Tóstal, An <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Folk+dance+music--Ireland">Folk dance music--Ireland</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Reels+%28Music%29">Reels (Music)</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Fiddle+tunes--Ireland">Fiddle tunes--Ireland</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowsome%2C+Leo+92519391">Rowsome, Leo 92519391</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowsome%2C+Helena">Rowsome, Helena</a> Leo Rowsome, known as 'The King of the Pipers', wrote this lovely reel. It is played on this track by fiddle player John Daly. 'An T&oacute;stal', according to my good friend Helena Rowsome, Leo's daughter, means 'a pageant or assembly of ordinary people'. Here Helena describes 'An T&oacute;stal' in her own words. Thank you, dear friend. <br /><br />'I well remember when An T&oacute;stal was held in Dublin. The entire city was cleaned up and flower baskets, flags and bunting of all colours placed on O'Connell Bridge. I recall thinking that Dublin must be the best place on earth. It provided a great incentive to tidy the city and instill civic pride again in its people. It was from An T&oacute;stal that the current well-known 'Tidy Towns' competition came.<br /><br /> On one designated Sunday during An T&oacute;stal (which would last for a couple of weeks), the GPO would be decorated with more flags than usual and a big platform placed outside for dignitaries of the State... I recall seeing the President, Se&aacute;n T. O'Kelly, on the platform addressing the people during his presidency in 1954. I was eight then and daddy lifted me up to see the goings on... <br /><br />Dad played at many events during An T&oacute;stal, including a C&eacute;il&iacute; at the Mansion House. He composed the reel for obvious reasons: his celebration of a great festival. An T&oacute;stal lasted from 1953 into the 1960s when it sort of phased out.' <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Daly%2C+John+%28fiddle%29">Daly, John (fiddle)</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Brehony%2C+Kevin+%28piano%29">Brehony, Kevin (piano)</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowsome%2C+Leo+%28composer%29+92519391">Rowsome, Leo (composer) 92519391</a> Séamus Connolly Boston College Libraries 2016-02-12 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=46&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Daly%2C+John+">Daly, John </a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=46&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Rowsome%2C+Leo+">Rowsome, Leo </a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=46&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Brehony%2C+Kevin+">Brehony, Kevin </a> Some transcriptions are based on historical source recordings. <a href="/exhibits/show/essays/essay-sweeney">More info.</a> http://library.bc.edu/connolly/plugins/Dropbox/files/IMC_M064_2013_03_0718.mp3 http://library.bc.edu/connolly/plugins/Dropbox/files/07-18_An_Tostal-Reel.pdf