/The Humours of Newcastle [Reels]
13. The Maids of Mount Cisco [Reel]
14. The Kid on the Mountain [Slip Jig]

Download (Original)

Download (Bodhrán Removed)

Youtube Channel

2011-07-02T10:44:00.007+01:00

The blog now has a related Youtube channel, where I'm uploading some video clips of traditional Irish music which haven't been posted previously. I'm also replacing a few of my favourite Youtube clips with slightly better quality versions than those already posted. The videos found in the Artist Index & Video Vault will also be featured in the channel's Favourites section.

Clips just added include:

Donncha Ó Brian: Ní ar Chnoc nó ar Ísleacht [Air]/Finbarr Dwyer's [Reel]

Conal Ó Gráda: The Eavesdropper/Strop the Razor [Jigs]

Tommy Peoples: The Laird of Drumblair [Strathspey]

Michael Gallagher: The Jug of Punch/The Blockers [Reels]

Con Curtin: Off in the Morning [Reel]

Arty McGlynn: Peter Byrne's Fancy/Creeping Docken [Jigs]

Conor Tully, Seán Casey & Frank Hogan: The Pigeon on the Gate/The Drogheda Lasses [Reels]

Francie & Mickey Byrne - Ceol na dTéad (1992)

2011-07-02T00:36:00.007+01:00

320 kbps

Francie 'Dearg' & Mickey 'Bán' Byrne - Ceol na dTéad: Traditional Irish Music Played on the Fiddle from Donegal (Cló Iar-Chonnacht - CIC078 - 1992)

A raw blast of fiddle music from the Byrne brothers of Kilcar, County Donegal, probably recorded some time in the late 1970's, shortly before Mickey passed away. There are hardly any sets here, only individual tunes, and the sound quality is that of a field recording, not a studio album. A little gem of pure Donegal fiddle music from an earlier age.

You can watch Francie Dearg playing Dinky Dorrian's Reel with Peter Carr here.

Some of the names are a little suspect, and any help in identifying those that have gone astray would be appreciated.

1. Franc a'Phoill [Jig]
2. Donegal Castle [Hornpipe]
3. Seán Ó Laidin (Danny Meehan's) [Reel]
4. Ríl Sheáin Parnell/An Cailín Rua [Reels]
5. Dúlamán na Binne Buí [Highland]
6. Jenny Rocking the Cradle [Reel]
7. Máire Mhaitiú [Air]
8. Gan Ainm [Hornpipe]
9. Gan Ainm [Reel]
10. The Scolding Wife [Reel]
11. Toss the Feathers [Reel]
12. O'Rourke's [Reel]
13. Clúine Meallta [Air]
14. Lough Isle Castle [Reel]
15. The Gravel Walks [Reel]
16. Ríl Phadaí 'n Atharaigh [Reel]
17. The Oak Tree [Reel]
18. Nell's [Hornpipe]
19. The Dublin [Reel]
20. Limerick House [Reel]
21. Master Crowley's (Miss Patterson's Slipper) [Reel]
22. Stirling Castle [Strathspey]
23. Agnes Campbell [Strathspey]
24. Dinky Dorrian's [Reel]
25. The Glory [Reel]
26. An Bunnán Buí [Air]
27. Hudi Gallagher's [March]

Download

Riches of Clare (2009)

2010-12-29T00:30:00.008Z

320 kbps

Riches of Clare (Clare Arts Office - 2009)

Recordings from the 2009 Riches of Clare free lunchtime concerts, put together for a free CD which was handed out at the Riches of Clare concerts, and in libraries throughout County Clare earlier this year. It features brilliant playing, predominantly from Clare musicians, as well as a number of musicians from further afield. Hopefully recordings from the equally brilliant 2010 series will be available next year.

1. Maeve Donnelly, Geraldine Cotter, Charlie Harris & Conal Ó Gráda -
The New Mown Meadow/The Dublin/The Steampacket [Reels]
2. Chris Droney, Michael Kelleher, Francis Droney and Aine McGrath -
The Little Stack of Wheat/The Flowing Tide [Hornpipes]
3. Colm Healy, Eric Healy, Kieran Hehir and Seánie McGrath -
Martin Wynne's/Tom Ward's Downfall/The Silver Spear [Reels]
4. Kevin Griffin, Eoin O'Neill & Quentin Cooper -
The Green Mountain/The Humours of Westport/The Bucks of Oranmore [Reels]
5. Paul Madden, Maria O'Donnell, Sinéad Heagney & Eimear Howley -
Fergal O'Gara's/The Duke of Leinster/The Cameronian [Reels]
6. John Moloney, Elaine Hogan, Sheila Garry & John Kelly -
Kiss me Kate/Mayor Harrison's Fedora/Liz Carroll's [Jigs]
7. Shane Mulvey, Siobhán Peoples, Murty Ryan & Martin Dermody -
Pat Mahon's/I Was Born for Sport/The Miller's Maggot [Jigs]
8. Tony Linnane, Jim O'Connor, Mick Conneely & Johnny McDonagh -
The Wind that Shakes the Barley/The Reel with the Beryl [Reels]
9. Eimear Arkins, Damien O'Reilly, Brian O'Loughlin & Keith O'Loughlin -
The Enchanted Lady/The Shaskeen/The Sailor's Bonnet [Reels]
10. Seán Vaughan, David sanders, Eddie Moloney & Ian Lambe -
Lucy Campbell/The Green Gates/The Duke of Leinster's Wife [Reels]
11. Éamonn Cotter, Conor McCarthy, Oisín MacDiarmada & Padraic O'Reilly -
The Yellow Tinker/Tim Moloney's [Reels]
12. Kieran Kissane, Edel Vaughan, Brian Mooney & Liam O'Flanagan -
Jim Donoghue's/The Ashplant [Reels]
13. The Kilfenora Céilí Band - Ward's [Marches]
14. Pádraig Rynne, Noel O'Donoghue, Brian Mooney & Liam Murphy -
Connolly's/The Chattering Magpie/Martin Ainsboro's [Reels]
15. Karol Lynch, Cyril O'Donoghue, Samantha Morris & Mickey Dunne -
The Limerick Lasses/Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel [Reels]

Download

False Alarm...

2010-12-01T00:50:00.005Z

Every day since I received my first takedown notice, I sent an email to IFPI requesting that they specify exactly which link generated the Copyright Complaint Notice so I didn't re-post it in ignorance and receive yet another blast of fiery denunciation from the upright folks at Blogger (the takedown notice is actually very polite). I received the following response:

'Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your emails. We have now investigated the matter internally and it appears that, despite our earlier good faith belief, the video does not infringe our members rights. We have informed Google accordingly.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Yours Faithfully

IFPI Notices'

Apology accepted gratefully. Thank you, nice IFPI people. It really is appreciated...

DR

(I did wonder why, of all the material I've posted, a link to a Youtube video should incur the wrath of those most legitimate opponents of the dubious right to copy...)

First Takedown Notice

2010-11-23T16:10:00.014Z

I received my first takedown notice today - informing me that one of the posts featured in the 'P' section of the Artist Index & Video Vault constituted an infringement of copyright. Helpfully, the specific post wasn't actually indicated...

If the employee of IFPI who sent the Copyright Complaint Notice to Google would like to be a bit more specific, I could probably save you future time and effort by removing anything else that infringes the copyright of the record companies your organisation represents, and by making sure that when I post the 'P' section of the Artist Index & Video Vault again, the offending link has been removed.

Best wishes,

DR

(By the way, anybody who has a legitimate commercial, legal, or artistic interest in either the copyright or moral ownership of any of the recordings or videos posted on this blog, can contact me directly at pashadragutreis@yahoo.co.uk to arrange for the offending items to be removed.)

Artist Index & Video Vault

2010-09-09T15:49:00.006+01:00

Artist Index & Video Vault

I've added an alphabetic artist index to the blog, allowing for easy browsing among the albums that I've uploaded. It can be found on the right hand side of the screen under the Navigation heading.

The Artist Index also features a growing number of links to Youtube videos of performances by traditional Irish musicians. I've tried to include only those videos which are of a high quality - both in terms of musicianship and sound reproduction - but the sound quality of a number of videos which have both musical and historical significance can be less than perfect.

Any suggestions regarding videos of traditional Irish musicians you think worthy of inclusion will be gratefully received...

Father Charles Coen - Father Charlie (1979)

2010-09-06T20:33:00.009+01:00

128 kbps

Father Charles Coen - Father Charlie (Green Linnet - CSIF 1021 -1979)

A slightly strange album in that it features two songs in Irish sung by a childrens' choir and directed by Father Charles Coen. Apart from that the music is sparse and unaccompanied, with the exception of the final tune, an unusual and particularly pretty 6/8 march on which Father Coen's concertina is joined by Mick Moloney on guitar. Father Charles also plays whistle and flute on several tracks. It's not in the same league as the brilliant album 'The Branch Line' recorded two years previously by brothers Jack and Father Charles Coen, but it features some lovely playing and some interesting tunes nonetheless.

'The Branch Line', featuring Father Charles Coen on concertina and Jack Coen on flute, can be purchased in CD form from Compass Records, and downloaded via Topic Records from Thinkindie. You will have to enter it into the search function to locate it. You can also download it from EMusic, Amazon and iTunes.

1. Tommy Meara's/Swinging on the Gate [Reels]
2. Gallagher's Frolics/The Templehouse [Jigs]
3. The Echoo/The Wonder [Hornpipes]
4. Ag Seoladh Na Gamhna [Air]
5. Paddy Fahey's/The Tynagh [Jigs]
6. An Londubh is an Chéirseach (The Blackbird and the Thrush) [Song]
7. Mike Coen's/Mike Coen's 2/The Flour Bag [Polkas]
8. Kitty Jones/Castlekelly [Reels]
9. Madeline's Frolics/The Foxhunter's [Slip Jigs]
10. Feach a Phádraig [Song]
11. Ambrose Maloney's/Richard Dwyer's [Reels
12. Tim Kelly's/John McMahon's [Reels]
13. An Cailín Rua [Song]
14. Parnell's [March]

Download

Johnny Doherty - Fiddler on the Road (1972)

2010-09-05T18:05:00.010+01:00

Fiddler on the Road (UTV - 1972)

A lovely documentary made by Ulster Television in 1972 about the legendary fiddler and tinsmith from Ardara in County Donegal, Johnny Doherty.

The film is a real gem, describing the lives of the traveling families of Donegal in the early part of the century, their trade, their music, and particularly the Doherty family's place in the musical traditions of the countryside. It describes Doherty's life as a young man earning money playing traditional Irish music and American jazz until forced to return to his occupation of tinsmith as the music of the big bands grew in popularity. Not only does the film shine a welcome spotlight on a great fiddler and fascinating character, but offers a glimpse into a world that has all but disappeared in the four decades since it was made, and shows aspects of Donegal life that are all but memories. We see Doherty at his trade, working a sheet of tin as he talks of his occupation and his music; there are great schttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifenes of old-style dancing - even by Doherty as he plays - and of course, there is an abundance of priceless footage of the great man's brilliant playing, which has made him such a legendary figure in the world of Irish music.

Watch

The full-length version of this film is provided by Donegal Daily.

You can read about Johnny Doherty and other Donegal fiddlers, and listen to sound files, at the Donegal Fiddle Music website, which is well worth a visit.

You can also see some great footage of Johnny Doherty playing for Pete Seeger and Peter Kennedy following an impromptu visit on their field recording tour back in 1964. Despite the poor quality of the film and the variable quality of the sound recording, the playing is exceptional and it really does make for great viewing.

Part 1
Part 2

Bobby Casey - Casey in the Cowhouse (1992)

2010-09-03T22:32:00.006+01:00

320 kbps

Bobby Casey - Casey in the Cowhouse: The Unique Music of Bobby Casey (Bellbridge - 001 - 1992)

Recorded on a Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder in a converted shed behind Junior Crehan's house in 1959, this is in my opinion the finest example of Bobby Casey's playing to be made available commercially. Four of the tracks were recorded by Bill Leader in 1971, and they will be familiar to anyone who owns the wonderful Bow Hand Records album 'The Spirit of West Clare', but the greater part of the album was made when Casey was in his early-thirties, playing for friends in a relaxed, informal setting. 'Taking Flight' is surely one of the finest unaccompanied fiddle albums recorded, but the spontaneity, freedom, and immediacy in Casey's playing makes 'Casey in the Cowhouse' stand out from every other recording of this great fiddler that I have heard.

