Bobby Casey - Casey in the Cowhouse (1992)

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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]

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Paddy Taylor - The Boy in the Gap (1970)

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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]

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

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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)

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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]

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The Breeze from Erin (1969)

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)

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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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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