<![CDATA[The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/items/browse?tags=Playlist+07&output=rss2 Fri, 29 Mar 2024 02:10:27 -0700 burnsref@bc.edu (The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music) Boston College Libraries Zend_Feed http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Eochaill]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/711

Story

My dear friend Ann Mulqueen, formerly of Castleconnell, County Limerick, and now living in An Rinn, the Gaeltacht area of County Waterford, is the singer on this track. Ann travelled throughout Ireland competing at Fleadhanna Ceoil, and she was much sought after as a performer of the great ballads of Ireland. She amassed a huge collection of songs from her grandmother, which no doubt were helpful to her during her competitive years, when she won a number of All-Ireland singing titles. On this track we hear her singing 'Eochaill', a love song in Irish which she learned from the great Gaeltacht singers of An Rinn. This track appears on her CD, Mo Ghrása Thall na Déise. The English translation of the lyrics is provided courtesy of Tomás Ó Ceilleachair.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-01_Eochaill-Song.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:23 -0800
<![CDATA[Joy of My LIfe]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/505

Story

This well-known jig is performed on this track by yours truly, Séamus Connolly. With help on the banjo from my friend Kevin McElroy, we offer this grand two-part jig as a way to invite musicians to play this tune once again. The interesting second part of the tune comes from the fiddle playing of Thomas Power from Doonbeg in County Clare.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-02_Joy_of_My_Life-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[I Love You Not and I Care Not]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/506

Story

One could say not a very pleasing or romantic title, but certainly a tune worth preserving, even more so when it's played on the fiddle by Maeve Donnelly. Whilst driving through Italy with Chrysandra (Sandy), my wife, this old jig came into my head, and I scribbled some of the notes on paper so that I would remember it again. I had first heard the tune played on the Céilí House programme in the 1960s by the well-known nine-brother band The McCusker Brothers, from Northern Ireland. What a pleasant coincidence it was, upon my return from Italy, to hear the tune on Maeve's 2002 recording Maeve Donnelly. Maeve has done me the honour of playing it again for this collection.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-03_I_Love_You_Not_and_I_Care_Not-Jig.pdf
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<![CDATA[Máire Mo Chara]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/400

Story

This air, played here by its composer, Josephine Keegan, is a special tribute to her friend Máire McDonnell-Garvey, author of numerous books on the history and music of the West of Ireland. Máire worked all her life promoting traditional Irish music. She was secretary to the Dublin County branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and she was a fine fiddle player in the Roscommon and Sligo styles of playing. Thank you, Josephine, for remembering Máire with this lovely air.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-04_Maire_Mo_Chara-Air.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:09 -0800
<![CDATA[Canyon Jig]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/507

Story

David Reiner has published a number of fiddle books, including Anthology of Fiddle Tunes (Mel Bay). According to Dave, this tune came together in his head while he was hiking with his parents and brother in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. After he returned from the hike he picked up his fiddle and, he writes, 'made a few improvements to the tune, including the ending that tumbles down arpeggios like a waterfall into a canyon.' The great Liz Carroll recreates Dave's musical hiking adventure with her interpretation of this composition.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-05_Canyon_Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[Brave Irish Boys, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/545

Story

Irish céilí dancing was very popular in the late 1950s and early '60s, and dancers loved the idea of dancing to the music of different bands. In the late 1950s I was invited to join The Ormond Star Céilí Band, one of a number of bands that were formed around the banks of The Shannon and Lough Derg. The Ormond Star counted among its members many fine musicians, including All-Ireland champion button accordionist Paddy Ryan from Coolbawn, Nenagh, County Tipperary, and fiddle player Liam O'Connor, originally from Brosna, County Kerry. Liam taught me many tunes, including the one played on this track by my friend Nicole Rabata on flute, with myself on fiddle. Just for the record, The Ormond Star did travel to Dublin to make a long-playing recording – exciting times for me as a teenager.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-06_The_Brave_Irish_Boys-March.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:16 -0800
<![CDATA[Leamanagh Castle]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/639

