Browse Content (338 total)
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…
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…
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…
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…
Tart ar an Ól
A version of this tune can be found in The Roche Collection, but I first heard it played by Eddie Moloney from Ballinakill, County Galway. Eddie, Tommy Mulhaire, and his son Brendan were among those who travelled on a number of occasions in the 1960s…
Dan Sullivan's
Another tune recorded by Dan Sullivan and his band, it is played on this recording by Billy McComiskey (accordion), Laura Byrne (flute), and Donna Long (piano). Their relaxed style brings out the beauty of the melody.
Bobbie Lawrie's
Roberta (Bobbie) Lawrie comes from the musical Lawrie family from Birmingham, England. On one occasion when I was visiting her home, Bobbie recorded some of her compositions for me. At that time, nobody in her household knew that she was composing…
Jimmy Hogan's (Number One)
Jimmy Hogan from Liscannor in County Clare loved to play his whistle and batter out the County Clare set dances on the floor. Jimmy was an icon in Boston and he was loved by everyone who met him. This tune from north County Clare was one of his…
Victor's Return, The
I recorded this tune with another nephew, Karl Connolly, playing piano, on the same day as Kevin Crawford's unfortunate experience. I first heard the tune in the 1950s played by the Tulla Céilí Band from County Clare. A version of this…
Any Auld Thing At All
My brother Martin learned this version of 'The Victor's Return' from fiddle player Johnny Cronin from County Kerry. When Martin asked Johnny for the tune's title, Johnny told Martin to call it 'any auld thing at all'! Martin was reluctant to play the…
Hairpin Bend, The
This tune is named for a winding part of the road leading into Lisdoonvarna, County Clare. Try pedalling a bicycle up or down those hills! This single jig was very popular with The Kilfenora Céilí Band during my tenure with them. It is…
Fleadh at Tulla, The
At a county Fleadh Cheoil in Tulla, County Clare, in the late 1950s, I recorded fiddle player Paddy Canny and accordionist Mattie Ryan playing this tune in a duet competition. Here, Kevin Crawford joins me in playing this single jig.
Gráinne Murphy's
The first time that I saw Gráinne Murphy was when her mother and father, Joan and Dan, brought her to a music session in Watertown, Massachusetts. Gráinne did not have a fiddle with her then because she was just a little baby in a…
Man from Clare, The
This tune, played by Damien Connolly on fiddle this time, is one of his own compositions. I'm not sure who the title refers to, but since he was born in County Clare, maybe it's himself!
Brother Gildas / Bryan O'Lynn
The exciting recording on this track was made by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, featuring master musicians Tony MacMahon and Steve Cooney. The first jig is associated with the piping of Brother Gildas O'Shea. The second jig of the set,…
Old Tipperary
A great old jig that I first played with the legendary Clare piper Willie Clancy. It seems appropriate that Padraic Mac Mathúna, son of Ciarán Mac Mathúna, the radio and television presenter, should play it with me for this…
Quadrille
I had no idea of the name of the fiddle player who performed this jig on a cassette tape I had of an old 78 RPM recording. However, my friend Paul Wells knew the tune and the fiddle player, whom he identified as Leizime Brusoe. Mr. Brusoe was born in…
Will Hardy's Twiggy Jig
My friend Beth Sweeney is the librarian for the Irish Music Archives at the Burns Library of Boston College. When she finds time in her schedule, Beth likes to play music and compose. On this track she plays one of her own tunes, which she describes…