Ciarán Carson writes wonderfully of Casey's playing, and particularly of the music which can be heard on this unpretentious and deeply personal recording: "There is a lonesome note in Bobby’s music, but also devilment and wit, a razor-sharp awareness of the possibilities of a tune, of how a subtle twist to a conventional run of notes can transform what until then seemed mournful into something wry and funny. The humour is deadpan and sometimes wicked." Carson's evocative description of the personality which pours out in Casey's playing is taken from a short essay which can be read here.

Casey is joined by Tommy McCarthy on concertina for two tracks, and by his son Seán Casey, who plays mandolin on the final track of the recording. 'Casey in the Cowhouse' was only released on cassette, and although the recording offered here is a composite of the best parts of two separate copies, there are still a number of artefacts which severely affect the quality of the sound reproduction.

Many thanks to JS and JC for providing the two copies from which this has been put together.

Those who would like to hear Bobby Casey's playing free from the artefacts associated with low-quality reproduction can buy the excellently-restored and professionally-mastered Bow Hand Records album 'The Spirit of West Clare' from a number of retailers including Copperplate Distribution, Celtic Grooves and, oddly-enough, Asda...

There is also a nice clip of Bobby Casey playing with uilleann piper Tommy Keane which you can view here.

1. The Glen of Aherlow/Rolling in the Barrel [Reels]
2. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reel]
3. My Love is Fair and Handsome [Reel]
4. The Musical Priest [Reel]
5. The Shores of Lough Rea/Clancy's Dream/Scully Casey's/The Banks of Lough Gowna/Brian O'Lynn [Jigs]
6. Paddy Ryan's Dream [Reel]
7. Toss the Feathers [Reel]
8. Poll Ha'penny/Murphy's [Hornpipes]
9. The Yellow Tinker/The Bunch of Keys [Reels]
10. The College Groves/Toss the Feathers [Reels]
11. Hurry the Jug [Set Dance]
12. Gerry Daly's/Scully Casey's/The Cuckoo/The Western [Hornpipes]
13. Banish Misfortune/Kitty's Rambles [Jigs]
14. The Old Wheels of the World/The Green Fields of America [Reels]
15. Connemara Stockings/The Ships are Sailing [Reels]
16. The Gallowglass/The Legacy [Jigs]
17. Miss McDonald [Reel]
18/ Farewell to Miltown/The Star of Munster [Reels]

Download

Paddy Taylor - The Boy in the Gap (1970)

2010-07-09T14:12:00.003+01:00

320 kbps

Paddy Taylor - The Boy in the Gap: Traditional Music from Limerick and Clare (Claddagh Records - CC8 - 1970)

A number of people have requested this album, and as there is no sign of it being made available from Claddagh Records in the near future I will post it here for the time being...

Lovely playing from the West Limerick flute player and composer of a number of well-known tunes. I believe this is the first album of Irish traditional music recorded exclusively on the flute...

1. Paddy Taylor's 1/Paddy Taylor's 2 [Jigs]
2. An Páistín Fionn [Air]
3. The Banks Of The Illen [Reel]
4. The Tailor's Twist/The Loughill [Hornpipes]
5. Morrison's/The West Limerick/Hanley's Delight [Polkas]
6. Raghadsa is mo Cheatai [Air]
7. The Hag With the Money/Fasten the Legging [Jigs]
8. Rocking The Cradle [Air]/The Priest in his Boots [Jig]
9.The Bunch of Keys/The Sandmount [Reels]
10. Hinchey's Delight [Jig]
11. The Boy in the Gap [Jig]
12.Taylor's Fancy/The Limerick [Single Jigs]
13. Tiarna Mhuigheo [Air]
14. The Fairy Queen [Hornpipe]
15. The Fermoy Lasses/The Five Mile Chase [Reels]

Download

Josephine Keegan - Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Airs (1980)

2010-06-18T16:59:00.006+01:00

320 kbps

Josephine Keegan - Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Airs
(Outlet - SOLP 1040 - 1980)

One of five of Josephine Keegan's solo fiddle albums on which she double tracked her own piano accompaniment. There is some lovely playing as well as a very nice selection of tunes.

1. The Kylebrack Rambler/Gerry Cronin's [Reels]
2. The Queen of the West/Hasberry Howard [Hornpipes]
3. Cronin's Rambles [Jig]
4. Sliabh Geal gGua [Air]
5. Dancing Eyes/Eddie Kelly's [Jigs]
6. Music in the Glen/The Lass of Ballintra [Reels]
7. The Square of Crossmaglen/Coolderry Bridge [Reels]
8. To the Waters and the Wild/The Hazel Wand [Hornpipes]
9. The Lark in the Morning [Jig]
10. An Buinnean Buidhe [Air]
11. The Pear Tree/The Stranger [Hornpipes]
12. Jimmy McBride's [Reel]

Forthcoming digital re-release...

Jim McKillop & Mary Mulholland - The Wind that Shakes the Barley (1976)

2010-06-06T13:13:00.003+01:00

320 kbps

Jim McKillop & Mary Mulholland - The Wind that Shakes the Barley
(Emerald Gem - GES 1151 - 1976)

A straightforward fiddle and piano album from the Antrim fiddler and accordion player Jim McKillop who had, rather surprisingly, only been playing fiddle for around four years when this album was recorded. The playing is calmer and less fiery than that on the recording made with Josephine Keegan on the Outlet label, and his lovely crisp and bouncy style shines through without any of the sometimes excessively-virtuosic fireworks that can be heard on the better-known Outlet album.

1. The Shaskeen/The Pigeon on the Gate [Reels]
2. The Rambling Pitchfork/Jerry's Beaver Hat [Jigs]
3. Across the Fence to the Neighbour's Wife [Hornpipe]/Jimmy McBride's [Reel]
4. The Gold Ring [Jig]
5. Miss McLeod/The First Month of Spring [Reels]
6. The Wind that Shakes the Barley/The Boys of the Lough [Reels]
7. The Sunny Banks/The Flax in Bloom [Reels]
8. Carmel Mahoney Mulhaire [Reel]
9. Rakish Paddy/Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reels]
10. The Wise Maid/Farewell to Ireland [Reels]
11. Andy McGann's/Strike the Gay Harp [Jigs]
12. The Salamanca/Providence [Reels]
13. Lord Gordon's [Reel]
14. Byrne's/Murphy's [Hornpipes]
15. The Skylark/The Fisherman's Island [Reels]
16. Miss Monaghan/The New Policeman [Reels]
17. McMahon's/The Flowing Tide [Hornpipes]

Download

The Breeze from Erin (1969)

2010-04-13T12:06:00.006+01:00

The Breeze from Erin - Irish Folk Music on Wind Instruments
(Topic - 12T184 - 1969)

Willie Clancy - Uillean Pipes & Whistle
Festy Conlan - Whistle
Tim Lyons - Accordion
Séamus Tansey - Flute, Whistle & Bodhrán
Tony McMahon - Accordion
Reg Hall - Piano

Recorded by Bill Leader in 1967, Topic were again stretching the criteria when they included pipes and accordion on a recording dedicated to Irish music played on wind instruments... Willie Clancy's versions of 'An Phis Fhliuch' and 'Táimse im Chlodladh' are probably the highlights of the album, but McMahon's rendition of 'Bean Dubh an Ghleanna' is also superb.

1. Willie Clancy – An Phis Fhliuch [Slip Jig]
2. Festy Conlan – Banish Misfortune [Jig]http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
3. Festy Conlan & Tim Lyons - The Bag of Potatoes/The Sligo Maid [Reels]
4. Séamus Tansey – Róisín Dubh [Air]/The Dublin/The Steampacket [Reels]
5. Séamus Tansey & Eddie Corcoran – Boil the Breakfast Early [Reel]
6. Tony McMahon - Bean Dubh an Ghleanna [Air]/The Boys of Ballisodare [Reel]
7. Willie Clancy – The Hare in the Heather/The Woman of the House [Reels]
8. Festy Conlan & Tim Lyons – The Queen of the Rushes [Jig]
9. Séamus Tansey – Paddy Ryan's Dream/Mama's Pet [Reels]
10. Festy Conlan – An Raibh Tú Ar an gCarraig [Air]
11. Festy Conlan – The First House in Connaught/Miss McLeod [Reels]
12. Eddie Corcoran & Séamus Tansey – Bonnie Kate/Jenny's Chickens [Reels]
13. Willie Clancy – Táimse im Chodladh [Air]

This album has been re-released, and can be purchased here, and from iTunes, and from Amazon.

Jimmy Power - Irish Fiddle Player (1976)

2010-03-23T14:15:00.008Z

Jimmy Power - Irish Fiddle Player (Topic - 12TS306 - 1976)

This album is available to buy from Topic Records.

Unlike the 'Irish Dances' (Clan - 233 003 - 1967) album, which was recorded in strict dance tempo, the music on this album is, in Power's own words, 'played normal, like', with an emphasis on listening pleasure, rather than absolute rhythmic precision. Tunes like Tommy Potts' version of 'The Rambling Pitchfork', and Michael Gorman compositions 'The Strayaway Child' and 'The Mountain Road' are played with an obvious relish for the subtleties of variation that are available to the precise and imaginative fiddle player, and the tune selections in general are fresh and interesting, although Power's playing is not perhaps as vigorous and exciting as it is on the 'Paddy in the Smoke' album (Topic - TSCD 603 - 1997). Power is accompanied on all tracks by Reg Hall, and on one track by Gerry Wright on bodhrán. You can listen to Jimmy Power describing his introduction to music as a boy, his development as a musician, and his relationship with Reg Hall, in a brief interview in the British Library's Archival Sound Recordings. You can also listen to a fragment of a music lesson given by Power at The Favourite in Holloway in 1979.

1. Tommy Potts' Rambling Pitchfork/The Strayaway Child [Jigs]
2. The Chorus/McKenna's [Reels]
3. Jockey to the Fair/Miss Brown's Fancy [Set Dances]
4. Coleman's Favourite/The Promenade [Hop Jigs]
5. Dwyer's/The Harvest Home [Hornpipes]
6. Jackie Coleman's/The Castle [Reels]
7. The Nine Points of Roguery/The Crib of Perches [Reels]
8. Whelan's/The Lark in the Morning [Jigs]
9. The Mountain Road [Reel]
10. Follow Me Down to Limerick/Hardiman the Fiddler [Slip Jigs]
11. Youghal Harbour [Set Dance]
12. The Walls of Liscarroll [Jig]
13. The Jug of Punch/The Moving Bogs of Powelsborough [Reels]
14. Statia Donnelly's [Waltz]/Statia Donnelly's [Jig]

Billy Clifford - Irish Traditonal Flute Solos and Band Music from Kerry and Tipperary (1977)

2010-03-19T21:05:00.006Z

320 kbps

Billy Clifford - Irish Traditonal Flute Solos and Band Music from Kerry and Tipperary (Topic - 12TS312 - 1977)

Billy Clifford - Flute
Matt Hayes - Accordion
Catherine Ryan - Drums

Topic stretched the criteria somewhat in order to make this the fourth in the 'Music from Sliabh Luachra' series, but Billy Clifford's lifetime of exposure to the music of that region is very much evident in the solo material on this album. The solo polkas here feature the best playing of these tricky tunes in the Sliabh Luachra style that I have heard on the flute, and as Sliabh Luachra polkas played on the fiddle mimic the ornaments of the melodeon or accordion, Billy Clifford in turn uses the flute to play the fiddle, incorporating the idiosyncratic and heavily accented legato bowing of his mother Julia's fiddle playing into his own unique and really lovely style.

The other side to the album is the material recorded with Catherine Ryan and Matt Hayes, featuring the eponymous band music from Tipperary. There are a number of quite outstanding tunes, such as the dubiously titled 'Michael Coleman's', as well as a number of other reasonably well-known but interesting, even slightly unusual tunes. Between the two styles of playing there is some really great music on this album.

Billy Clifford has recently released a lovely album entitled 'Echoes of Sliabh Luachra'. You can listen to samples and buy the album from a number of retailers, including Claddagh Records, Copperplate Distribution, and Custy's Music. You can also listen to Billy perform two polkas in Custy's music shop here.

