Posts Tagged With: travel

Russell Weekend, Doolin. Co. Clare

Posted on March 6, 2015 by singersong

Another week another festival. This time in my backyard at Doolin, pretty much the spiritual home of traditional music in Clare. This festival, held over the weekend 27^th February to 2^nd March 2015, honours the Russell family but in particular the much loved Micho Russell who died tragically in 1994. This is now its 14^th year.

Doolin, for those who don’t know it has three pubs and a hotel and is spread out over a couple of kilometres just north of the famed Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s biggest natural attraction. So it gets lots of foreign visitors. It has been something of a mecca for those seeking traditional music and for most of the year there is music every night in all the pubs. In itself this has brought about quite a change in Doolin as the pubs are very crowded and noisy and ironically it is not always the best place in Clare to hear traditional music. But there is no denying that the craic is mighty. This festival seems to mark the reawakening of Doolin from its winter slumber. Not that there wasn’t any music through the winter (take the Monday session at Hotel Doolin for instance) but this weekend brings out the punters in a big way and is a promise of what’s to come.

The festival kicked off on the Friday with the opening function in the hall. This was a showcase for the young talent of the district and the hall was packed with proud parents and relatives. And they had a lot to be proud of. From whistle-toting tots, who could hardly read and write, to All Ireland age champions on a variety of instruments. For over an hour there was a cavalcade of young musicians and dancers. I couldn’t help feel a sense of wonder at how important this music was to the soul of Ireland and how great it was that this was being passed to the kids. Yes kids learn musical instruments all over the world but nothing like here in Ireland. I have said it before but the future of Irish traditional music and dance seems safe. I was particularly taken with the set dancing where they were clearly enjoying themselves, even though they all had to rush to a disco afterwards. Good to keep a sense of perspective.

Then there was the main concert. This is traditionally held on the Saturday afternoon and was a cracker. I loved the format with all the musicians on stage, taking turns at solos and interspersed with performances from the whole band. With musicians such as Oisín Mac Diarmada and Kieran Hanrahan and the amazign Seamus O’Donnell, the music was absolutely brilliant. We also had some brilliant sean nos dancing from Samantha Harvey and two show stopping performances from the 74 year old dancing singing fiddler Desssie O’Halloran, who had the enthusiastic crowd on their feet. For me the high point of the concert was the saxophone playing of Seamus O’Donnell including a soulful rendition of Danny Boy. Something I had never heard before. I was sceptical but wow!. What a lift it gave to the music. Not ‘traditional’ I know but played from the heart.

There was copious quantities of food and wine afterwards and then a singing session capping a great evening.

I love to attend workshops. I had not heard of the tutor so it was to be a complete surprise. After two very late nights it was a wonder that I actually managed to turn up. And I am so glad I did. Unusually the fiddle workshop was scheduled for McGann’s pub, definitely a new one for me. I was the only one there. So I had a one on one with Catriana Ruine. I learnt five tunes but learned so much more than that, just playing and listening, It sounded so great just two fiddles in a quiet pub with the main distraction the crackling from the fire. I was very pleased with how quickly I picked up the tunes. When Catriana left I stayed in my corner near the fire and played tunes on my own for nearly an hour as the pub filled with diners, who happily, largely ignored me. It felt so good. Somehow I got inspiration from the moment. I don’t know where I got the confidence from but here I was, me playing on my own in one of the most famous music pubs in Ireland to a full house (even though they were more interested in their black pudding and crispy bacon than me) and playing competently enough not to be asked to shut it. All good things however come to an end and unceremoniously the piped music was turned on and I couldn’t compete. As I packed my fiddle away I was met with a lovely burst of applause from the diners which really surprised me as I didn’t think anyone was actually listening.

The workshop on the Sunday was equally good but for different reasons. There were two of us this time, and eventually our tutor turned up. We had the irrepressible and enthusiastic Cáit Ryan from Upperchurch in Tipperary. And while we only learned a couple of tunes, for one so young she was so full of good advice. In particular emphasising the importance of learning to sing in Irish. I now have a new challenge! We even had a crack at the air Ned from the Hills. This time the pub was not the best place as we were constantly interrupted, sitting as we were on the way to the toilets. Her family runs a music pub in Tipperary called Jim of the Mills, a place that is now firmly on my agenda to visit.