Story

Flute player Frank Neylon had a repertoire of fine tunes associated with his native Kilnaboy in north County Clare. Frank was living in Boston, Massachusetts, when I arrived there from Ireland in the 1970s. He was well-known and respected by all as a gentleman and a fine musician. He made some 78 RPM recordings with the County Kerry fiddle player Paddy Cronin, and he was featured on a long-playing record that I produced of musicians living in and around the Boston area in 1979. I asked Nicole Rabata to learn this reel from Frank's flute playing. For want of the tune's real title, I took the liberty of naming it after a landmark in Frank's home area.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-07_Leamanagh_Castle-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Aftermath of the Ice Storm]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/640

Story

New England is known for its ever-changing weather patterns, and for snow, rain, sleet, and ice. In 2008, the New England states were badly hit with an unforgettable ice storm. People were stranded and without heat in their homes for weeks. Trees were laden down with ice, and the roads were treacherous to drive and walk on. One of the good things that came as a result of the ice storm is this tune composed and played here by Rodney Miller. Certainly, Rodney, your tune will forever remind us of those glittering shiny trees, the downed electrical and phone lines and, of course, the wonderful people who work so hard and so diligently to bring our lives back to normal in the aftermath of such a storm.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-08_Aftermath_of_the_Ice_Storm-Slow_Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[West Cork Maestro]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/641

Story

When I visited Finbarr Dwyer at his home in Clarecastle, County Clare, he generously made a recording for me which included this less familiar composition of his. Finbarr was most humble and did not give his tune much credit, let alone a title. He would probably have given us a different interpretation had he played it again for me. That's Finbarr, a master musician, composer, and improviser – surely a genius if ever there was one.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-09_West_Cork_Maestro-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Stone Fiddle, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/642

Story

Josephine Keegan, the prolific composer, fiddle player, and pianist, made up this top-notch tune. Thanks, Josephine, for sending it to me for inclusion in this collection.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-10_The_Stone_Fiddle-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Cathal's Reel]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/643

Story

The revered traditional music group The Boys of the Lough performed in Boston in the late 1980s. At a house gathering that same evening, their flutist Cathal McConnell played this tune for me. The tune is performed for us on this track by Catherine McEvoy, who brings to bear her very own masterly interpretation and style.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-11_Cathals_Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Tyrone Among the Bushes]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/446

Story

Another tune from the playing of Tom Turkington from County Tyrone. This hornpipe is one of the tunes that he played on my fiddle so long ago at a concert at a Fleadh Cheoil in County Clare. Séamus Duffy, the traditional singer and adjudicator, introduced Tom that night with the words, 'We'll go up north now to Tyrone Among the Bushes!' I think it makes a great title for this hornpipe, which is played on this track by Kimberley Fraser from Cape Breton. Again, my sincere thanks to Kimberley and to all the musicians who took the time to learn tunes and perform them for this collection. All of you are heroes.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-12_Tyrone_Among_the_Bushes-Hornpipe.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:11 -0800
<![CDATA[Weaver Flynn]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/644

Story

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Eamon Flynn wrote this tune to honour his wife Vicki. Vicki's maiden name was Weaver. This track comes from a CD Eamon recorded with our mutual friend Helen Kisiel, who is often sought after as a piano accompanist by traditional musicians in the Boston area. The CD is named Down by the Glenside, and it features Eamon in full flight on a number of instruments. He is a wonderful musician, composer, and my friend for over fifty years. Thanks, Eamon, for all the music. Your influence in the Boston and New England music scene will forever remain strong.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-13_Weaver_Flynn-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Ideno]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/645

Story

My nephew Damien Connolly plays another of his compositions on the fiddle on this track. When I asked him the name of the tune he gave me the answer, 'Ideno', a Killaloe contraction of 'I don't know'!