1. Billy – The Fermoy Lasses/The Honeymoon [Reels]
2. Trio – The Upperchurch 1/The Upperchurch 2 [Polkas]
3. Trio - Matt Hayes' (Paddy Fahey's 1)/Farewell to Gurteen[Jigs]
4. Billy - Matt Hayes' [Polkas]
5. Billy – The Cordal/The Munster [Jigs]
6. Trio – Julia Clifford's/The Coalminer's [Reels]
7. Trio - Mrs Ryan's/Danny Green's [Polkas]
8. Billy – The Doon/Pádraig O'Keeffe's [Reels]
9. Trio – The Hollyford/Dancing Eyes [Jigs]
10. Trio - The Flowing Tide [Hornpipe]
11. Trio – The Bracken Brae/Napoleon's Grand March [Marches]
12. Trio – The Wheels of the World/Michael Coleman's [Jigs]
13. Trio – Terry Teahan's/The Top of Maol [Polkas]
14. Billy – Hetty O'Hady [Jig]
15. Billy – The Milliner's Daughter/Durang's [Reels]
16. Billy – The Cuban/Bill the Waiver [Polkas]
17. Trio – The Home Brew/The Druid's Field [Hornpipes]
18. Trio – Willie Doherty's/Up on the Wagon [Polkas]
19. Billy – The Lilting Banshee/The Moycarkey [Jigs]
20. Billy - Byrne's [Hornpipe]
21. Billy – Garret Barry's/Muckross Abbey [Reels]

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Muintir Lewis - Weeds in the Garden (1978)

2010-03-19T14:37:00.003Z

320 kbps

Muintir Lewis - Weeds in the Garden (Tara - 2003 - 1978)

Breda Lewis - Mandoline
John Lewis - Flute
Patsy Lewis - Concertina
Liam Lewis - Fiddle

A sweet and simple album from the Lewis family, featuring some lovely East Galway tunes, and some particularly nice fiddle playing from Liam who, incredibly, had only been playing the instrument for three years when this was recorded, a testament to an extraordinary talent that is less widely recognised than it perhaps ought to be. He can be heard on Breda Keville's absolutely brilliant album 'The Hop Down', as well as featuring on the The Bowhouse Quintet recording 'Live in Ennis', and his solo East Galway version of 'The Girl that Broke My Heart' is one of the highlights of this album. Unfortunately there is considerable wear on the record from which this was ripped, especially on the outer edges, so there is some interference, particularly on tracks 1 and 7.

1. O'Connor Donn's/The Mountain Dew [Reels]
2. The Weeds in the Garden [Air]
3. The Gardener/Paddy O'Brien's [Hornpipes]
4. The Green Groves Of Erin/Allen's [Reels]
5. An Buachaill Caol Dubh [Air]
6. Tobín's/Tom Billy's [Jigs]
7. Paddy Fahey's 4/Paddy Fahey's 3 [Reels]
8. Deus Meus [Air]
9. The Star of Munster/The Girl that Broke My Heart [Reels]
10. Paddy Fahey's/Eddie Kelly's [Jigs]
11. A Dhia na Nollag [Air]
12. The Ewe with the Crumpled Horn/Moving in Decency [Reels]

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Seán Ryan & Peter Carberry - Traditional Music of Ireland vol.2 (1960)

2010-03-15T18:08:00.004Z

256 kbps

Seán Ryan & Peter Carberry - Traditional Music of Ireland vol.2
(Avoca - 33AV134 - 1960)

The second album in the Avoca series featuring Tipperary legend Seán Ryan, on which he is joined by Longford piper Peter Carberry. There is a rhythmic and tonal exactitude heard in these duet recordings which renders the individual sounds of the instruments indistinguishable in places, creating a hypnotic drive to the music which is quite unique and somewhat enchanting. I'm uncertain as to the exact date this recording was made, but it is likely to be some time around 1960.

1. The First House in Connaught/The Sligo Maid [Reels]
2. The Frieze Breeches/The Lark in the Morning [Jigs]
3. The Wexford/Dunphy's [Hornpipes]
4. The Girl That Broke My Heart [Reel]
5. The Blackbird [Set Dance]/Madame Bonaparte [Hornpipe]
6. The Killimor/The Blooming Meadows [Jigs]
7. The Steampacket/The Copperplate [Reels]
8. The Corner House/Rakish Paddy [Reels]
9. The Humours of Bandon/The Three Sea Captains [Set Dances]
10. The Battering Ram/The Cook in the Kitchen [Jigs]
11. The Cuckoo's Nest/Seán Ryan's [Hornpipes]
12. St. Patrick's Day [Set Dance]
13. The Hunter's Purse/The Maid of Mount Cisco [Reels]
14. T'Athair Jack Walsh/The Rambling Pitchfork [Jigs]

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Terry Teahan & Gene Kelly - Old Time Irish Music in America (1977)

2010-03-03T17:52:00.004Z

320 kbps

Terry Teahan & Gene Kelly - Old Time Irish Music in America
(Topic - 12TS352 - 1977)

Recorded by Mick Moloney in 1976, the album features Kilkenny-born C#/D accordion player Gene Kelly, and Terry 'Cuz' Teahan, a melodeon player who was a native of Gleanntán in Co. Kerry. Teahan's name will be familiar from a number of polkas and slides associated with his playing, and a number of compositions, including the fling 'The Man from Gleanntán' which he composed in honour of Pádraig O'Keeffe, his one-time teacher at Gleanntán National School. Most of the tunes are played on their own, with a few sets from the unusual accordion playing of Gene Kelly, who admits to possessing a 'totally haphazard' approach to bass acompaniment... Many of the tunes will be well-known, particularly to those who are fond of music from Sliabh Luachra, but the settings are often unfamiliar, granting a glimpse into the dance music of the region in the 1920s. More information can be found in the original liner notes, which are included in the download.

1. Gene Kelly – The Corner House/The Broomstick [Reels]
2. Terry Teahan – Tom Looney's [Slide]
3. Terry Teahan – Reagan's [Slide]
4. Gene Kelly – The Sweep's/Hennessey's [Hornpipes]
5. Terry Teahan – The Kerry Mills [Barndance]
6. Terry Teahan – Mike Howard's [Polka]
7. Terry Teahan – The Bird's [Hornpipe]
8. Gene Kelly – Blind Mary [Air]
9. Terry Teahan – The Barrel Organ [Slide]
10. Terry Teahan – The Evening I Spent with Mick [Slide]
11. Terry Teahan – The Paper Plate [Slide]
12. Gene Kelly - Fahey's/Gerry's Beaver Hat [Jigs]
13. Terry Teahan – The Lonesome Road to Dingle [Slide]
14. Terry Teahan – Mickey Chewing Bubble Gum [Polka]
15. Gene Kelly – Seán Hayes/If There Weren't Any Women in the World [Barndances]
16. Terry Teahan – Tadgh's Ailment [Hornpipe]
17. TerryTeahan – Going for Water [Slide]
18. Gene Kelly – The Old Caubeen [Story & Air]
19. Terry Teahan – Tadgh and Biddy [Waltz]
20. Terry Teahan – Poll Ha'Penny [Hornpipe]
21. Terry Teahan – Paddy Kenny's [Polka]
22. Gene Kelly – Father O'Flynn/The Connaughtman's Rambles [Jigs]
23. Terry Teahan – Jack Mitchell's [Polka]
24. Terry Teahan – Gan Ainm [Sword Dance]
25. Terry Teahan – The Road to Gleanntán [Fling]
26. Gene Kelly – The Swallow's Tail/Miss McLeod [Reels]

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Seán Ryan & P.J.Moloney - Traditional Music of Ireland vol.1 (1960)

2010-02-24T02:29:00.005Z

320 kbps

Seán Ryan & P.J.Moloney - Traditional Music of Ireland vol.1 (Avoca - 33 AV 121 - 1960)

Tipperary fiddler Seán Ryan and Galway flute player P.J.Moloney won the All-Ireland duet title in 1956, and recorded this beautiful unacompanied album on the Avoca label around four years later. A great number of Seán Ryan's tunes have become assimilated into the tradition, but it is a great shame that his recordings are largely unobtainable, and that his absolutely wonderful playing is not more readily available to be heard. You can read about Seán Ryan's music on a website created by his son Brian, and in a piece by Brendan Taaffe which you can read here.

This was ripped from a tape-recording of a well-loved LP, so the sound quality has deteriorated substantially, but the playing really is something else.

The image I have used for the cover is taken from a lovely painting by the artist Sheila Dewsbury, whose work can be viewed here.

Thanks to P.J. for sharing this, and a great number of other wonderful recordings.

1. Paddy Kelly's/Down the Broom/Farewell to Connaught [Reels]
2. The Castle/McKenna's [Jigs]
3. The Cuckoo's Nest/Cooley's/O'Brien's [Hornpipes]
4. O'Meara's/The Leitrim [Reels]
5. The Blackbird [Set Dance]
6. The Wheels of the World/Tom Steele [Reels]
7. Tony Molloy's/Out on the Ocean/The Killimore [Jigs]
8. Bonnie Kate/Jenny's Chickens [Reels]
9. McMahon's/Dingle Bay [Hornpipes]
10. The Carraroe/Morrison's [Jigs]
11. The Dash to Portobello/The Bunch of Keys [Reels]
12. The Flowing Tide/Seán Ryan's Fancy [Hornpipes]

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Brendan McGlinchey - Music of a Champion (1974)

2010-02-18T21:14:00.011Z

128 kbps

Brendan McGlinchey & Mary Mulholland - Music of a Champion (Silver Hill Records - PSH 100 - 1974)

Armagh native Brendan McGlinchey recorded this album on Finbar Dwyer's Silver Hill label in 1974 after moving to England in the late 1960s. More information about his music can be found here, in a piece by Brendan Taaffe, in which McGlinchey describes life as a young musician in Armagh, the development of his playing while on the road with bands in Ireland and amongst the emigré community in London, as well as explaining the surprising fifteen year hiatus in his playing which was to begin only four years after this album was recorded. For a less-polished, unaccompanied recording of McGlinchey's playing made in 1973 look here.

You can also listen to McGlinchey playing 'The Job of Journeywork' with Michael Rooney here.

1. Splendid Isolation/Lawrie's [Reels]
2. Whelan's/Paddy Taylor's [Jigs]
3. Across the Fence to the Neighbour's Wife/The Gate to the West (The Acrobat) [Hornpipes]
4. The Floating Crowbar/McKenna's [Reels]
5. Banish Misfortune/The Trip to Sligo [Reels]
6. Music in the Glen/Rakish Paddy [Reels]
7. The Galway/Paddy Fahey's [Reels]
8. The Tosspot (The Queen of the West) [Hornpipe]
9. The Fisherman's Island/The College Groves [Reels]
10. The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipe]
11. The Knocknagow [Jig]
12. The Liffey Banks/The Shaskeen [Reels]

Download

John Doonan - At the Feis (1978)

2010-01-17T14:02:00.008Z

320 kbps

John Doonan - At the Feis: Irish Traditional Dance Music in Strict Tempo (Topic - 12TS368 - 1978)

Recorded by Bill Leader in 1977, this is the second album from Newcastle flute and piccolo player John Doonan. Some of the tunes have become what many would consider to be overplayed, but Doonan's setting of both The Kesh and Morrison's are worth a listen, and the set dances are particularly nice.

1. Jackie Coleman's/Paddy Cavanagh's/John Brennan's [Reels]
2. Any Old Jig Will Do/The Butterfly [Slip Jigs]
3. Rodney's Glory [Set Dance]
4. The Idle Road/The Frost is All Over/The Black Rogue [Jigs]
5. The Spalpeen's Lament [Air]
6. The Kesh/Morrison's/Old Joe's [Jigs]
7. The Shannon Breeze/The Heathery Breeze/The Green Fields of America [Reels]
8. The Blackthorn Stick [Set Dance]
9. Hurry the Jug [Set Dance]
10. Rub the Bag [Set Dance]
11. The Blackbird [Air & Set Dance]
12. Spellan the Fiddler/The Rights of Man [Hornpipes]
13. The Irish Washerwoman/Father O'Flynn/The Lilting Fisherman [Jigs]

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Peter Browne - The Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Master: Pádraig O'Keeffe (1993)

2010-01-05T10:23:00.006Z

Peter Browne - The Sliabh Luachra Fidddle Master: Pádraig O'Keeffe (Irish Music - 1993)

Another excellent biographical essay, exploring in detail the life and times of the legendary Sliabh luachra fiddler Pádraig O'Keeffe. Written by Peter Browne, it stands alone as an excellent piece, but it is the fruit of research conducted by Browne for the RTÉ broadcast The Rolling Wave in 1993. Browne presented four programmes commemmorating Pádraig O'Keeffe's life and music, which can be heard on The Rolling Wave website.

