Browse Content (338 total)
Golden Flower, The
My long-time friend Bill Black, who lives on Cape Cod, would often send tunes to my wife Sandy that he had composed in her honour. Bill's compositions greatly cheered my dear wife during her illness. She particularly liked his tune 'How Are You,…
Old Torn Petticoat
I believe it is important to feature master fiddle player Julia Clifford and her son Billy playing the first dance tune in this collection. It was the first reel that they recorded for me that night in Tralee over fifty years ago, when Julia invited…
Planting Stick, The
'The Planting Stick' is a variant of the venerable jig 'Bryan O'Lynn', a tune I first learned from my grandmother, Elizabeth Collins (née Rochford). A number of versions of 'Bryan O'Lynn' are to be found in this collection. The tune appears in…
Magpie in the Tree
And now to confuse things even more or, as they say at home in Ireland, 'to throw more turf on the fire', my brother Martin Connolly here plays 'Magpie in the Tree', which is yet another version of the classic jig 'Bryan O'Lynn'. Martin, a great…
Johnny's 21st Birthday
Dr. Tomás Ó Canainn wrote this tune and recorded it with his daughter Nuala to honour and celebrate the twenty-first birthday of their musical friend Johnny McCarthy. Their recording was named Béal na Trá and was issued in 1982 on the Outlet…
Is It Any Good, Séamus?
Fiddle player, accordionist, and composer Eddie Kelly played this tune for me and asked, 'Is it any good, Séamus?' I recorded Eddie playing it in a session on the street at an All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil around 1990. The title somehow suggests…
Farewell to Whiskey
Composed by the legendary Scottish fiddle player Niel Gow in 1799, this tune's title is apparently a reaction to the temporary prohibition of distillation in Scotland due to the failure of that year's barley crop. Played on this recording by master…
Jimmy Neary's
Jimmy Neary was a fiddle player from County Mayo who lived in Chicago. Johnny McGreevy, another fiddle player from Chicago and a hero of mine, gave me this tune in 1972 when I was on my first visit to that city, on the first ever Comhaltas…
Mrs. Ryan's
Ciarán Mac Mathúna from Radio Éireann recorded this tune from concertina player Mrs. Ryan from Ballinaclough, Nenagh, County Tipperary. Although this tune is played as a slide, the area around North Tipperary and Limerick is…
Humours of Castlelyons
I am joined on this track by my friends Kathleen Lawrie from Birmingham, England, and Kevin McElroy from Freeport, Maine. Kevin played banjo and Kathleen played piano. I first heard this tune played by musicians from Ballinakill, County Galway on an…
Gearóid Ó Laidhigh's
Fiddle player Gearóid Ó Laidhigh and flute player John Darcy recorded this tune, a composition of Mr. Ó Laidhigh's, for Ciarán Mac Mathúna. Ciarán traveled throughout Ireland recording musicians and singers,…
Humours of Toonagh
This reel first came to my attention when it was played by a group of wonderful young musicians from Dublin. Their band, known as The Castle Céilí Band, made a big name for themselves in the 1960s and were much admired throughout…
Corney Drew's
This hornpipe as played on this recording comes to us courtesy of fiddle player Liz Knowles. The original sources for the tune, Denis Murphy and Charlie Mulvihill (fiddle and accordion, respectively), recorded it for Ciarán Mac…
Granny in the Woods
Tom Morrison from Dunmore in County Galway recorded this polka in the early 1920s. Catherine McEvoy, originally from Birmingham, England, and now living in County Meath, delights us with her recording of this same tune: two great flute players at…
Martin Woods' Reel
A fine fiddle player from County Clare was Martin Woods. I had the honour of playing with him often in the early 1960s. Both of us were members of a céilí band known as The Lough Derg. That was so long ago! Martin Woods had fine old…
Shores of My Native Land
Rita Gallagher from County Donegal recorded this song for me in her own inimitable style over twenty years ago at an All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil. I have loved the song and Rita's masterful interpretation of it.
Liam Rowsome's
The name Rowsome is ubiquitous in the world of Irish music. Down through the years I have had the honour of playing music with the piping master Leo Rowsome and with his children, Leon, Liam, and Helena. Fiddle player Liam Rowsome composed this tune…
Come to the Fair
'Come to the Fair' was a very popular waltz/song played by The Kilfenora Céilí Band in the 1960s. I have always enjoyed listening to the band's singer Mary Higgins performing the song on a recording made at a céilí in…
Lynches and Wards of Clogher, The
Throughout its illustrious career, the celebrated Kilfenora Céilí Band from north County Clare has had various band members with the surnames Lynch and Ward, including P.J. Lynch, Tom Ward, and Jimmy Ward. This composition by the…
McGreevy's Tansey's
Johnny McGreevy from Chicago played this reel for me in 1972. I have given it this title because it reminds me of 'Tansey's Reel', a tune recorded by the Sligo fiddle player Paddy Killoran. My good friends Jimmy Noonan and Dan Gurney recorded this…