Browse Content (338 total)
Green Mountain Boys, The
I first fell in love with this tune when I heard fiddle master supreme Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald from Cape Breton playing it on a recording. I had in my collection a tape of my friend, pianist Barbara MacDonald Magone, playing the jig in two…
Great Composer, The
A prolific composer in the world of Irish music was master fiddle player Larry Redican. I didn't have a name for this jig, hence the title 'The Great Composer' came to mind. Larry plays the fiddle on this tune, which was a favourite of his friend Mr.…
Granny in the Woods
Tom Morrison from Dunmore in County Galway recorded this polka in the early 1920s. Catherine McEvoy, originally from Birmingham, England, and now living in County Meath, delights us with her recording of this same tune: two great flute players at…
Grandfather's Thought
This hornpipe from Julia, John, and Billy Clifford is played here for us by Shannon Heaton on flute. The tune may be found on an LP that the Cliffords recorded during their years in London, England, entitled The Star of Munster Trio, Music from…
Gráinne Murphy's
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…
Gracie M. Parker, The
Sung here by Edward and Ruth Fitzgerald from Prince Edward Island in Canada, this song tells the story of a ninety-one-ton, two-masted schooner built in Massachusetts in 1869. According to Edward, the boat was based in Tignish, PEI, and it was…
Golden Flower, The
My long-time friend Bill Black, who lives on Cape Cod, would often send tunes to my wife Sandy that he had composed in her honour. Bill's compositions greatly cheered my dear wife during her illness. She particularly liked his tune 'How Are You,…
Going Home
I have known and admired the music of Eamon Flynn since 1957. Eamon, like myself, lived in Boston for many years, and we often played music together. When Eamon decided to move to the state of Vermont he began to compose some smashing tunes,…
Go Easy, Young Hag
The fiddle playing of Devin Shepherd from Chicago is heard once again on this track, playing one of his own compositions. He is joined by Marta Cook, who plays the harp. A lovely tune, Devin, thanks for sending it along. Thank you too, Marta, for…
Ger Brooks' Polka
My next door neighbour when I was growing up in Killaloe was known to me as Mister Brooks. He loved to play the accordion, and he had many fine polkas in his repertoire. The polka I play on this track was one of his favourites. In almost sixty years…
Gentle Mother
During those trips Mulhaire's Céilí Band made to Lixnaw and other towns in County Kerry in the 1960s (see 'Tart ar an Ól'), ballad singer Josephine McNamara was another artist who made the long journey – in her case from…
Gentle Ann
Eamon Flynn first recorded his above-titled composition for the Boston branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. It was featured on their 1981 LP We're Irish Still. It is played here for us in fine traditional style by Manus McGuire…
Gearóid Ó Laidhigh's
Fiddle player Gearóid Ó Laidhigh and flute player John Darcy recorded this tune, a composition of Mr. Ó Laidhigh's, for Ciarán Mac Mathúna. Ciarán traveled throughout Ireland recording musicians and singers,…
Galway Jig, The
Accordionist Larry Gavin, a longtime friend, put this tune on tape for me a few years ago at his home in Tulla, County Clare. Larry is a repository of Irish music, and he raised this tune up from his deep well. Apparently the tune was played by…
Gallant Tipperary Boys, The
This tune may be found in the O'Neill's Music of Ireland collection under the title 'Gallant Tipperary'. It also appears in The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music in the 'Airs' section of that book. The tune, played here by Laurel Martin,…
Gaelic Roots
The New England fiddle player Rodney Miller composed 'Gaelic Roots' at Boston College during one of the University's weeks of Irish music, song, and dance, when he was a special guest and visiting professor. Rodney honours us on this track with his…
G. Craig and Maureen Sullivan
Brian Hebert plays a hornpipe he wrote to honour my special friends Craig and Maureen Sullivan. I will forever be grateful to them for their benevolent generosity to me, to Boston College, and to the world of Gaelic music and song. It is through…
Freddy Kimmel's
As the howling winds from the Atlantic Ocean blew into Kinvara Harbour, Máire O'Keeffe continued to play her fiddle into the night without interruption (see 'Maurice O'Keeffe's'). The tune that she plays here was learned from the playing of…
Frank Quinn's
Accordion player, fiddle player, and all-around entertainer Frank Quinn lived in New York and recorded for a number of record companies in the 1930s. I heard this reel played by him on an old 78 RPM recording. Jimmy Noonan plays flute on this…
Frank Neylon's
Flute player Frank Neylon lived in Boston when I arrived there in 1977. I loved listening to his beautiful, distinctive North Clare style of playing, and to the unusual tunes that he had brought with him to America. This is another of the tunes that…