Programme 1
Programme 2
Programme 3
Programme 4

Download.

Alan Ward - Music from Sliabh Luachra (1977)

2010-01-05T01:06:00.005Z

Alan Ward - 'Music from Sliabh Luachra: An Introduction to the Traditional Music of the Cork/Kerry Borderland with Notes on Topic Records 12T(S)309-311' (Traditional Music Magazine, vol.5 - 1977)

An extremely well-informed and personal essay written by Alan Ward in 1977, setting out an introduction to the music of Sliabh Luachra, and paying particular attention to the musical history of Denis Murphy, his sister Julia Clifford, her husband John, and the travelling fiddle teacher Pádraig O'Keeffe. The 32-page booklet also provides substantial information on the three volumes in the 'Music from Sliabh Luachra' series released by Topic Records in 1977, and is a valuable and interesting resource for anyone who wishes to learn a little more about the musical traditions of the Sliabh Luachra region, and a short history of it's three most famous fiddlers, Pádraig O'Keeffe, Denis Murphy, and Julia Clifford.

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John & Julia Clifford - The Humours of Lisheen (1977)

2010-01-04T13:10:00.005Z

320 kbps

John & Julia Clifford - The Humours of Lisheen (Topic - 12TS311 - 1977)

This is the third instalment of Topic's Music from Sliabh Luachra series, and features the playing of husband and wife John and Julia Clifford, accompanied on piano by Reg Hall. It was recorded between 1975 and 1976, and most of the tracks were put down on two separate occasions in London, apart from track 10, which was recorded at Jack Lyons' Bar, Scartaglen, and track 20, recorded at Dan Connell's Bar, Knocknagree. The tunes on this album were all familiar to the Cliffords before they left Lisheen, Co. Kerry, with the exception of 'Tap the Barrel', a reel they picked up whilst living in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, between 1953 and 1958. So, unlike The Star of Munster Trio, which consists almost entirely of tunes well-known on the London Irish music scene in the 1970s, this album gives an insight into the repertoire of the Sliabh Luachra region as it was played in the 1930s. As is to be expected, a number of tunes are associated with the Sliabh Luachra fiddle master, Pádraig O'Keeffe, from whom both Julia and her brother, Denis Murphy, learned their music. The production on the album is very basic, and the playing is fresh and unrehearsed, but the casual brilliance of Julia Clifford's playing is an absolute joy to behold.

1. The Humours of Lisheen/Art O'Keeffe's [Jigs]
2. Tap the Barrel/Jenny Tie the Bonnet [Reels]
3. The Frisco [Hornpipe]
4. Biddy Crowley's Ball (This is My Love, Do You Like Her?) [Single Jig]
5. The Bold Trainor O [Air]/Pádraig O'Keeffe's [Slide]
6. The Blue Riband/Up and Away [Polkas]
7. Cailín an Ti Mhoir (Girl from the Big House) [Jig]
8. Tom Sullivan's [Polka]
9. John J.Kimmell's/The Home Brew [Hornpipes]
10. Pádraig O'Keeffe's [Polka]
11. Pol Ha'Penny [Hornpipe]
12. John Mahinney's 2 (Brian O'Lynn)/The Ducks and the Oats [Jigs]
13. I Looked East and I Looked West [Polka]
14. Maurice Manley's/The Worn Torn Petticoat [Slides]
15. Táimse i m'Chodladh is ná Dúistear mé (I'm Asleep, Don't Wake me) [Air]
16. Going to the Well for Water (The Kaiser) [Slide]
17. Julia Clifford's/Bill the Waiver [Polkas]
18. The Rolling Waves [Single Jig]
19. Johnny Cope [Hornpipe]
20. John Clifford's [Polka]/Billy O'Rourke is the Boy/Going for Water (Scattery Island) [Slides]

Download

Seán McGuire - Irish Traditional Fiddling (1969)

2009-12-13T12:22:00.009Z

320 kbps

Seán McGuire, Roger Sherlock & Josephine Keegan - Irish Traditional Fiddling (Outlet - SOLP 1002 - 1969)

One of the vast numbers of recordings made by the Ulster fiddle maestro and innovator Seán McGuire, and re-released on CD shortly before the collapse of the Outlet label in 2004. Here he is accompanied by the wonderful composer and piano accompanist Josephine Keegan, and as an added bonus there are two tracks by the sligo flute player Roger Sherlock. McGuire's classically-inspired style is not for everyone, but it is difficult to be entirely unimpressed by the sheer virtuosity of his technical prowess, and both McGuire and Sherlock are masters of the unexpected variation, bringing lovely innovations and surprising intervals to well-known tunes. This rip was made from what was obviously a much-played LP and subsequently the sound quality has deteriorated somewhat, generating a small amount of distortion in the upper frequencies.

1. Speed the Plough/Tom Ward's Downfall [Reels]
2. Reavy's/The Ravelled Hank of Yarn [Reels]
3. Casadh an tSugain (Twisting the Hay Rope) [Air]
4. Slievenamon [Hornpipe]
5. The Duke of Leinster/The Duke of Leinster's Wife [Reels]
6. The Boy in his Pants [Jig]
7. The Dairymaid/The Holy Land [Reels]
8. Jackie Coleman's/Roger's Fancy [Reels]
9. The Gold Ring [Jig]
10. Se Fearr Mo Mhuire [Air]
11. Andy McGann's/The Humours of Scarriff [Reels]
12. Mama's Pet/Mama's Pet [Reels]
13. The Banks [Hornpipe]
14. The Humours of Ennistymon/Brendan Tonra's [Jigs]

Forthcoming digital re-release...

Cathal McConnell & Robin Morton - An Irish Jubilee (1970)

2009-12-12T17:01:00.006Z

320 kbps

Cathal McConnell & Robin Morton - An Irish Jubilee (Topic - 12T290 - 1976)

An unusual album from two of the original members of The Boys of the Lough, recorded in 1969, about two years before the band was formed. Many of the ballads have their origins in Ulster, home of both McConnell and Morton, who are from Fermanagh and Antrim respectively. This album, with arrangements of flute, concertina, whistle, voice and bodhrán, will not be to everybody's taste, but there are a number of fine songs, as well as many lovely tunes, the most interesting of which is 'The Blue Angel', a composition of the Belfast pianist Liam King, and a tune which has in recent years re-emerged as a session tune under the title of 'The Flying Crowbar'.

1. Nil se 'na La (It's Not Yet Day) [Air]/The Humours of Winnington [Jig]
2. The Hiring Fair at Hamiltownsbawn [Song]
3. Three out of One [Hornpipe/Jig/Reel]
4. Matt Hyland [Song]
5. The Dusty Miller/McDermott's [Slip Jigs]
6. On the Banks of a River Near Blackwatertown [Song]
7. McNamara's (Connie O'Connell's)/The Blue Angel (King's Fancy) [Jigs]
8. The Gauger's Song
9. Gather Round the Fire/Brereton's [Reels]
10. Mary from Murroogh [Song]
11. Tiocfaidh an Samhradh agus Fairsing Feir (Summer Will Come with Plenty of Hay) [Air]/Planxty Reynolds [Waltz]
12. Thousands are Sailing to Amerikay [Song]
13. Caoineadh Ui Dhomnaill (Lament for O'Donnell) [Air]
14. The Irish Jubilee [Song]/The Glass of Beer/The Longford [Reels]

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Julia, John & Billy Clifford - The Star of Munster Trio (1977)

2009-10-16T21:37:00.005+01:00

320 kbps

Julia, John & Billy Clifford - The Star of Munster Trio
(Topic - 12TS310 - 1977)

Recorded between 1964 and 1976 this album features fiddler Julia Clifford, sister of Denis Murphy, her husband John on accordion, and their son Billy on flute. Much of it was recorded around a single microphone in Eric and Lucy Farr's kitchen, so the sound quality isn't brilliant, but the quality of the music shines through, and Julia Clifford's playing is, as always, a thing of beauty.

1. Dublin Porter/The Mountain Lark [Reels]
2. The Lark in the Bog [Jig]
3. The Mountain Road/Paddy Cronin's [Reels]
4. The Ballydesmond/The Knocknaboul [Polkas]
5. Boil the Breakfast Early/Bunker Hill [Reels]
6. The Red-Haired Boy [Air]
7. The Crooked Road to Dublin/The Clare [Reels]
8. Bill Black's/O'Donovan's [Hornpipes]
9. John Mahinney's (Old Joe's)/The Leitrim Fancy [Jigs]
10. Grandfather's Thought/Madam if you Please [Hornpipes]
11. The Chicago [Reel]
12. Napoleon's Retreat [Set Dance]
13. Connie the Soldier/The Humours of Glin [Jigs]
14. The Palatine's Daughter [Air]
15. Jim Mac's [Hornpipe]
16. Cherish the Ladies [Jig]
17. The Harlequin [Hornpipe]
18. The Old Bush/Within a Mile of Dublin [Reels]

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Mick Hanly - As I Went Over Blackwater (1982)

2009-10-16T15:43:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

Mick Hanly - As I Went Over Blackwater (Green Linnet - SIF 3007 - 1982)

The second solo album from Mick Hanly, once again excellently produced by Dónal Lunny, and featuring a number of very well-known musicians from the traditional music scene of the 1970s and 1980s, including Andy Irvine (hurdy-gurdy & voice), Seán Hanly (bodhrán), Matt Molloy (flute), Noel Hill (concertina), Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Declan Sinnot (electric guitar), and Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, synthesizer & voice). It is, if possible, even better than Hanly's first album, and his voice is absolutely magnificent. Several songs are taken from the Penguin Book of Folk Ballads, while the melodies are Hanly's own, as is the well-known 'Jessica's Polka'. The jewel of the album, however, is Hanly's epic version of 'The Dewey Dens of Yarrow'. He recorded a version of this with Mícheál Ó Domhnaill on 'Celtic Folkweave', later made famous by the Bothy Band, but this shorter version makes little sense, and as a story is entirely meaningless. Hanly took a number of versions of this song from Child, and collated them to create a meaningful narrative, put to his own music. With Matt Molloy's lovely flute accompaniment, this is a hauntingly beautiful song, as is Hanly's version of 'As I Went Over Blackwater', learnt from his grandmother, whom, he says, 'still launches into this and other assorted fragments the minute the sherry bottle is taken from the press to make the Christmas cake'. On this track Declan Sinnot's slide guitar points the way towards Hanly's evolution into a successful American folk and country artist, and the move away from traditional Irish music altogether that came shortly after this album.

1. Jack Heggarty
2. The Guerriere and the Constitution
3. Every Circumstance
4. The Dewey Dens of Yarrow
5. Miss Bailey/Jessica's [Polka]
6. I Wish My Love Was a Red, Red Rose
7. Off to California/The Plains of Boyle [Hornpipes]
8. The Scourge of the Nation
9. As I Went Over Blackwater

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John McGreevy & Séamus Cooley - McGreevy & Cooley (1974)

2009-10-13T14:34:00.006+01:00

320 kbps

John McGreevy & Séamus Cooley - McGreevy & Cooley (Philo - 2005 - 1974)

Séamus Cooley, brother of the better-known South-East Galway box player Joe, travelled with the Tulla Céilí Band in 1958 to Chicago, where he decided to remain, becoming a key figure in the Irish musical community of the city. There he met and played with Chicago-born John McGreevy, with whom he was to collaborate on this lovely unaccompanied album, recorded in 1974. There are a number of North Connaught tunes, and several sets from the 78 era, but the style of playing is more akin to the flowing sound of South-East Galway and North-West Clare than it is to the fiery and staccato style of Coleman country. The sound quality is impaired slightly by the hiss of the tape from which the rip was made, but on the whole it is reasonably good, and McGreevy's absolutely lovely playing in particular shines through.

