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

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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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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]

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John Doonan - At the Feis (1978)

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)

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

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Alan Ward - Music from Sliabh Luachra (1977)

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)

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]


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