Browse Content (297 total)
- Subject is exactly "Folk dance music--Ireland"
McElligott's
Boston accordionist Billy Caples played this tune for me in the late 1970s. Billy was a well-known musician who played in the dance halls around Boston. When not performing, Billy spent his time teaching music. The tune is played on this recording by…
McDonnell-Garvey Hornpipe, The
On this track we once again hear Josephine Keegan performing one of her compositions. The tune is dedicated to her friend, the late Máire McDonnell-Garvey, who was a fiddle player and the author of a number of books about her native province…
Maxwell's
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.
Maurice O'Keeffe's
I will be forever grateful to Máire O'Keeffe, the County Kerry-style fiddle player, for her enthusiastic response when I told her about the project I was about to undertake. Máire's reaction was loud and clear: she said to me, 'Come on…
Maurice O'Keeffe's
Máire O'Keeffe is the fiddle player on this track. It is once again a delight to hear my good friend Máire demonstrate the captivating fiddle style of County Kerry. Máire learned this polka from fiddle player Maurice O'Keeffe, a…
Maude Miller
Nicky McAuliffe is an expert on the history and names of Irish music, as well as being proficient on many instruments and a noted teacher. Nicky and his wife Ann, herself a teacher and champion on a number of instruments, recorded this version of…
Mary of the Grove
A slightly different version of this reel may be found in The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. On this track, we again hear Kevin Crawford giving us a lovely performance.
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…
Margaret Lawrie's Galliard
Margaret Lawrie wrote this third and final tune that she and Michael Burnham recorded for this collection. It may also be heard on their own CD Bygone Days, a recording dedicated to Meg's grandfather, fiddle player Michael Cullen from County…
Marg's Jig
Maeve Donnelly plays a composition of master composer Mrs. Matilda Murdoch, the queen of New Brunswick fiddle playing. Matilda has numerous compositions to her credit and she takes great pleasure in passing the tunes along to musicians eager to learn…
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!
Man at the Helm
I made this tune to honour the late Larry Reynolds of Galway, my friend for many years. Larry took me under his wing when I arrived in Boston in the 1970s. As president of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Boston, he guided the…
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…
Magic Slipper, The
Flutist Nicole Rabata joins me to play 'The Magic Slipper', a polka I learned from Boston accordionist Billy Caples. Mr. Caples was a well-known musician who had his own orchestra during the Dudley Street era of music and dancing.
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…
Lough Key
A lovely slip jig played here for us by its composer, master fiddle player Larry Redican. Lough Key in County Roscommon is one of the beautiful lakes in Ireland famous for its fishing.
Lord Gordon's Father
The long version of the reel 'Lord Gordon', which the great Michael Coleman recorded in the 1930s, contains a number of parts which are attributed to that master County Sligo fiddle player. Another version, with two parts, was recorded on a 78 by…
Lisa and Patrick
I remember listening to Frank Claudy playing his whistle in the room next to mine at Gavin's Golden Hill Resort in East Durham in the Catskill Mountains of New York during a week of Irish music, song, and dance. The reel on this track, a composition…
Linda Ray's
The great fiddle player from New York City, Mr. Tony De Marco, composed this reel for his friend Linda Hickman, herself a lovely flute player. When I heard this reel performed by Tony and Charlie Lennon on Tony's CD The Sligo Indian, I fell in love…
Limerick Jig, The
Back in the early 1960s, I was very friendly with Mrs. Taylor, the concertina player from West Limerick who lived in London. We exchanged many letters over the years in which music was always a topic. The well-known flute player Paddy Taylor learned…