1. The Broken Pledge/Julia Delaney [Reels]
2. Seán sa Ceo/Michael Preston's [Reels]
3. Jimmy Neary's/Jim Ward's [Jigs]
4. Down the Broom/The Gatehouse Maid [Reels]
5. Sliabh na mBan/Mo Bhuirnin Ban [Airs]
6. Seán Ryan's [Hornpipes]
7. Ginny's Favourite/The Bird in the Bush [Reels]
8. The Reel of Bogie
9. The Crooked Road to Dublin/The Moving Bog [Reels]
10. The Skylark/Roaring Mary [Reels]
11. The Plains of Boyle/The Boys of Bluehill [Hornpipes]
12. McGreevy's/Father Kelly's 2 [Reels]
13. The Lilting Banshee/The Butcher's March [Jigs[
14. Ownie Davy's/Money in Both Pockets [Reels]
15. Tim Maloney's/Cooley's [Reels]
16. The Chicago/Reidy's [Reels]
17. The Trip to Vermont [Hornpipe]

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Tommy Peoples - An Exciting Session with one of Ireland's Leading Traditional Fiddlers (1976)

2009-10-13T00:49:00.004+01:00

320 kbps

Tommy Peoples - An Exciting Session with one of Ireland's Leading Traditional Fiddlers (Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann - CL 13 - 1976)

Tommy Peoples' first commercial album, recorded live between October 1974 and January 1976. On several tracks there is a very quiet guitar accompaniment, provided by Finian de Brun, but much of the music is entirely unaccompanied, except for occasional outbursts from an understandably excited audience. The playing is truly magnificent, and while several sets will be familiar from other recordings Tommy made in the 1970s, the sheer exuberance and technical precision is rarely matched on any of his other albums. Particularly excelllent here are the versions of 'The Green Hills of Tyrol' and 'The Green Fields of Glentown', while 'Jenny's Welcome to Charlie' is an absolutely superb rendition, played with all the Donegal fire and brilliance for which Tommy Peoples so rightly became famous. Yet another wonderful recording that has yet to be re-released on CD. Unfortunately, due to spindle wear on the LP there is a small amount of tonal distortion on the last tracks of this rip.

1. Jackson's/The Oak Tree [Reels]
2. Port na bPúcaí [Air]
3. The Salamanca/Lucy Campbell [Reels]
4. Doctor O'Neill [Jig]
5. The Green Hills of Tyrol [Reel]
6. Mulqueeney's [Hornpipe]
7. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reel]
8. Farewell to Ireland [Air & Reel]
9. O'Callaghan's/Galway Bay [Hornpipes]
10. The Green Fields of Glentown [Reel]
11. Bovaglies Plaid [Air]/The Highlander's Farewell [Strathspey]/The Boyne Hunt [Reel]
12. The Bank of Ireland/The Shaskeen [Reels]
13. The Geese in the Bog [Jig]
14.McCahill's/Danny Meehan's [Reels]

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The Mountain Top (1976)

2009-10-12T16:54:00.004+01:00

320 kbps

The Mountain Top (Comhaltas Ceoltórí Éireann - CL14 - 1976)

Bobby Gardiner – Accordion
Roger Sherlock – Flute
Geordie Hanna – Voice
Vincent Broderick – Flute
Paddy Fallon – Bodhrán
Cáit Ní Chuis – Fiddle
Jim McGreevy – Accordion
Anne Mulqueen – Voice
Jim McKillop – Fiddle
Peter Carbery – Pipes
Kevin Taylor - Piano

A recording made by the musicians on the CCÉ tour of the USA in 1976. Unfortunately the production is entirely inadequate, and considerable wear on the LP from which the rip was made compounds the existing sound quality issues. However, there are some interesting selections, including three Vincent Broderick compositions played by the East Galway flute player himself, and a nice version of 'The Maid Behind the Bar' played by Antrim fiddler, Jim McKillop.

1. Bobby Gardiner – The Mountain Top/Sporting Nell [Reels]
2. Roger Sherlock – Tripping to the Well/The Kiss Behind the Door [Polkas]
3. Geordie Hanna – Caroline of Edinburgh Town [Song]
4. Vincent Broderick & Paddy Fallon – The Rainbow's End/The Crock of Gold [Reels]
5. Cáit Ní Chus – The Lament for Staker Wallace [Air]
6. Jimmmy McGreevy – The Musical Priest/The Concert [Reels]
7. Roger Sherlock & Paddy Falon – The Dairymaid/The Old Blackthorn/O'Keeffe's Plough/Callaghan's [Reels]
8. Jimmy McGreevy – The Old Grey Goose [Jig]
9. Céilí Band – Down the Broom/The Gatehouse Maid [Reels]
10. Anne Mulqueen – My Blue-Eyed Mountain Queen [Song]
11. Jim McKillop – Jimmy McBride's [Reel]
12. Vincent Broderick & Paddy Fallon – The Spider's Web [Jig]
13. Peter Carbery – The Chattering Magpie/Gerry Commane's Favourite [Reels]

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Mick Hanly - A Kiss in the Morning Early (1976)

2009-10-12T15:52:00.003+01:00

320 kbps

Mick Hanly - A Kiss in the Morning Early (Mulligan - LUN 005 - 1976)

This is the first solo album from Mick Hanly, in my opinion one of the best and most under-rated interpreters of traditional songs of the entire 1970s Irish revival. All the songs are taken from Colm Ó Lochlainn's second book 'More Irish Street Ballads', with the exception of Hanly's own cracking little composition 'The Reluctant Pirate'. Hanly's sweet tenor is well reproduced with the aid of Dónal Lunny and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill's admirably crisp production, with his skill as a traditional singer made particularly apparent on the unaccompanied track 'Song of Repentance'. He is joined by a number of musicians crucial to the 1970s Irish revival, including Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Triona Ni Dhomnaill (harpsichord), Rick Epping (concertina), Peter Brown (pipes), Matt Molloy (flute), and of course Dónal Lunny (bouzouki).

1. Farewell Dearest Nancy
2. The Merchant's Daughter
3. My Johnny was a Shoemaker
4. Song of Repentance
5. Rosemary Fair
6. A Kiss in the Morning Early
7. An tSean Bhean Bhocht [Hornpipe]
8. The Verdant Braes of Screen
9. Cod Liver Oil
10. The Reluctant Pirate

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Paddy Carty & Conor Tully - Traditional Music of Ireland (1985)

2009-10-09T21:15:00.006+01:00

Paddy Carty & Conor Tully with Frank Hogan - Traditional Music of Ireland
(Trad Ireland - TradCD 002 - 2009)

Although this doesn't technically qualify as a 'rare recording', it most certainly qualifies as ceol álainn. Originally released by GTD on cassette in 1989, this spellbinding album was recorded shortly before Paddy Carty's death, and it truly is one of the great flute and fiddle albums. Carty's flowing East Galway sound is perfectly complemented by Tully's rich and lyrical playing, and Hogan's mandola accompaniment is consistently tasteful and sympathetic. This really is an incredible recording of the rich, lonesome sound of East Galway, and I cannot recommend it enough.

You can listen to Carty & Tully play 'Molly Bawn & Ryan's Rant' on the Trad Ireland website, where you can also buy the album, direct from the manufacturers.

You can also hear them play 'Come West Along the Road', and buy the album from Custy's Music.

You can hear extracts from 'Ryan's Rant' and 'Brian O'Lynn' at Claddagh Records, where you can also buy the album.

In the USA it is possible to buy the album from Copperplate Distribution, and they provide extracts from the tunes 'Red Tom of the Hills', 'Dowd's Favourite', and 'Galway Bay'. Copperplate have also posted the CD liner notes, and reproduced a press review by Earle Hitchner, originally printed in The Irish Echo.

Another source to buy the album in the USA is Celtic Grooves, and you can also buy the album from Ossian USA.

Denis Doody - Kerry Music (1978)

2009-10-07T01:53:00.006+01:00

256 kbps

Denis Doody - Kerry Music (Mulligan - LUN 019 - 1978)

Denis Doody, born in Ballinahulla near Ballydesmond, was the grandson of the fiddler and contemporary of Pádraig O'Keeffe, Din Tarrant. He remembers hearing Pádraig O'Keeffe and Tom Billy play when he was a child, but it was the accordion that he picked up, largely teaching himself, and mostly playing alone. He emigrated to England when he finished school, settling in London until his return to Ireland in 1964, when he struck up acquaintance with Johnny O'Leary and Denis Murphy. These players were to influence his playing enormously as he returned to the music of his home region, though for ornamental intricacy and rhythmic deftness he is, in my opinion, unmatched within the old-style Sliabh Luachra accordion tradition. This absolutely cracking unaccompanied album speaks volumes of his sheer virtuosity and unrivalled lightness of touch.

1. Johnny Cope's/Din Tarrant's [Polkas]
2. The Glen Cottage/Baile an tSamhraidh [Slides]
3. Terry Teahan's/Cousins Delight [Polkas]
4. The Ballinahulla polkas
5. Nehyl's fiddle/O'Mahony's [Hornpipes]
6. The Scart/Going to the Well for Water [Slides]
7. The Priest/The Barna [Slides]
8. Denis Murphy's/Lacha Cross [Polkas]
9. The Munster/Kitty's Wedding [Jigs]
10. Well I Know What Kitty Wants/The Brosna [Slides]
11. The Tourniore Lass/Johnny O'Leary's [Polkas]
12. The Quarry Cross/Abbey's Green Isle [Slides]
13. The Lonesome Road to Dingle/The Man from Glauntaun [Slides]
14. The Green Cottage 1/The Munster Bank [Polkas]
15. Callaghan's/The Kaiser [Slides]
16. Johnny Cope [Hornpipe]
17. The Blackwater Polkas
18. The Gallant Tipperary Boys/This is My Love, Do You Like Her? [Slides]
19. Tureengarbh Glen/The green Cottage 2 [Polkas]
20. Box the Monkey/The House in the Glen [Jigs]
21. The Groves of Gneenveguilla/Jack Reedy's [Polkas]
22. Chase Me Charlie/Kiely Cotter's [Slides]
23. The Gullane/Jimmy Doyle's Favourite [Polkas]

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Bobby Casey - Taking Flight (1979)

2009-10-06T18:31:00.006+01:00

320 kbps

Bobby Casey - Taking Flight (Mulligan - LUN 018 - 1979)

'Taking Flight' is an absolute classic. Recorded in 1977, this is the one and only commercially-available studio album made by the master fiddler from West Clare. Kevin Crehan has written an interesting essay on Casey, which you can read here, and there is a little more information on the CCÉ website, here. It is difficult to do justice to Casey's absolute mastery of the instrument: the complexity of his ornamentation, intonation, rhythmic control, the deftness of his improvisation, and simultaneously, his absolute fidelity to the melody of the dance tune or air. This is one of the best fiddle albums ever recorded.

1. Tuttle's/The Ragged Hank of Yarn [Reels]
2. Seán Ó Duibhir a Ghleanna [Set Dance]
3. Rakish Paddy [Reel]
4. The Drunken Gauger [Set Dance]
5. Down the Back Lane/Donnybrook Fair/Scully Casey's [Jigs]
6. The Graf Spey [Reel]
7. Poll Ha'penny [Hornpipe]
8. The Porthole of the Kelp/The Connaught Heifer [Reels]
9. The Dear Irish Boy [Air]
10. The Garden of Daisies [Set Dance]
11. The Nightingale/The Pipe on the Hob [Jigs]
12. The Old Bush/My Love is in America [Reels]

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John Doonan - Flute for the Feis (1972)

2009-10-06T17:21:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

John Doonan - Flute for the Feis (Leader - LEA 2043 - 1972)

A lovely album from piccolo player John Doonan, accompanied by Henry Eglington (accordion), Phil Murray (acoustic bass), and Dave Price (piano). You can have a listen to one of Doonan's sets over on the Folk Archive Resource North East (FARNE) website. Doonan, from Hebburn (which is definitely NOT in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne), was All-Ireland and world piccolo champion, and played at Fiesanna and festivals the world over, competing and providing music for dance competitions, a fact that accounts for the preponderance of Set Dance tunes on this recording, and for the lovely Sean Nós dance steps that can be heard on track 10. Track 14 is an interesting example of Murray's lively bass playing, and pretty funky stuff considering how traditional is Doonan's North Connaught-influenced style of playing. All in all this album is a surprising little gem.

