Browse Content (35 total)
Con Cassidy's
This tune bears the name of noted fiddle player Con Cassidy, and it may well have been played as a single jig in his native County Donegal. There was no doubt about West Limerick accordion player Donie Nolan's interpretation of it as a slide. He…
Danny Meehan's
Master fiddle player Danny Meehan from Donegal lived in London for many years. During his time there, Danny worked by day in the building trade. At night he would do what he liked best: he played his fiddle with his friends and colleagues, and in a…
Carraigín Ruadh
Another composer of fine tunes was fiddle and flute player Brendan Tonra from County Mayo, who immigrated to Boston around 1959. Brendan played this tune, one of his compositions, on a recording made in 1979 by the Boston branch of Comhaltas…
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,…
Scully Casey's
John 'Scully' Casey, father to the great County Clare fiddle player Bobby Casey, was a well-known and respected fiddle player in his day. Bobby, in his generosity, recorded this reel for me years ago. It is played on this recording by Gráinne…
Bridge at Newtown, The
'The Bridge', as it was affectionately called, was home to Dinny O'Brien, concertina and fiddle player. It was also the home of accordionist Paddy O'Brien, my musical colleague in the 1960s and '70s. The bridge in question is on the road between…
Cornboy, The
When we were traveling throughout America on the first Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann tour of champion musicians, singers, and dancers in 1972, I had the great pleasure of playing this reel with fiddle player Paddy Glackin. Paddy…
Bird's Nest, The
Tina Lech, a former fiddle instructor at Boston College, performs this tune for all of us to hear. Tina learned the reel from a tape I gave to her of Larry Redican, the Dublin fiddle player who lived in New York. The tune's title was given to me by…
Patsy Hanly's
I played a recording of this reel for my friend Jimmy Noonan. The identity of the player was a mystery to me, but Jimmy's astute judgment identified the musician as Patsy Hanly, the flute player from County Roscommon. Who better, then, to play this…
Seán McCusker's
Mentioned earlier in this collection was The Pride of Erin Céilí Band from Fermanagh, a group of wonderful people who loved to play their music. One of the band members was flute and button accordionist Seán McCusker. Seán…
Jack Rowe's
Recorded by Seán Maguire, the celebrated master fiddle player, with Josephine Keegan on piano, as well as by Maeve Donnelly and Peadar O'Loughlin on their CD The Thing Itself. A version of this tune was given to Breandán Breathnach by…
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…
Dunboyne Straw-Plaiters
The reel played here by Jerry O'Sullivan is another tune from the music of Boston's Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band. Nicky McAuliffe told me that the tune is in P.W. Joyce's collection, Old Irish Folk Music and Songs. Nicky, you are a walking…
Dan Sullivan's
America's foremost uilleann piper, Jerry O'Sullivan, learned this and a number of other tunes from recordings of Dan Sullivan and his band that I sent to him. Jerry recorded the tunes with the engineering expertise of Gabriel Donohue, himself an…
Ullulu Mo Mháilín
Played here as a polka, this melody is a macaronic song, with Irish and English words. It is the one and only tune that fiddle player Matt Cranitch and I recorded for this collection. It came very naturally to us, since it is a famous song in our…
Peig and Mick Ryan
Traditional Irish music is on a strong footing, due in no small way to Peig and Mick Ryan from Murroe, County Limerick. At a time when the music was unpopular, Peig and her husband Mick worked diligently to promote Irish music and culture in all its…
Roseanne's Reel
The lovely fiddle music of Máire O'Keeffe is once again heard on this track. The tune was passed down from John Lenihan to Maurice O'Keeffe, who in turn gave it to Máire.
Moyasta Polka
Another tune from the repertoire of Mrs. Ellen Galvin. It is played on this track for all of us to enjoy by one of my heroes, Josephine Keegan. Josephine again makes full use of modern recording technology in order to be recorded playing both fiddle…
Kathleen Coen's
Flute player Mr. Jack Coen, brother of Monsignor Charlie Coen, was visiting his daughter Kathleen in Clinton, Massachusetts. I took a trip down that same day to meet Jack and to play a few tunes with him. Many of the tunes we played that day I had…
Celtic Lamb, The
This track comes from the CD To The Dance Floor, released in 2006 by a Rhode Island-based group called The Gnomes. Among its members is Phil Edmonds, the composer of this beautiful tune. Phil and I went to the same school in Killaloe, where we…