The sessions continued all afternoon and night over the weekend with musicians of quality. Highlights for me were a session that went at least 7 hours with the Clancy sisters and Mary Shannon at McGanns, some quiet tunes with Adam Shapiro and Terrry Bingham at O’Connors on Sunday and, at least for a while, some great music at McGanns with James Cullinan and others on Sunday. I say for a while because this session was brutally murdered by the arrival of two additional guitars (there was already one) competing with each other to see who could be the loudest and drowning completely the music. A shame. Fiddles were packed up and flutes disassembled and pretty soon the lads had McGann’s to themselves. The arrival of a cahone was the final plunge of the knife. This was more than made up for though on the Monday. James Cullinan again, his wife Carol, Noel O’Donoghue and Kevin Griffin kicked off in O’Connor’s at 3pm They were joined at various stages by others such as Donie Nolan, Seamus MacMahon, Carmel O’Dea, Anita Broderick and a couple of very talented kids, until it finally concluded at 12:30 am . A marathon 9 ½ hours of the most wonderful music that ebbed and flowed with the change in personnel. no guitars, no spoons and no bodhrans! Despite the pub noise that increased through the evening the music stayed pure and real. I changed my plans to go to Corofin that night and stayed to the very end. I had heard of James Cullinan’s quality and was not disappointed. And for a couple of hours I had the added privilege of meeting and playing with Carmel O’Dea. Another class fiddler. It was also special to hear a wonderful version of the Clogher Road from the fine voice of Donie Nolan. This is a session that will stay with me for years. Unfortunately I could not drag myself away so I missed what looked like another mighty session with Terry Bingham, Christy Barry and Anne Rynne in the other bar.

The craic was mighty, as they say, all weekend. I met lots of new people and everyone was so friendly. I have to share one story. As I walked past the bar in McGann’s, with my fiddle on my back one young guy grabbed my arm and stopped me saying “you play the spoons”. A bit taken aback I pointed to my fiddle and said “no what makes you think that?” “You just look like it” came the response. I wasn’t sure what to say when he finally registered my accent. “Fuck! you’re American” he blurts out. After telling him he had now insulted me on two counts, we parted the best of friends. Just love it…..

A fabulous festival and as I drove home that night through the light snowfalls I thought on this and the many other festivals I have attended. Every festival I go to gives me something. That’s why I keep going. Can’t wait for Corofin.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, dancing, Doolin, Festival, fiddle, Ireland, Irish music, Micho Russell, photography, Russell Weekend, Sessions, traditional music, travel | 1 Comment

Burren Backroom Series Concert Ennis

Posted on March 3, 2015 by singersong

A concert of traditional Irish music was held in Ennis on Thursday 26^th February at the Queens Hotel, not a usual venue for this style of music but those who braved the cold February night were well rewarded.

The concert was staged by Tommy McCarthy, from Galway and Boston, in aid of the Walk in my Shoes campaign to support the St Patrick’s Mental Health Foundation. This Foundation helps vulnerable young adults with a need for mental health services. This is one of a series of concerts which Tommy has staged under the banner ‘Burren Backdoor Series’ and it follows on from an earlier successful Facebook campaign involving traditional musicians in Ireland and the US.

Tommy gathered together an extraordinary array of talent mostly from Clare but with a few welcome blow-ins from places such as Donegal, Galway and Tipperary, all who generously gave their services to the cause. What a night.

The evening was very ably hosted by Paula Carroll, one of the presenters on Clare FM’s West Wind programme (which by the way is unquestionably the best nightly Irish traditional music show in the world and a showcase for music from Clare and elsewhere). The show began with the Tulla Junior Ceili Band, all aged between 11 and 14 and displaying a maturity way beyond this. They certainly captured that Tulla sound and this augurs well for the senior band in years to come. Their act had plenty of variety with a shortened brush dance and a delightful recitation from young seanchaí (shanachie), Naois O’Sullivan entitled ‘The Restaurant’. Great to see this fading tradition being handed down from her grandfather, who is also a shanachie. This well and truly set the scene.

