Joe Burke, my lifelong friend, was leader of The Leitrim Céilí Band, named not for the county of Leitrim, but for a townland in east County Galway. I was honoured to have been a member of that musical group when we won the Senior…

The fiddle master Néillidh Boyle recorded this tune as part of a two-jig set in Dublin in 1937. That recording happened to be the very first record of Irish fiddle music that I had when I was growing up. It is performed on this track by…

And as we present this last selection, we come to the end of a long musical journey. It is my hope that whoever reads my stories, anecdotes, and ramblings will get some insight into the tunes' histories, and some new information about them.…

I have a tape of a wonderful evening of music in the home of the Gavin family of Balbriggan, County Dublin, which includes this hornpipe played by Jimmy Keane from Chicago. I wanted to include the tune in this collection, so I phoned Jimmy to ask…

During that musical evening at the Gavins' in Balbriggan so long ago, Jimmy Keane, the piano accordion player from Chicago, played this tune. He informed me that it is one of Liz Carroll's compositions, entitled 'The Champaign Jig Goes to Columbia'.…

The name Shand is synonymous with the traditional music of Scotland. The rock-solid rhythm and strict tempo of master accordionist and composer Sir Jimmy Shand are forever embedded in my mind. Joyous memories of Mr. Shand's music have remained with…

This is another tune that was given to me by accordionist Larry Gavin, who lives in Tulla, in east County Clare. A version of this slip jig may be found in Ryan's Mammoth Collection. It is played here in fine style by the talented Gráinne…

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…

The inimitable fiddle master Seán Maguire recorded this tune, with Josephine Keegan at the piano, on one of their records. Here we hear Gráinne Murphy giving us her special rendition of Maxwell's Reel.

John 'Scully' Casey, father to the great County Clare fiddle player Bobby Casey, was a well-known and respected fiddle player in his day. Bobby, in his generosity, recorded this reel for me years ago. It is played on this recording by Gráinne…