Browse Content (34 total)
Clare Glens, The
If ever you get a chance to visit The Clare Glens you will not be disappointed. They are a beautiful wooded area, very picturesque, with walkways on both sides of the Clare River. The Glens are very close to Newport, County Tipperary, and are only…
Ballykinler Reel
Here, Larry Redican introduces and then plays a reel he composed to memorialise his friend, the Dublin fiddle player Frank O'Higgins. Ballykinler, in County Down in the North of Ireland, was an army base used as an internment camp during the War of…
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…
Brendan McCann's
Accordion player Brendan McCann lived near Hartford in the state of Connecticut. He had many fine tunes in his repertoire, including this hornpipe which he first heard in his hometown of Moate, County Westmeath, many years ago. I was thrilled when…
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…
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…
Fleadh at Tulla, The
At a county Fleadh Cheoil in Tulla, County Clare, in the late 1950s, I recorded fiddle player Paddy Canny and accordionist Mattie Ryan playing this tune in a duet competition. Here, Kevin Crawford joins me in playing this single jig.
Thirteen Arches
A thirteen-arched bridge spans the majestic River Shannon as it flows through my hometown of Killaloe, County Clare. On the opposite side of the bridge is Ballina, County Tipperary. As a child I had fun saying, 'I can stand in Killaloe and Ballina at…
Varney House
The unique musical heritage of County Kerry has had a profound impact on the survival of traditional music. Paddy Cronin from Sliabh Luachra gave the above title to a reel more commonly known as 'Miss Johnson's'. It is played here by uilleann piper…
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…
Longing for Peace, A
Another of Sean Nugent's compositions is the slow air appropriately titled 'A Longing for Peace'. How happy Sean would be were he with us today, to know that the struggle is almost over and we now have peace again in 'Dear Old Ireland'. The tune is…
Minnie's Favourite
Here, we hear one of Sean Nugent's many fine compositions, played by his son, Larry. Sean named it for his sister, Minnie.
Fleadh Down in Ennis, The
In 1956, Robbie McMahon from Spancilhill in County Clare composed this song about the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil held in Ennis that year. When it is sung today, it is a wonderful piece of musical history, as it is also a litany of the names of…
Larry Lynch's
This next tune comes from the playing of another fiddle player from County Kerry, the great master Paddy Cronin. When Paddy lived in Boston he always had his fiddle on the dining room table next to one of O'Neill's collections of music. Most every…
Ned and Dan O'Connor
Another tune from the playing of Máire O'Keeffe. Ned and Dan O'Connor, two musicians from the Scartaglen area of Sliabh Luachra, were often heard playing this slide.
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…
Bridie's Joy
Peadar O'Loughlin's name seems to be eternally present in the world of Irish music. His music brought much joy to the Connolly household when I was growing up in County Clare. It was such a heartwarming pleasure to have him visit the home of…
Hairpin Bend, The
This tune is named for a winding part of the road leading into Lisdoonvarna, County Clare. Try pedalling a bicycle up or down those hills! This single jig was very popular with The Kilfenora Céilí Band during my tenure with them. It is…
Tom Turkington's in A Major
Here is another tune from the playing of Tom Turkington of County Tyrone. I searched for its name, and I asked a number of reliable sources for a title, but I have come up empty-handed. So, what better name than 'Tom Turkington's in A Major'? Tom's…
Scolding Wife, The
The royal welcome Sandy and I received when we visited the home of Geraldine Cotter outside Ennis, with the turf fire burning, really made us picture ourselves one day moving back to Ireland. As we set up our recording equipment, we happened to…