There were too many acts and too many wonderful musicians to describe individually. So what were the highlights? A good mix of songs from Mullagh’s own PJ Murrihy and, the internationally renowned Sean Tyrell singing of his native Galway and at the end of the evening a beautiful rendition of Beeswing, but the night belonged to traditional instrumental music. There was a group of local musicians led by Siobhan Peoples who called themselves simply “The Ennis Trad Musicians”, with that energetic sound that regulars at Faffas or Dan O’Connell’s would be very familiar with and there were delicious counterpoints from groups such as the Boruma Trio (Andrew MacNamara, Eileen O’Brien and Geraldine Cotter) with their self-deprecating description of the band as the ‘RTE Light Orchestra’ (though they showed they could pump it out too with a rousing rendition of the Bucks, Rakish Paddy and the High Reel to finish their set!) and the sweet combination of the harp and concertina of Eimear Coughlan and Francis Cunningham. In between we had the McCarthy family Tommy, Louise, daughter Rose and from Miltown, Tommy’s sister Bernadette, a group from Lissycasey, who call themselves ‘In Tune’ (and they were!), which spanned the generation gap, and I have to say my favourite of the night, some gorgeous fiddle playing from Yvonne Casey with tasteful bouzouki from Eoin O’Neill. There was a group called Moher (another ensemble of Clare musicians), some strong representation from Miltown Malbay with regulars from Friel’s Pub and the incomparable Frankie Gavin for good measure. Frankie was worth the 20 euros alone and it was great to see him with just Geraldine Cotter’s piano and without the distraction of other instruments. His effortless bowing and vivacious playing, though definitely not “Clare-style”, was undeniably music from the top drawer and the product of a musician who has been at the top of his game for over forty years.

For those lucky enough to attend, despite the cold inside and out, which even with numerous layers left me with cold knees and toes throughout (God knows how they could play in t-shirts!!), it was a memorable evening with well over four hours of class music.

Another reminder why so many of us call Clare home!

Well done Tommy.

Categories: Concerts, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Burren Backroom Series, concert, Ennis, Frankie Gavin, Ireland, Irish music, photography, Queen's Hotel, Siobhan Peoples, Tommy McCarthy, traditional music, travel, Tulla, Yvonne Casey | 1 Comment

Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh, Ballyferriter, Co Kerry

Posted on February 26, 2015 by singersong

I have just returned from another festival/school, this time at Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsular in West Kerry. And it really was a beauty. It is called the Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh which translates slightly optimistically as Spring Music School.

The Dingle version of Spring involved rain, hail, mist and wild winds whipping up the Atlantic, but in the warmth of one of the many sessions you didn’t notice. Ballyferriter is almost the classic Irish village, with mandatory three pubs, hotel, church and shop. What sets it apart is its glorious setting right at the western end of the peninsular sandwiched between Slea Head and Mt Brandon . When the rain stopped as it did on a couple of occasions and the mist lifts, Mt Brandon, all 952 metres of it, stands proud with is snow capped peak and to the west the beaches and hills beckon. It is obvious why this area was chosen to film the seminal classic Ryan’s Daughter. It is also very compact so everything is within staggering distance and this is important when you are trying to find your way home at 6am.

Everyone said I would love Kerry and I do. This festival was a wonderful introduction to the Kingdom and the music. This blog is just about the Festival. I will post some pictures later of Dingle’s spectacular scenery.

The Scoil Cheoil Earraigh seems to hold a special place for many people. For some it is the only festival they attend. Of course there is a strong local contingent but there are also visitors from many other counties and from the UK, France, Russia, Germany. So what is it that brings them here?

It is not a huge festival and it benefits from this. It was very well organised with no obvious hitches. The workshops over three days were with top class tutors. How many opportunities would a guitarist have spend three days with Steve Cooney? Many of the tutors performed in a number of impressive concerts along with other headline acts. The stamp of the Begleys was everywhere. I’m not sure what the collective name for a lot of Begleys is – perhaps a boggle of Begleys but whatever it is it translates to pure musical genius. Along with Seamus and Breanndán with their vibrant and pulsating rhythms interspersed with wonderful soulful songs sung in Irish was Breanndán’s son Cormac displaying his virtuosity on a range of concertinas and other members of the extended Begley family popping up in various sessions. But it wasn’t just the Begley show. Other guests included Galway’s Páraic Mac Donnchadha on the banjo, Connie O’Connell renowned fiddler from Cork, Steve Cooney, back together in a big way with Seamus and adding his driving rhythms to a variety of other artists and in sessions, Harry Bradley , musician of the year last year, Tommy McCarthy a traveller singer with an extraordinary presence, and a huge repertoire of songs and fascinating stories and Brendan Powers from NZ master harmonica player across many genres stirring up the trad scene by utilising technology to take the music into uncharted territory. There were also informal concerts in cafes which was a great counterpoint to the frenetic energy of the sessions.