1. Seán Maguire's/The Banshee [Reels]
2. The Hunt [Set Dance]
3. Smash the Windows/Off She Goes [Single Jigs]
4. Bonaparte's Retreat [Set Dance]
5. The Sport of the Chase [Slip Jig]
6. The Flowers of Antrim/The Quarrelsome Piper [Hornpipes]
7. The Coolin [Air]
8. The Fermoy Lasses/Sporting Paddy/The Dawn [Reels]
9. The Ace and Deuce of Piping [Set Dance]
10. Saddle the Pony/Shandon Bells [Jigs]
11. The Little Heathy Hill [Set Dance]
12. The King of the Fairies [Set Dance]
13. Eileen Aroon [Air]
14. Bonnie Kate/Jenny's Chickens [Reels]

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Kevin Taylor - Irish Traditional Music (1978)

2009-10-05T23:13:00.005+01:00

320 kbps

Kevin Taylor with Mary Conroy - Irish Traditional Music
(Inchecronin - INC 7418 - 1978)

A very interesting album, not least for Taylor's skill on the accordion, but particularly for his somewhat virtuosic interpretations of dance tunes on the piano, which are very lovely indeed. Taylor learned his music first from his father, the great West Limerick flute player Paddy Taylor, then from playing with the likes of Roger Sherlock and Seán Maguire at sessions in pubs such as the King's Head in Fulham Broadway. He was immersed in the music from a young age, and while he claimed to have started on the piano due to 'the musical laziness inherent amongst the Taylors', his mastery of the music on that particular instrument really needs to be heard to be believed.

1. The Gooseberry Bush/The Cup of Tea [Reels]
2. Katie Taylor's/Paddy Taylor's [Reels]
3. Eileen Curran/The Sandymount [Reels]
4. The Tailor's Twist [Hornpipe]
5. The Cook in the Kitchen/Sixpenny Money [Jigs]
6. The Garden of Daisies [Set Dance]
7. The Dogs Among the Bushes/The Fisherman's Island [Reels]
8. Con Curtin's Twins/The Knights of St. Patrick [Jigs]
9. Within a Mile of Dublin/Johnny Allan's [Reels]
10. The Colliers [Jig]/The Colliers [Reel]
11. The Boys of the Lough [Reel]
12. Paddy O'Brien's/Paddy O'Brien's [Jigs]
13. The Job of Journeywork [Set Dance]
14. The Pinch of Snuff/The Flax in Bloom [Reels]
15. Lady Gordon/Mary McMahon [Reels]
16. Aggie Whyte's/The Bloom of Youth [Reels]

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Mick Hanly & Mícheál Ó Dhomhnaill - Celtic Folkweave (1974)

2009-10-05T16:54:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

Mick Hanly & Mícheál Ó Dhomhnaill - Celtic Folkweave
(Polydor - 2908 013 - 1974)

An excellent album (despite the appalling title) and a precursor to Ó Dhomhnaill's work with the Bothy Band and Nightnoise. A number of the tracks will be familiar to fans of the Bothy Band, including 'The Hag at the Churn', 'An Bothán A Bhaigh Fionnghuala', 'The Banks of Claudy', and 'The Heathery Hills of Yarrow'. The album was produced by Dónal Lunny, and it would seem that he learned from some of the mistakes he made in the studio this time round. Track 10 in particular is a terribly bad mix, but on the whole the production is adequate, though it's certainly not up to the standard of the material he was producing just a year later. It would seem that the master tapes of this recording were destroyed in a fire at the headquarters of Polydor Ireland some time in the 1970s, and subsequently this album has never been re-released. It features a number of big guns from the 1970s scene, including several members of Planxty, and future members of the Bothy Band:

Mick Hanly – Guitar/Dulcimer/Voice
Mícheál Ó Dhomhnaill – Guitar/Voice
Liam O'Flynn – Pipes/Whistle
Dónal Lunny – Bodhrán
Matt Mollloy – Flute
Tommy Peoples – Fiddle
Declan McNeils – Bass
Triona Ní Dhomhnaill – Harpsichord

There are two pieces of mouth music in both Irish and Gàidhlig, songs in Irish and English, two Breton tunes, and only one Irish dance tune. 'No Love is Sorrow' was composed by the original members of Pentangle, and appears on their album 'Solomon's Seal'.

1. Bíodh Orm Anocht [Puirt-a-beul]/The Hag at the Churn [Single Jig]
2. The Bold Princess Royal [Song]
3. The Banks of Claudy [Song]
4. Éirigh's Ciur Ort Do Chuid Éadaigh [Song]
5. The Glasgow Barber [Song]
6. Songbird (No Love is Sorrow) [Song]
7. The Heathery Hills of Yarrow [Song]
8. Gan Ainm/Gan Ainm [An Droiou]
9. The Hiring Fair at Hamiltownsbawn [Song]
10. Bríd Óg Ní Mháille [Song]
11. An Bothán A Bhaigh Fionnghuala [Puirt-a-beul]

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The Home I Left Behind (1974)

2009-10-03T19:16:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

The Home I Left Behind (Comhaltas Ceoltórí Éireann - CL9 - 1974)

Bobby Gardiner – Accordion
Peg McGrath – Flute
Paddy Berry – Voice
Deirdre Collins – Whistle
Marie Grimes – Voice
Brendan McGlinchey – Fiddle
Dónal de Barra – Accordion/Whistle
Anne Mulqueen – Voice
Pádraig Ó hlarnáin – Accordion
Eugene Nolan – Flute
Denis Ryan – Fiddle
Gabriel McKeon – Pipes
Brendán Mac Eachráin - Piano

A recording made by the musicians from the CCÉ tour of the USA in 1974. Paddy Berry is on form, though betraying signs of a slight cold that adds to his already nasal style, and his song is a favourite in Wexford, his particular treatment having set the mould for many of the younger generation of traditional singers from that part of the country. Other tracks of interest are the slides, played by Dónal de Barra on whistle rather than accordion, the beautiful air played by Eugene Nolan, and the fiddling of Denis Ryan and Brendan McGlinchey, who plays a fiery version of the 'Star of Munster' in G instead of the usual key of A.

1. Bobby Gardiner – The Dublin Reel/Rip the Calico [Reels]
2. Peg McGrath – The Castlebar Races/Old Tipperary [Jigs]
3. Paddy Berry – Balllyshannon Lane [Song]
4. Deirdre Collis – MacDermott's/Moloney's Favourite [Reels]
5. Marie Grimes – An Buachaill Caol Dubh [Song]
6. Céilí Band – The Cook in the Kitchen/Whelan's [Jigs]
7. Brendan McGlinchey – The Salamanca/The Star of Munster [Reels]
8. Ceilí Band – Lucy Campbell/The Jolly Tinker [Reels]
9. Dónal de Barra – The Tidy Girleen/The Templeglantine [Slides]
10. Anne Mulqueen – The Home I left Behind [Song]
11. Pádraig Ó hlarnáin – The Bunch of Keys [Reel]
12. Eugene Nolan – Caoine an Spailpin [Air]
13. Denis Ryan – Reevey's [Hornpipe]
14. Gabriel McKeon – The Gander in the Pratie Hole/Sixpenny Money [Jigs]

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Martin Mulvihill - Traditional Irish Fiddling from County Limerick (1978)

2009-10-03T15:00:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

Martin Mulvihill with Mick Moloney - Traditional Irish Fiddling from County Limerick (Green Linnet - SIF 1012 - 1978)

An absolute gem of an album, and a real testament to the magic and beauty of the old West Limerick fiddle style. It's quite simply a crime that this magnificent album hasn't been released on CD. I first got to know of Martin Mulvihill's playing through the music of another absolutely fantastic West Limerick fiddler, Diarmuid O'Brien, whose album 'Cairde Cairdín' is in my opinion one of the best fiddle albums of the last ten years, and another reminder of the wonderful musical heritage of the region. He acknowledges Martin Mulvihill as probably the greatest single influence on his music. The sweet tone and fluidity of the West Limerick fiddle style, as well as its absolute rhythmic solidity, seems distinct from the more heavily accented sound of the wider Sliabh Luachra region, with which the music of West Limerick shares a number of stylistic features, as well as a great deal of the repertoire. Although Martin Mulvihill spent most of his life abroad in England and the USA, he retained the regional style in which he was immersed as a young player for the rest of his life. There are a few releases featuring Mulvihill tracks, including the Rounder Records compilation 'Celtic Winds', which you can listen to here. Mulvihill released two teaching tapes, and another lovely album entitled 'The Humours of Glin', also on cassette. These can be purchased from Global Village Music via iTunes, but be warned, the recording quality is very poor, and whoever made the transfer made an absolute balls of the levels, resulting in considerable distortion. This, it would, seem, is characteristic of Michael Schlesinger's cavalier attitude towards the rights of both his consumers and the artists he is contracted to represent. In fact, it's enough to make you question the possession of copyright by businesses with no concern for the cultural value of the 'product' they 'own'...

I have increased the bit-rate from 128 to 320 kbps on the advice of a fellow listener, and I plan to re-rip much of the material previously posted. I'll post a reminder when I've done so, and anyone who wants better quality recordings can download the new version. In case anybody's wondering why I leave most of the hiss from the LPs on the rips that I make, it's because I find that the digital distortion from the clean-up process is even worse than the analogue hiss captured in the recording in the first place...

1. The Road to Abbeyfeale/Lord Kitchener's Pipes [Jigs]
2. The High Road to Glin/The Low Road to Glin [Reels]
3. Limerick is Beautiful [Air]
4. Paddy Scanlon's/Buddy Furey's/The Kinard [Polkas]
5. McAuliffe's/Maggie Shanley's/Denis Enright's [Slides]
6. Flynn's (Behind the Ditch in Páirc Anna)/Dillane's [Hornpipes]
7. Bridget Flynn's/The Star of Munster [Reels]
8. The Rathcrogan (The Floating Crowbar)/The Bag of Spuds/O'Connell's Trip to Parliament [Reels]
9. The Pride of Moyvan/The Cross at the Wood [Reels]
10. Breen's/The Hangman's Rope [Hornpipes]
11. The Ballyloughlin/Seán Duine Dóite [Jigs]
12. Mulhaire's/The Morning Mist [Reels]
13. The Vales of New Direen [Air]
14. The Queen of the Fair/Langstrom's Pony [Jigs]
15. Con Mullane's/Dando Dillane's (The Banks of the Ilen) [Reels]
16. Wallace's Cross/Tarmon's/Pat Enright's [Polkas]

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Bobby Casey - BBC Archive Recordings (1966-71)

2009-10-01T20:35:00.007+01:00

128 kbps

Bobby Casey - BBC Archive Recordings (1966-71)

These are a number of tracks recorded by Reg Hall and Bill Leader between 1966 and 1971 as part of an album project that sadly never came to fruition. Of the 137 tracks in the archive, 18 have been released on the Bow Hand label on an album entitled 'The Spirit of West Clare', a recording that is becoming increasingly difficult to locate. Veteran seem to be one of the few companies in England with copies in stock, and in the USA it can be purchased here, from Ossian USA and Celtic Grooves Imports. The remaining tracks include duets with Andy O'Boyle, Tommy McCarthy, an unidentified accordion player, and an unidentified flute player. The tracks I have included here feature Bobby Casey playing solo fiddle, and singing a fine old ballad 'Sweet Inniscarra', and the duet material will follow. I have avoided repeating any of the tracks that found their way onto the Bow Hand release, which is, of course, the pick of the bunch, and I would absolutely urge anyone with an interest in this music to buy the album without delay. Particularly interesting tune selections here include the set dances 'Jockey to the Fair', and 'The Three Sea Captains', two Connaught polkas, the 'Dublin Reel' played in G, and the well-known Clare tune 'The Cliffs of Moher', also played in the unusual key of G major.

The image of Bobby Casey I have used is taken from a lovely painting by the artist Jane Ridout, whose work can be viewed here.

Once again, thanks to KR for this material. It's very much appreciated...

1.The Ragged Hank of Yarn/The Dublin Reel/The Woman of the House [Reels]
2. The Three Sea Captains [Set Dance]
3. The College Groves/Colonel Frasier [Reels]
4. Bantry Bay [Hornpipe]
5. The Cliffs of Moher/Brian O'Lynn [Jigs]
6. Mother's Delight/Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reels]
7. The Banks of the Suir [Air]
8. Sheehan's/The High Reel[Reels]
9. The Stranger [Hornpipe]/Rodney's Glory [Set Dance]
10. Cherish the Ladies/The Maid in the Meadow/Fasten the Legging/Coleman's Cross [Jigs]
11. Martin Wynne's 2/The Moving Bog/Jenny's Chickens/The Reel of Mullinavat [Reels]
12. Memories of Ballymote/Gurteen Cross [Polkas]
13. The Roscommon Reel/The Hare in the Heather [Reels]
14. Chief O'Neill's Favourite/The Rights of Man [Hornpipes]
15. The Dunmore Lasses/Gilbert Clancy's/The College Groves [Reels]
16. Sweet Inniscarra [Song]
17. Jockey to the Fair [Set Dance]
18. The Sunshine Hornpipe/The Cuckoo [Hornpipes]
19. The Liffey Banks/The Boys of Ballisodare/The Woman of the House/Tansey's/The Graf Spey/Ballinasloe Fair [Reels]

Download

Seoda Ceoil 2 (1968)

2009-09-29T10:56:00.007+01:00

Séamus Ennis, Seán Keane, Seosamh Ó hÉanaí & John Joe Gannon -
Seoda Ceoil 2 (Gael Linn- CEF022 - 1968)

Gael-Linn intend to re-release their entire back catalogue, so I have removed the download link. Sorry about that... The folks at Gael-Linn tell me that both Seoda Ceoil 1 & 2 will be re-released towards the end of next year, so that's good news.