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-14_Ideno-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[How Are You, Sandy? (Sandy Connolly's)]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/508

Story

It meant much to my wife Sandy and me when Bill Black, our friend from Cape Cod, sent us a tune that he composed in her honour entitled 'How Are You, Sandy?' Bill later sent the tune under the new title 'Sandy Connolly's' when she left us to go to her eternal reward. Thank you, sir, for caring so much. Sandy was very moved by your thoughtfulness. My friend Kevin McElroy joins me on this track.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-15_How_Are_You_Sandy_Sandy_Connollys-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[Johnny's Welcome Home]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/646

Story

Billy Clifford recorded this tune for me that night long ago in Tralee, County Kerry. The memories of that evening remain with me always, especially delightful when I listen to the tape Billy and his mother made for me that evening so long ago. What generosity. A version of 'Johnny's Welcome Home' appears in O'Neill's 1001.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-16_Johnnys_Welcome_Home-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Homecoming, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/730

Story

Kathleen Boyle, a great musician from Glasgow, composed this tune for her mother and father. They had returned home to County Donegal after living for forty-seven years in Scotland. Kathleen, who plays her composition on this track, travels back and forth from Scotland to America very often. She is a member of Joanie Madden's Cherish the Ladies ensemble. There is more on this young lady elsewhere in the collection.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-17_The_Homecoming-Waltz.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:24 -0800
<![CDATA[Tóstal, An]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/647

Story

Leo Rowsome, known as 'The King of the Pipers', wrote this lovely reel. It is played on this track by fiddle player John Daly. 'An Tóstal', according to my good friend Helena Rowsome, Leo's daughter, means 'a pageant or assembly of ordinary people'. Here Helena describes 'An Tóstal' in her own words. Thank you, dear friend.

'I well remember when An Tóstal was held in Dublin. The entire city was cleaned up and flower baskets, flags and bunting of all colours placed on O'Connell Bridge. I recall thinking that Dublin must be the best place on earth. It provided a great incentive to tidy the city and instill civic pride again in its people. It was from An Tóstal that the current well-known 'Tidy Towns' competition came.

On one designated Sunday during An Tóstal (which would last for a couple of weeks), the GPO would be decorated with more flags than usual and a big platform placed outside for dignitaries of the State... I recall seeing the President, Seán T. O'Kelly, on the platform addressing the people during his presidency in 1954. I was eight then and daddy lifted me up to see the goings on...

Dad played at many events during An Tóstal, including a Céilí at the Mansion House. He composed the reel for obvious reasons: his celebration of a great festival. An Tóstal lasted from 1953 into the 1960s when it sort of phased out.'

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-18_An_Tostal-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[O'Reilly's Fancy]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/648

Story

My friend in Tulla, Larry Gavin, sent me this reel thirty-five years ago. I love Larry's accordion playing and I am grateful to him for supplying many wonderful tunes to me during all the years that I have lived in America. Larry, as they say, you 'kept me at it'. The reel is played on this track by Joanie Madden.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-19_OReillys_Fancy-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Charlie Mulvihill's Jig in A]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/509

Story

Accordionist, concertina player, and composer Charlie Mulvihill from New York composed this tune. Charlie was very friendly with the great Paddy Killoran, master fiddle player from County Sligo. When Paddy Killoran died, his wife Betty gave Charlie the 78 RPM recordings that Paddy had recorded in the 1930s and '40s. Charlie transferred the records to tape for Mrs. Killoran to enjoy once again. Along with the Killoran recordings, Charlie gave her a tape of his own compositions which includes this jig cleverly structured around the recurrence of the note 'A'. He plays it on this track with his daughter Geraldine on piano and son Tommy on fiddle. I am grateful to Tommy Mulvihill for giving me permission to feature the track with this collection.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-20_Charlie_Mulvihills_Jig_in_A.pdf
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