Browse Content (34 total)
- Subject is exactly "Folk music--Ireland"
Mhaighdean Mhara, An
All-Ireland champion harpist and singer Pádraigín Caesar attended Boston College as a Fulbright Scholar, and we became great friends. When Sandy and I lived in Groton, Massachusetts, 'Paudi', as we called her, visited us on a number of…
Miss Chrysandra Walter
Writing the stories of these tunes brings back many memories. When Sandy, my late wife, was diagnosed with kidney cancer, my life was turned upside down. We were so happy together and loved doing and planning different things: places to see, friends…
Montague Processional, The
David Kaynor graciously played his own composition for me, with Pete Sutherland at the piano, at the Northeast Heritage Music Camp held at Johnson State College in Vermont in 2009. David told me that this tune occurred to him after he hosted a fiddle…
O'Brien the Blacksmith
Another song from the pen of Robbie McMahon. I first heard him sing it at a County Clare Fleadh Cheoil over fifty years ago, and it has stayed with me down through the years. Robbie sang it again for me the afternoon that I visited his home in 2009,…
Old Man in the Hob
In this song, the old man sitting by the fireside calls his sons together to relate to them what it was like living and surviving in days gone by: true stories of tough times. Running somewhat parallel with the words of this song are words spoken to…
Parting Glass, The / The Peacock's Feather
The majestic vocals of the one and only Len Graham bring us near the end of this collaborative collection as he sings 'The Parting Glass'. His is an old County Antrim setting of the song, one that he and Joe Holmes sang together in the Guild Hall,…
Remembering Curly
Paula, a fiddle student in one of my classes at the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, asked me to 'make a tune' in honour of her late father, Curly. Paula really wanted to play something new at the student concert which was to be held at the end of the…
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.
Sitting in the Window
When my wife Chrysandra worked in Washington, DC, we lived across the Potomac in Alexandria, Virginia. During the summer months while she was working I would play my fiddle all day. I wish I had that same energy now! The tune that I play on this…
Spancilhill
Spancilhill in east County Clare gives its name to this song which I first heard around 1958, sung by Robbie McMahon, who was himself from that very same neighbourhood. Robbie gave us his updated rendition during a wonderful afternoon of singing in…
Thomas Power's March
Another tune from the playing of Thomas Power from Doonbeg in County Clare. On this track, I am joined by Kevin McElroy on bodhrán and Nicole Rabata on flute to perform our interpretation of the march.
Tigh an Cheoil
My good friend Ann Mulqueen, one of Ireland's wonderful traditional singers, composed 'Tigh an Cheoil'. Tigh an Cheoil, the great pub in An Rinn in County Waterford, should be on everyone's list of places to visit when looking for a good pint, great…
Turlough
Rodney Miller once again demonstrates that he is not only a fiddle player of extraordinary talent, but also a fine crafter of tunes. Here he plays his composition 'Turlough'.
Winifred's Well
Another composition by Margaret Lawrie, twin sister of Kathleen Lawrie, who plays on several tracks in this collection. The tune somehow reminded her of scenes she encountered in the Welsh Highlands, so Michael Burnham, who plays fiddle on this track…