I just loved the way the whole festival was conducted in Irish. It didn’t seem to matter that you didn’t understand much of what was going on. This was West Kerry being West Kerry and while visitors were welcome it was very much a showcase for the unique heritage of this part of the world. This was reflected in the music which was of course riddled with polkas and slides, the spontaneous dancing of sets and half sets – vigorous and energetic, reflecting the music, the craic and the warm welcome all visitors received. I attended a lecture on the origins of polkas and while I didn’t understand a word I picked up enough from the slides and musical examples to be totally riveted.

The workshop was one of the best I have been to in the last year – and I have been to plenty. We had two tutors. Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, well known for his many musical collaborations including more recently the Gloaming, who explored dynamics and how to extract more feeling. We didn’t learn a tune but it was a revelation. And young Aiden Connolly showed the group (exclusively adults) how to play polkas and slides – something that had never been explained so clearly to me before. I came away inspired which is what a good School should do.

There was a concert on Saturday, in the wonderful setting of St Vincent’s church, of all the workshop groups led by their tutors. This was the most successful format of any I have seen where similar things have been tried. Everyone played in their seat eliminating massive logistical problems. The highlight was the finale with all groups led by Breanndán Begley playing a stirring version of Fáinne Geal an Lae.

What to say about the sessions. These were numerous and exhausting. All the ‘stars’ who appeared at the concert joined into various sessions. Something that doesn’t always happen. Those who were at the Bar an Bhuailtin on Saturday night will never forget the musical treat provided by Begley, Cooney, O’Connell and a host of others until six in the morning, There was a session in Tig an t-Saorsaig with a contingent of musicians from Thurles where sets of reels lasted forty minutes without a break and another session at Tigh Ui Cháthain led by Cormac Begley on his bass concertina and Páraic Mac Donnchadha on banjo which must have gone for eleven hours and it would not surprise me if they didn’t repeat a tune in that time. Spellbinding. But for me the real highlights were playing in quiet sessions such as with Alph Duggan on the Thursday and with Fergal, Breige and Anja on the Sunday with hardly an audience just sharing tunes and songs.

As I say I have never played music in Kerry before so I should talk a little about my introduction to their music. While the Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle peninsular) is not part of the Sliabh Luachra, the more widely known home of polkas, the West Kerry Gaeltach has a long musical tradition and much in common. The music played here historically was for the West Kerry dance sets and comprised mainly polkas, slides and occasionally hornpipes. For many years this music was considered ‘foreign’ having been thought to have been brought in by the occupying military forces, but the Goodman collection of the late 19^th Century demonstrated a rich tradition which was largely ignored by collectors such as O’Neill and Breathnach. Polkas were among the first tunes I learnt many years ago when starting out on the fiddle. They were considered easy. And of course in Australia no one knew how to play them properly so they were pretty awful. I couldn’t play reels, so in my various bush bands we used polkas instead. We got away with it with the unsophisticated Aussie audiences but it was hardly satisfying. So I developed a dislike for them and it seems this is shared by many over here as well. Even in Clare you rarely hear them unless you’re playing with someone from that tradition such as Jacky Daly. Hearing these tunes however delivered by masters steeped in this tradition and on its home turf was a revelation. The tunes are full of an internal energy that drives the music forward all the time. They are infectious. The rhythm sucks you in and drags you onto the floor to dance. I wouldn’t say I have come away converted but I will take this body of music much more seriously and revisit those hackneyed tunes I rejected so many years ago. Thanks Ballyferriter.

I say well done to the organisers for a memorable experience. I understand the lure of this place and its music and I too will be back.

Categories: Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Ballyferriter, Brendan Begley, Connie O’Connell, Dingle, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, Kerry, music, photography, polkas, School, Seamus Begley, Sessions, slides, steve cooney, traditional music, travel, West Kerry | 3 Comments

Brogan’s Bar Ennis

Posted on February 14, 2015 by singersong

On Saturday 14th February Brogan’s Bar in Ennis will change management. Over the last five decades it has been a go-to traditional music venue in this town and has achieved legendary status with Irish musicians all around the world. Two of it’s regular stalwarts, Eoin O’Neill and Quentin Cooper, had their last session there on Thursday. It was a wonderful celebration and a fitting farewell. I will have more to say on Brogan’s and what it meant to Ennis and traditional music in Clare and beyond in an upcoming blog and I will include a selection of my best photos from the last nine months, but in the meanwhile here are some images from that last magic night.

