Performed by my friend Bonnie Bewick Brown on violin, along with her friends Julianne Lee on viola and Mickey Katz on cello, this tune came to me on the morning in 1988 when my mother passed on to her place of eternal joy and rest. Being away from one's homeland and receiving a phone call at 6 A.M. somehow sends chills through your body. Usually, these calls relay some bad news or something you would prefer not to hear. 'Yes, Mama has died,' my brother Michael said. For some unknown reason, when I hung up the phone the first thing that I did was take out my fiddle and play. And play I did, all the while thinking of the music we had in our home as I was growing up. I played some of the tunes that my mother taught me, and I thought of all that she did for me as I endeavoured to play the music that I loved. Somehow and from someplace, this tune came to me. I went to Ireland that night and said goodbye to my Mom and when I returned to this great United States I began to work on the tune and make it my own. Looking back now over the last twenty-six years, I have come to realise that this was the last tune that my mother, Lena, gave to me. The beautiful arrangement of the melody comes to us courtesy of Bonnie. Bless you, my friend. Lena Connolly will always be remembered.

Lee, Julianne (viola) 316003328

Katz, Mickey (cello) 63719871

Connolly, Séamus (composer) 33682623

Séamus Connolly

Boston College Libraries

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