The second of the Seoda Ceoil series produced by Gael Linn and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, featuring Dubliners Séamus Ennis and Seán Keane, Connemara Sean Nós singer Seosamh Ó hÉanaí (Joe Heaney), and Westmeath box player John Joe Gannon, whose selection of tunes provides a welcome glimpse into the musical heritage of the county. He recalls that single jigs were as popular in Westmeath as double jigs and reels when he was a young man in the late 1930s, and he plays a number of tunes learned from his father, James Gannon of Streamstown. Seosamh Ó hÉanaí's selection of Sean Nós songs from Connemara are a powerful testament to his reputation as one of the finest singers in the tradition, and Séamus Ennis and Seán Keane, in no need of introduction, are also on top form in this very traditional recording.

1. Séamus Ennis – Cois Abhann na Séad [Air]/O'Callaghan's [Hornpipe]
2. Séan Keane – The Oak Tree [Reel]
3. Seosamh Ó hÉanaí – Amhrán na Páise [Song]
4. Séamus Ennis – Miss Monaghan/The Flags of Dublin/Hand me Down the Tackle [Reels]
5. John Joe Gannon – James Gannon's/The Castlebar Races [Jigs]
6. Seosamh Ó hÉanaí - D'Éirigh mé ar Maidin [Song]
7. Seán Keane – Jenny's Welcome to Charlie/The Connaught Heifer [Reels]
8. Seán Keane – The Wind that Shakes the Barley/Kelly's Drowsy Maggie [Reels]
9. Séamus Ennis – Crónán na Máthar [Air]/T'Athair Jack Walsh [Jig]
10. Seosamh Ó hÉanaí – A Chailín Bhig na Luachra [Song]
11. John Joe Gannon – The Green Gates/Miss Thornton [Reels]
12. Seán Keane – Willie Clancy's/Garret Barry's [Jigs]
13. Séamus Ennis – Colonel Frazer/The Braes of Busby [Reels]
14. John Joe Gannon – Tom Moran's Fancy/The Streamstown Jig [Single Jigs]
15. Séamus Ennis – O'Keeffe's Speed the Plough/The Merry Blacksmith/The Music of the Forge [Reels]

Vincent Griffin - Traditional Fiddle Music from County Clare (1977)

2009-09-28T16:30:00.006+01:00

128 kbps

Vincent Griffin- Traditional Fiddle Music from County Clare (Topic - 12TS338- 1977)

The first of two albums recorded by East Clare fiddler and teacher Vincent Griffin. The second album, recorded in 2000, was not made available on general release, but can be purchased directly from Vincent himself. Contact details are available here. Griffin's playing on this recording is a blend of the traditional East Clare style with the Sligo playing of the 78-era, with a heavy emphasis on Michael Coleman's style in particular. The characteristic East Clare intonation and exchange of Fs and F#s comes through nonetheless, and Griffin certainly has his own unique manner of expression. He is accompanied on a number of tracks by harp and piano, played by Geraldine Carrig. The Mayo air Se Bhfath Mo Bhfuartha (The Cause of my Sorrow) is particularly beautiful, and Carrig's harp accompaniment is very sweet indeed.

1. Fahey's 1/Fahey's 2 [Reels]
2. Fahey's/The Cliffs of Moher [Jigs]
3. Paddy Ryan's Dream/Mamma's Pet [Reels]
4. Martin Rocheford's/The Sligo Maid [Reels]
5. The New Century/The Cuckoo [Hornpipes]
6. Coleman's/Gan Ainm/Coleman's Cross [Jigs]
7. Lord MacDonald's/Ballinasloe Fair [Reels]
8. The Reefs/McFadden's Favourite [Reels]
9. The New Year's In/Youghal Quay [Reels]
10. Se Bhfath Mo Bhfuartha [Air]
11. Lord Gordon's [Reel]
12. Dr Gilbert's/The Queen of May [Reels]
13. The Trip to Sligo/Garret Barry's [Jigs]
14. The Night in Ennis/The Maid Behind the Bar [Reels]
15. Crowley's 1/Crowley's 2 [Reels]
16. Lady Anne Montgomery/Down the Broom/The Gatehouse Maid [Reels]

Download

Johnny Cronin & Joe Burke - Cronin & Burke (1977)

2009-09-22T18:41:00.010+01:00

128 kbps

Johnny Cronin & Joe Burke - Cronin & Burke (Shanachie - 29005 - 1977)

Johnny Cronin, brother of Paddy, a native of Gneevegullia, Co. Kerry, was well-known as a fiddle player in New York throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His bowing technique, once typical of the Kerry style, underwent significant change after his emigration to the USA in 1956, particularly under the influence of Andy McGann, with whom he played a great deal. Joe 'Banjo' Burke, originally from Johnstown, Kilkenny, emigrated to New York in 1972, having spent much time in England. He was well-known as a singer among the Irish musical community in New York, as well as playing banjo regularly with the likes of James Keane, Jesse Owens, Paddy Reynolds and Andy McGann. Piano accompaniment is provided by Belfast-born Jerry Wallace, originally a piccolo player, the knowledge of which gave him the intimate awareness of tunes he felt necessary to provide convincing accompaniment.

1. The Ships are Sailing/The Longford Collector [Reels]
2. The Cat Rambles to the Child's Saucepan/The Bunratty Boys [Slides]
3. Doherty's/Toss the Feathers [Reels]
4. Liam Browne's/As I Went Out Upon the Ice/The Ballydesmond [Polkas]
5. Martin Wynne's/The Pride of the Bronx [Reels]
6. The Top of Cork Road/The Wandering Minstrel [Jigs]
7. Micho Russel's/The Old Copperplate [Reels]
8. The Leprechaun/Dingle Regatta [Slides]
9. Drag Her Round the Road/Martin Wynne's [Reels]
10. The Plains of Boyle/The First Sign of Light [Hornpipes]
11. Farewell to Ireland/The Blackthorn Stick [Reels]
12. O'Keeffe's/Johnny Leary's [Slides]

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Richard O'Mealy - BBC Recordings (1943)

2009-09-22T11:24:00.008+01:00

320 kbps

A set of recordings made in 1943 by the BBC in Belfast, collected by Ken McLeod and cleaned up by Ronan Browne. It is quite possible that O'Mealy was duped, as he was reputedly reluctant to be recorded because people, he felt, would be less likely to come out to hear him perform if they had access to his music at home. His percussive, staccato style is lively and driving, and his regulator work is really quite exceptional. Ronan Browne has written some incisive analyses of O'Mealy's piping, which can be read here. Those who wish to read more about O'Mealy's life and music may also be interested in this presentation, made by Ken McLeod and Ronan Browne, which can be viewed here. Robbie Hannon also presented a very interesting programme on O'Mealy on RTÉ's The Long Note in 1984, which you can listen to here.

1. O'Mealy's [Hornpipe]
2. The Cork (The Harvest Home) [Hornpipe]
3. The Rambling Pitchfork [Jig]
4. The Blackbird [Set Dance]
5. Drops of Brandy [Slip Jig]
6. The Sligo Lasses [Reel]
7. Smash the Windows [Single Jig]
8. The Donegal [Reel]
9. The Mountains of Pomeroy [Air]
10. The Maid at Mourneshore [Air]

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Jimmy Power - Irish Dances Recording Sessions (1967)

2009-09-22T09:55:00.009+01:00

128 kbps

Jimmy Power - Irish Dances Recording Sessions (1967)

These are the original recording sessions from Jimmy Power's album 'Irish Dances', which, unsurprisingly, was intended to provide accompaniment for dancing, something that is obvious from the plodding pace of the set dances and hornpipes. Reg Hall provides the piano accompaniment on all tracks except that on Dowd's Favourite, where the piano is played by Paul Gross. Power was often employed to provide music for dance competitions, something he is said to have described as 'one of the most tiresome tasks in the field of Irish music'. He is well-known as one of the hosts of the legendary session at The Favourite in Holloway, and is one of the musicians featured on the album 'Paddy in the Smoke'. This collection of recordings includes the material that was to appear on the Clan Records album 'Irish Dances' (233 003), and a number of other recordings that didn't make it. The set dances and hornpipes are slow and ponderous, but much of the other material is brisk, and Power's light and staccato style is quite lovely.

Many thanks to KR for providing this material.

1. The Doon/Rakish Paddy [Reels]
2. The Irish Girl [Slip Jig]
3. Kitty Come Down from Limerick [Slip Jig]
4. The Hunt [Set Dance]
5. Contentment is Wealth/T'aithar Jack Walsh [Jigs]
6. The Poppy Leaf (Keane O'Neary's) [Hornpipe]
7. Planxty Dury [Waltz]
8. The Maid Behind the Bar/The Bunch of Keys [Reels]
9. Dowd's Favourite [Reel]
10. The Pipe on the Hob/The Cliffs of Moher [Jigs]
11. Bonaparte's Retreat [Set Dance]
12. The Derry [Slip Jig]
13. The Idle Rogue/The Westmeath [Jig]
14. The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipe]
15. The Sport of the Chase [Slip Jig]
16. Martin Wynne's 2/Never was Piping so Gay [Reels]
17. Coleman's/The Promenade [Hop Jigs]
18. Garret Barry's/The Knights of St Patrick [Jigs]
19. Planxty Davis [Set Piece]
20. The Four Courts [Reel]
21. The Gold Ring [Jig]
22. The Piper through the Meadow Straying [Set Dance]
23. When Sick is it Tea you Want?/Do you want any More? [Jigs]

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Roger Sherlock - Memories of Sligo (1978)

2009-09-19T11:16:00.008+01:00

128 kbps

Roger Sherlock - Memories of Sligo (Inchecronin - INC 7419 - 1978)

A beautiful recording of Sligo-born flute player Roger Sherlock, subtly accompanied by Mary Conroy on guitar. Sherlock's tune selection seems a fairly accurate representation of North Connaught musical tastes, with reels predominating, followed by polkas, and only one set of jigs. The most interesting tune selection is the eleventh track: two well known slip jigs played in 3/2 time, in the style of north-east English triple hornpipes. Rarely heard in Irish music, these are the elusive and, now, contentiously-titled hop jigs known throughout Ireland before the decline of the triple hornpipe as a popular dance tune in the late-Eighteenth Century.

1. The Turnpike Gate/The Killavil Fancy [Reels]
2. Dowd's 9/Jack Maguire's [Reels]
3. The Duke of Leinster/The Duke of Leinster's Wife [Reels]
4. Morrison's/The Trip to Sligo [Jigs]
5. Fred Finn's/The Sailor on the Rock/Gan Ainm [Reels]
6. The Return of Spring/The Mountain Spring [Polkas]
7. The Queen of May/Anderson's [Reels]
8. The Pinch of Snuff/The Ships are Sailing [Reels]
9. The Dairymaid/The Rising Sun/Tom Billy's/Callaghan's [Reels]
10. The Galway Rambler/The Boys of the Lough [Reels]
11. The Foxhunter's/Comb your Hair and Curl it [Hop Jigs]
12. The Lads of Laois/Mama's Pet [Reels]
13. Dash to Portobello (Seán Ryan's)/The Pigeon on the Gate [Reels]
14. Tripping to the Well/The Kiss Behind the Door [Polkas]
15. The Flowers of the Red Mill/The Sreetplayer [Reels]

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Tommy Healy & Johnny Duffy - Memories of Sligo (1978)

2009-09-18T15:28:00.007+01:00

This album is available to buy from Topic Records.

Tommy Healy & Johnny Duffy - Memories of Sligo (Topic - 12TS335 - 1978)

Tommy Healy and Johnny Duffy are musicians of the old South Sligo style, heavily influenced by both the recordings of famous émigrés Paddy Killoran and Michael Coleman, and the music of the dance halls and kitchen dances for which they played in their youth. The tune selection here is very much representative of the Sligo repertoire, with several notable exceptions, in particular 'The Lancers', derived from Spagnoletti's La Dorset, an early 19th Century piece originally published as Figure 1 of 'The Original Lancers' Quadrille', and 'Mrs Kenney', a lovely mazurka named after a 19th Century fiddle player from Dublin. They are accompanied on piano by Reg Hall.