Categories: Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Brogan's, Clare, dancing, Ennis, Eoin O'Neill, Ireland, Irish music, Luka Bloom, music, photography, Quentin Cooper, session, Sessions, traditional music, travel | 2 Comments

Feile Na Tana, Carlingford Co Louth.

Posted on February 11, 2015 by singersong

Carlingford is the prettiest of towns in the very north of the Republic of Ireland. It is situated on a beautiful Lough and across the water is Northern Ireland in the shape of the Mountains of Mourne. It has ruined castles and abbeys and medieval gates and quaint contorted narrow streets and beautiful done up pubs and a backdrop of the Cooley Mountains dotted with the patchy remains of a recent snowfall. The perfect location for a Festival?

The Feile Na Tana is a new weekend winter school and was held in Carlingford on the first weekend of February. It is the brainchild of renowned fiddler Zoe Conway and her partner guitarist John McIntyre. She managed to assemble an extraordinary array of top class musicians for a programme of workshops and concerts. Zoe herself, Seamus Begley, Noel Hill, Mary Bergin, Gerry O’Connor and many others gave one day workshops to packed classes. There were a number of concerts where the talents of these musicians were on display to an enthusiastic audience of grateful locals.

The opening night had Zoe and John with some local young talent. I was blown away by the two youngsters who kicked off the night (sorry can’t remember their names) particularly the bright yellow bodhran doing a remarkable impersonation of John Joe Kelly. There was also a group of young musicians from Dublin, Caiseach, who put in a great set and Zoe and John did not disappoint.

Workshops the next day were split into two sessions – a great idea. I can only speak for the Fiddle but the tune choice from Zoe Conway was excellent and there was plenty of good advice to improve tone and feel. Well worth the trip alone.

The main concert was played to a packed house and was kicked off with a work entitled “Re imagining Songs and Music of Oriel”. It was performed by a huge ensemble of students from four local schools and included some of their own compositions. This was a wonderful experience for the kids and well received by the audience, filled no doubt with many proud parents. A great initiative and something that will hopefully stay with these kids and fan the musical fire within them. There was also a smaller group of young musicians from Wicklow and some wonderful songs from renowned local singer and author Padraigín Ní Uallacháin. And then the main act of the night, a brilliant performance from Seamus Begley and Donogh Hennessy joined later by the incomparable Noel Hill.

The tutor’s concert on the Sunday afternoon however was the highlight for me. An extraordinary line up of talent playing together and individually left the crowd wanting more.

I met some great new people especially at the Session on Sunday at Omeath, about ten kilometres away, including Rose, Clayton and Stuart from Boston, Kenji and Satoko from Japan and local musicians Gearoid, Ciaran and Andrew among others.

Thanks Zoe and John. See you next year.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Carlingford, Feile Tana, Festival, fiddle, Ireland, Irish music, John McIntyre, Louth, Mary Bergin, music, Noel Hill, Northern Ireland, photography, Seamus Begley, Sessions, traditional music, travel, Winter School, Zoe Conway | 3 Comments

Winter in Ireland !

Posted on January 23, 2015 by singersong

They said I wouldn’t survive the winter.

Well it’s approaching the end of January and I am still here. But I have to say that these last few weeks I have really felt what it is that everyone has warned me about. The realisation hit as I stood on the cliffs of Sleave League in southwest Donegal trying to stand up straight enough to take a photograph, wrapped in multiple layers but still feeling that wind cut through to the bone. It was a brisk 4˚C at midday but with the wind chill it was sub-zero. It was numbingly cold but the photos I took that day look deceptively pretty, with blue skies and gorgeous colours reflecting the sun off the cliffs. The camera never lies but it doesn’t always tell the full story.

And then the other day the maximum on the mercury back home in Clare was 1˚C. It was snowing across the county, indeed all over the west, but not here at Caherush on the sea.

