David Reiner composed 'The New Road to Sligo'. It is played for us by Liz Carroll. David told me that he composed this tune 'to tell the story of a musical road trip, from the bold beginning in G minor, to the detour into B flat, to the simpler and…

David Curry's broadcasts from the BBC studios in Belfast were eagerly awaited in my home. He broadcast many fine tunes, including this one, which Nicole Rabata and I arranged for flute and fiddle. Not having the tune's original title, I have named it…

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'.…

Cathal McConnell, 'The Great One', gave me this tune, and he also gave it the above title. Recently, I discovered that the other 'Great One', Liz Carroll, had recorded her rendition of the tune on her long-playing record A Friend Indeed. Liz informed…

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…

This slip jig from the Scottish tradition was taught to me by Boston harpist Kathleen Guilday. I told her about this project and asked her if she would record it for me. Kathleen was delighted, and graciously agreed to come to Maine to do the…

This tune was composed by Chicago fiddle player Devin Shepherd. He plays it here with his friend Sean Gavin on flute. Devin named the tune for Mike Doyle from County Wexford, who now lives in Chicago. Mike is an avid enthusiast of the music and can…

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.…