1. The Tarbolton/The Longford Collector/The Sailor's Bonnet [Reels]

2. The Wandering Minstrel/Fasten the Legging/The Smash (Coleman's Cross) [Jigs]

3. The Rights of Man/The Honeysuckle [Hornpipes]

4. The Boys of the Lough/The Devils of Dublin [Reels]

5. The Scotsman over the border/Tell her I am [Jigs]

6. The Montua/The Happy Days of Youth [Reels]

7. Fred Finn's [Reel]

8. The Lancers [Jig]

9. The Gold Ring/Richard Brennan's Favourite [Jigs]

10. Miss McLeod/The Wild Irishman [Reels]

11. The Old Grey Goose [Jig]

12. The Humours of Lissadell/Sweeney's Dream [Reels]

13. The Cavan Lasses (Coppers and Brass)/The Rose in the Heather [Jigs]

14. The Enchanted Lady/The Holy Land [Reels]

15. Mrs Kenney [Mazurka]

16. Martin Wynne's 1/Martin Wynne's 2 [Reels]

John Bowe & Mary Conroy (1977)

2009-09-17T11:50:00.007+01:00

128 kbps

John Bowe & Mary Conroy (Inchecronin - INC 7417 - 1977)

Recorded in 1977 on Brendan Mulkere's Inchecronin label, Bowe's vigorous and inventive button accordion playing is pleasantly accompanied by Conroy's muted, almost piano-like, chord progressions on the guitar. It's a lovely accordion album altogether, and Mulkere was obviously on form when he wrote the sleeve notes: 'This record is especially for those who want to listen for construction, continuity and balance in the music.

If you are tone deaf this sleeve will make a nice poster'...

1. Ryan's Rant/Fahy's [Reels]
2. The Sailor's Cravat/The Reel of Bogey [Reels]
3. The Monaghan/In Memory of McKeigue [Jigs]
4. The Downfall of Paris [Set Dance]
5. John Bowe's Favourite/Mulhair's [Reels]
6. The Repeal of the Union/The West Clare [Reels]
7. Thomond Bridge [Hornpipe]
8. The Pensioner who Kissed his Granny/The Scottish Four Courts [Reels]
9. The Ashplant/The First House in Connaught [Reels]
10. Bowe's/Seán Ryan's [Reels]
11. The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipe]
12. Eleanor Kane's/Paddy on the Railroad [Reels]
13. The Thatched Cabin/The Maids of Castlebar [Reels]
14. The Japanese Hornpipe
15. The Teetotaller/Paddy Taylor's [Reels]

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Brendan McGlinchey - Live at the West London Folk Club (1973)

2009-09-16T16:18:00.011+01:00

128 kbps

Recorded in November 1973 by Terry Yarnell, it features Brendan McGlinchey playing unaccompanied to the West London Folk Club. The sound quality is reasonable, and despite the considerable traffic noise in the background, McGlinchey's characteristically crisp and precise playing shines through. Unaccompanied here, McGlinchey's playing is less exact and more free than it is on his only studio-recorded album Music of a Champion, on which his playing is perhaps closer to its south east Ulster origins. Despite being involved in long tours with two ceili bands, McGlinchey stated that he always found it difficult to play in groups because his natural instinct to improvise was something he had to keep in check, while when playing alone he was free to follow his imagination. These two distinct elements in his playing can be compared by listening to both these recordings.

Track 19 seems to be corrupted. I included it simply as a point of social interest, not because it possesses any particular musical merit. Members of the Irish commmunity living in Britain during the Troubles will recall the significance of the Irish national anthem, played at the conclusion of social events (something that is far less contentious in these days of cute and fashionable Celticism). Those who are unable to download it, and wish to do so, can contact me on pashadragutreis@yahoo.co.uk

1. Bonnie Kate [Reel]
2. Cherish the Ladies [Jig]
3. Dr Gilbert's/The Queen of May [Reels]
4. Drowsy Maggie/Farewell to Ireland [Reels]
5. The Drunken Sailor [Hornpipe]
6. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie [Reel]
7. Kitty Come Down from Limerick [Slip Jig]/Crowley's/Lucy Campbell [Reels]
8. Lord Gordon's/The Maids of Castlebar [Reels]
9. Splendid Isolation/Lawries's [Reels]
10. The Blackbird [Hornpipe]
11. The Queen of the West [Hornpipe]
12. The Coolin [Air]
13. Knocknagow [Jig]
14. The Bride's Favourite/Paddy Taylor's [Jigs]
15. Dicky Sherlock's [Reel]
16. The Steampacket/Trim the Velvet [Reels]
17. Gan Ainm/The Pigeon on the Gate/The Donegal [Reels]
18. Gan Ainm/Tom of the Hills [Reels]
19. Amhrán na bhFiann [March]

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Traditional Irish Music from Galway and Clare (1977)

2009-09-15T15:59:00.011+01:00

128 kbps

Bobby Casey, Gabriel McKeon, Raymond Roland, Liam Farrell & John Roe - Traditional Irish Music from Galway and Clare (Standfast Records - PINE 1216 - 1977)

Featuring musicians from the London Irish scene of the late 1970s, this is a lively recording made by the long defunct label Standfast Records. Three of the musicians, Raymond Roland (Accordion), John Roe (Piano), and Liam Farrell (Banjo), were members of the group Le Chéile, recently re-formed in the absence of the late Messrs. P.J.Crotty and Raymond Roland. They are joined on this album by West Clare fiddle master Bobby Casey, and by Dublin piper Gabriel McKeon.

1. Dowd's/The Ewe/Come West Along the Road [Reels]
2. Patsy Touhy's/The Green Fields of Rossbeigh [Reels]
3. The West Wind/Toss the Feathers [Reels]
4. Carrickfergus [Air]
5. Jenny's Welcome to Charlie/The Skylark [Reels]
6. Paddy's/Cooley's [Hornpipes]
7. Captain Rock/Murray's Fancy [Reels]
8. The Graf Spey [Reel]
9. Toss the Feathers/The College Groves [Reels]
10. The Maid of Castlebar [Reel]
11. The Drunken Gauger [Set Dance]
12. Lord Gordon/Trim the Velvet [Reels]
13. The Road to the Golleen (The Humours of Tullycrine) [Hornpipe]
14. Lord McDonagh (Lord McDonald's)/Ballinasloe Fair [Reels]

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Denis Murphy - Music from Sliabh Luachra (1995)

2009-09-14T20:32:00.019+01:00

128 kbps

Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Pádraig O'Keeffe, Andy McGann, Johnny O'Leary & Séamus Ennis - Music from Sliabh Luachra (RTÉ 183 CD - 1995)

Compiled from recordings made by RTÉ between 1948 and 1969, and unfortunately out of print, it features a number of famous Sliabh Luachra musicians, as well as the Irish-American fiddler Andy McGann, and piper and collector Séamus Ennis. Sound quality is variable, as is to be expected, but the playing is, of course, nothing less than brilliant. Of particular interest is the Sliabh Luachra style rendition of 'The Turkey in the Straw', and the fluent sligo style duet between Murphy and McGann, as well as the array of beautifully played slides and polkas.

1. The Humours of Lisheen/The Lark in the Bog [Jigs]
2. Cronin's [Hornpipe]
3. The Humours of Galteemore/O'Keeffe's Dream/The New Post Office [Reels]
4. The Star Above the Garter/Pádraig O'Keeffe's [Slides]
5. Caoineadh Ui Neill [Air]
6. The Honeymoon [Reel]
7. Tarrant's/The Blue Ribbon [Polkas]
8. Breeches Mary/The Tenpenny Bit [Jigs]
9. The Mountain Road/The Dairymaid [Reels]
10. Denis Murphy's/The Green Cottage/Quarry Cross [Slides]
11. Fitzgerald's/O'Callaghan's Low [Hornpipes]
12. The Turkey in the Straw [Reel]
13. The Green Cottage Set [Polkas]
14. The Harlequin/The Chancellor [Hornpipes]
15. Apples in Winter/Fanning's [Jigs]
16. The Scartaglen/Denis Murphy's [Polkas]
17. Art O'Keeffe's/Dawley's Delight/Quarry Cross [Slides]

18. The Woman of the House [Reel]
19. Caoineadh Uí Dhómhnaill [Air]
20. The Mug of Brown Ale/The Rose in the Heather [Jigs]
21. The Pretty Girls of the Village/The Piper's Despair/Jim Kennedy's Favourite [Reels]
22. The Humours of Mountcollins/Chase me Charlie [Slides]
23. O'Callaghan's [Hornpipe]

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Jimmy Doyle & Dan O'Leary - Traditional Music from the Kingdom of Kerry (1977)

2009-09-14T19:37:00.013+01:00

128 kbps

Jimmy Doyle & Dan O'Leary - Traditional Music from the Kingdom of Kerry (Shanachie 29007 - 1977)

A lovely recording of very traditional playing by two musicians from Gibb, near Killarney, made in 1977, and sadly still unavailable on CD. There are no reels at all, and only one set of double jigs - the rest of the album consists almost exclusively of Kerry slides and polkas played with the strong rhythmic emphasis on the backbeat characteristic of the Sliabh Luachra region. It is very clear from their sparse, unobscured style that these musicians are of that generation whose music was played, at least publicly, for purposes of dancing, rather than for simply the pleasure of listening.

1. The Blue Ribbon Set [Polkas]

2. Murphy's [Slides]

3. Baile an Tsanhradh/Weaver's Delight [Polkas]

4. The Last Chance [Polka]

5. Brosna Slides

6. Cronin's [Single Jig]

7. Murphy's Delight/Charley O'Leary's Favourite [Polkas]

8. Listry's/Chase me Charlie [Slides]

9. Doyle's Favourite/O'Leary's Favourite [Polkas]

10. Art O'Keeffe's/The Goulin [Slides]

11. The Jib/The Bog Road [Polkas]

12. Pádraig O'Keeffe's [Slide]

13. Tom Billy's/The Thrush on the Strand [Jigs]

14. The Lakes of Sligo [Polka]

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Ceol an Cláir (1978)

2009-09-14T17:19:00.008+01:00

128 kbps

Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, Junior Crehan, John Kelly & Patrick Kelly - Ceol an Cláir vol.1 (Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann - CL17 - 1978)

A very important and rare release from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann compiled from recordings made between 1966 and 1978. It features five musicians whose playing exemplifies the various fiddling styles of West Clare. Sound quality is variable, as tracks were recorded on different media over a long period, but this is a truly magnificent album of unaccompanied West Clare fiddling from some of the masters of the tradition.

1. Bobby Casey - The Reel of Mullinavat/Tie the Ribbons [Reels]
2. Bobby Casey - The Drunken Gauger [Set Dance]
3. Joe Ryan - The Wheels of the World/Rakish Paddy [Reels]
4. Joe Ryan - Mo Buachaillín Bán [Air]
5. John Kelly - Mary Brennan's Favourite [Fling]
6. John Kelly - Seán Ó Duibhir a'Ghleanna [Air & Set Dance]
7. Junior Crehan - The Mist Covered Mountain [Jig]
8. Junior Crehan - Caisleán an Óir [Hornpipe]
9. Patrick Kelly - Danny Mescall's [Slide]
10. Patrick Kelly - The Salamanca/The Milliner's Daughter [Reels]
11. John Kelly - The Humours of Kilclogher [Single Jig]/Elizabeth Kelly's Delight [Slip Jig]
12. Joe Ryan - The Repeal of the Union/Toss the Feathers/The Maids of Mitchelstown [Reels]
13. Junior Crehan - The Kerry Woman's Lament [Story & Air]
14. Bobby Casey - The Gallowglass/Jimmy Ward's [Jigs]
15. Patrick Kelly - Drowsy Maggie [Reel]
16. Patrick Kelly - O'Connell's Farewell to Dublin [Set Dance]
17. Patrick Kelly - The Morning Star [Reel]
18. Patrick Kelly - The Foxhunter's [Reel]
19. Patrick Kelly - Banish Misfortune [Jig]
20. Patrick Kelly - The Bucks of Oranmore [Reel]
21. Patrick Kelly - Gillian's Apples [Jig]

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