Irish Trad Music Blog

Transatlantic Sessions, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall As attested by the speed with which both shows routinely sell out, the Transatlantic Sessions are the longstanding jewel in Celtic Connections’ crown. This year, however, was exceptional even by the usual exalted standards. Whether it was serendipitous chemistry, between the line-up’s mix of old lags and first-timers, or a particularly felicitous choice of songs – or perhaps the full moon – the musical magic conjured by 18 leading folk artists from Scotland, Ireland and America delivered the wow factor in spades. In keeping with the “sessions” element of the format, most of the musicians remained on stage throughout, clapping, tapping feet and applauding in unison with the audience. Together with plenty of banter and craic – including the seemingly requisite doses of toilet humour from accordionist Phil Cunningham – this lent the proceedings a winning informality and an air of spontaneity, which belied the wealth of A-list musicianship...

In the 1990s they were two Irish exiles arriving in New York City like so many before them, with youthful curiosity and adventure stoking their musical minds still very much in formation. Fate and serendipity would bring them together in a new band called Solas (Light) along with other wunderkind in the Irish traditional music scene ready to take the music into the next millennium. As wildly exciting and successful as Solas was in its opening five years of existence, it could not contain the brilliant pair who felt compelled to seek different roads for themselves at the turn of this century experiencing personal growth as artists and individuals. Maturity and a willingness to expose themselves to greater challenges as professional musical artists have marked the work of singer Karan Casey from Waterford and singer/guitarist John Doyle from Dublin. The journey may have been rough and rocky at times, but there is no question that it has made them compelling artists in the forefront of th...

With John Fitzgerald The words of the song come to mind when contemplating Nell Leahy’s word pictures of a past that has virtually disappeared. In her interviews on national and local radio, Nell recalled the simpler lifestyle of the 1940s and preceding decades. The Tilly lamps and candles… the water drawn from the well…the open fires that cooked everything…the old cures that worked no matter what the doctors said. The nation might have been in the grip of rationing, she told RTE Radio’s Donnacha O Dualin, but most country folk had ample supplies of milk, eggs, and meat. They had their porridge or a boiled egg for breakfast, washed down with tea…rations or no rations. Re-cycling of tea eaves was something you got used to, Nell joked. Spuds were plentiful too, especially in rural households, she confirmed, as were carrots, onions, turnips, cabbage, parsnips, lettuce, and scallions. And you could feast on Rhubarb or apple tart, or current cake, mainly at teatime on Sundays. ...

THE annual music school, Scoil Cheoil an Earraig, will be held from February 17 to 21 in Ballyferriter and includes a series of concerts featuring some of the country's most talented musicians. The school also provides music and singing classes and sean-nós dancing classes as well as a variety of workshops. Classes will be provided in the following list of instruments: harp, accordion, bodhrán, banjo/mandolin, uileann pipes, fiddle, tin whistle, flute and concertina. The directors of the school are Niamh Ní Bhaoill and Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich. For further information phone 087/9967501 or 086/8185964 or see www.scoilcheoil.com

Frank McNally SEÁN Ó RIADA is rightly credited with sparking the latter-day revival in Irish traditional music, a subject we’ll come back to in a moment. But a more controversial aspect of his legacy, it could be argued, is the encouragement he gave to subsequent generations of bodhrán players. Fifty years after he legitimised their activity in his arrangements with Ceoltóirí Chualann, many purists still question whether the bodhrán qualifies as a musical instrument at all, never mind an Irish one. And leaving that vexed issue aside, Ó Riada’s promotion of what he considered Ireland’s native drum had another regrettable consequence. It’s not just those with sensitive ears who have suffered since. The revival of the bodhrán also unleashed a new era of persecution on an animal that, ironically, had played an honoured role in the nation’s long struggle for independence. I refer of course to the goat, on whose skin bodhrán players (and Lambeg drummers too, for that matter) beat their infer...

“It will blow the cobwebs off what peoples’s impressions of Irish music is,” says Aidan Connolly, Executive Director of New York City’s Irish Arts Center, about the showcase of Irish Traditional Music this weekend produced there by Culture Ireland. Culture Ireland, an arm of the Irish government dedicated to promoting Irish culture worldwide, hopes to demonstrate that Irish music explores musical boundaries and engages with other genres. “It’s a living tradition,” says Eugene Downes, Culture Ireland’s Chief Executive. The five acts in the showcase include “sean nos” (old style, unaccompanied) singer Iarla O Lionaird, whose evocative tenor fronted the fusion group Afro Celt Sound System; young fiddler Caoimhin O Raghailaigh, whose take on traditional music looks back earlier than the 70s revival to the beginning of this century; contemporary singer-songwriter and poet John Spillane; young upbeat group Caladh Nua, hailing from three regions in Ireland; and The Unwanted, a band which comb...

LIAM HARTE Music in Irish Cultural History By Gerry Smyth Irish Academic Press, 196pp, €24.95 IN RECENT years Gerry Smyth has led the way in establishing popular music as a legitimate field of study within the ever-expanding landscape of 21st-century Irish studies. This volume combines previously published and new material which constitutes an extended critical meditation. The fact that Smyth writes not as a musicologist but as a cultural historian means his is a less “disciplined” approach than some purists might prefer, but the book is all the better for that. The interdisciplinarity that drives his critical practice – encompassing literature, history, politics, film studies, philosophy and psychology – produces many instructive readings that expand the parameters within which familiar texts are usually considered. The chapter on music in Joyce’s story The Dead is a good example of the insights such a methodologically flexible approach can yield. Smyth’s analysis of the significance ...

In a word, the Riverdance Irish Dance Troupe is a powerhouse. Riverdance - the show that began as an overnight sensation in the mid-90s and blossomed into a lasting theatrical success - has played more than 10,000 performances in 15 years. Resting on the soles of 1,500 Irish dancers, the production has pounded stages across the country and the world. A booming celebration of Irish dance and music, Riverdance is a beloved show to millions and boasts a sprawling cast of gifted performers. But according to two of the show’s principal dance members, Melissa Convery and Marty Dowds, there is much more to Riverdance than the dance itself. It takes stamina, tolerance, diligence and often, a great deal of ergonomics to make the production work. Convery, a veteran dancer who took the lead in Riverdance - On Broadway and has been traveling with the company for 13 years, spoke rapidly, with a heavy accent into the phone as her young son, Rian (with Uilleann piper husband, Declan Masterson), can...

GALWAY ADVERTISER, JANUARY 07, 2010. By Kernan Andrews CHILDREN THAT Can’t Sit Still is the title of the next Gigs for Families concert from Adventures in Music and it takes place in the St Patrick’s Bandhall on Sunday January 10. This gig will feature Irish trad from fiddlers Liz Kane and Tola Custy, guitarist Jimmy Fitz, Daire O’Neil on flute and tin whistle, sean nós dancer Emma O’Sullivan. Tola and Liz regularly bring trad music to national school children throughout Galway while Jimmy has will be performing his children’s songs. Doors open at 2pm for children’s pre-concert activities. The concert starts at 2.30pm and there is a ‘meet the musicians session’ at 3.15pm. Tickets are €5 per person and children under two get in free, a family ticket is €20. Tickets available from the Town Hall Box Office and mykidstime.ie

John Spillane at the Passionfruit Theatre booklaunch in Athlone in January 2009. www.passionfruittheatre.com

Opening track from the CD "If There Weren't Any Women In The World", with Stephen Ducke (flute) and Bean Dolan (guitar) Brought out in December 2009, in aid of the Passionfruit Theatre in Athlone. Available at www.tradschool.com