I stand outside my front door. The wind here is relentless and constant. This day you can hardly stand up as it whips the usually calm waters of the bay into a seething boiling maelstrom and further out past Mutton Island, massive waves roll in through a sea of foam and whipped up spray I can see the spray drive high over Mutton Island covering its castle as waves crash in from the west. Some intrepid gulls fight the elements to carry on with their continuous search for sustenance seemingly just hanging in the air almost enjoying the challenge as they feast on the abundant feed whipped up by the furious waters. And a handful of ducks continue to forage on the shoreline despite being buffeted hither and thither. And on the land, cattle turn their backs to the wind to provide some protection. There is no rain at the moment, in fact patches of blue appear through the clouds to tantalise and at least give an impression of warmth soon dispelled by the reality closer to the ground. I don’t stay out there long. Valdo, the farmer’s border collie runs up, stone in mouth, inviting me to play, seemingly oblivious to the unfriendliness of the elements. No walk along the shore today Valdo, that’s just a distant memory. Back inside though the house is cosy, the fire goes all day and if I’m not warm enough I sometimes turn the central heating on also. I play music. I write. I read. I watch the odd movie. And when I get bored I play some more music. My day really begins at 9pm when I head out to look for tunes, an increasingly difficult challenge.

So I am still here. My adopted countrymen can’t understand this. They see the endless blue skies of a Summer Bay Utopia and a bikini-barbecue lifestyle to match and wonder why I would want to come here. They all have relatives in Perth who will never come home. And they all want to join them there in the warmth. So why don’t I feel the same way. Don’t get me wrong I love Australia (well when it is not being stuffed up by uncaring governments!) but I have had decades of it and the Australian summer holds no attraction for me anymore. Yes, day after day of blue skies, but it comes with often unbearable heat (depending where you are, and I spent a lot of my time there in 40 plus temperatures in the desert), the threat of fires, not sleeping at night, hot westerly winds. It all makes you actually crave some ‘weather’. That craving for weather is certainly satisfied here. In recent days I have seen it at its rawest – driven through a snow storm, been pelted by hailstorms, 130kph winds and 30m waves. But seriously this wild winter is a small price to pay to live in this glorious country and be surrounded by music every day. I feel blessed.

So if I go home it definitely won’t be because of the weather.

Here are some photos that say winter and Ireland to me…….

the wild Atlantic. Spanish Point Co Clare

Spanish Point

Stating the obvious. White Strand near Spanish Point, Co Clare

Cattle turn their backs to the wind. Spanish Point, Co Clare

Caherush, Co Clare

wind blown foam, Spanish Point Beach. Co Clare

Spanish Point Beach. Covered in foam.

Wild Atlantic. Spanish Point. Co Clare

Sleave League, Co Donegal

Ice. Gweedore, Co Donegal

Fanore Beach, Co Clare

Caherush Bay during a gale.

Caherush Bay. Co Clare.

Ice crystals on the windscreen. Sixmilebridge. Co Clare

Ice on the road. Mount Callan, Co Clare.

Categories: Wild Ireland | Tags: Caherush, Clare, Donegal, frost, ice, Ireland, Irish music, photography, snow, Spanish Point, travel, winter | 2 Comments

Am I playing fiddle better?

Posted on January 14, 2015 by singersong

Those following me on Facebook know that I was unable to find a session to play at on January 2^nd 2015, while I was in Glencolmcille in Donegal. This meant my run of continuous nights of music came to an end. I thought I would be disappointed but after 231 nights I gave it a good run. And in any case I started again the next night so I have only missed the one night in the last 244!

But it’s not about setting records. It gives me an opportunity to look back on my time here in Ireland and see whether my immersion in in the music has led to an accelerated improvement. Logic says that it should have. I started thinking about this after a friend commented on my six month post asking just that – whether I thought I had improved.

An extremely difficult question for me to answer. Perhaps I need to put it in context. I started playing guitar when I was 15. My dad agreed to this so long as I had classical guitar lessons. So I did that for nearly two years. While I enjoyed the classical repertoire my real interest was ‘folk music’, as it was understood back in the 60s, and I played and sung Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary and acoustic artists such as Cat Stevens and the Mamas and Papas. I also used to sing Dubliners and Clancy Brothers songs but I really ‘discovered’ Irish music when I heard the Chieftains in 1974. I was at Uni and this was the start of a love affair with the fiddle. I got hold of one and started teaching myself tunes from ‘Begged, Borrowed and Stolen” a beginners tune book popular in Australia then and now. It was a slow and painful process but by the end of the 70s I could scratch out Drowsy Maggie and King of the Fairies. As a young geologist my early years were spent in mining towns such as Cobar and Kalgoorlie in outback Australia. In each of these places I formed Bush Bands which were generally a four or five part acoustic band which used folk instruments along with Australian innovations such as the bush bass and the lagerphone. We held bush dances (equivalent of a ceili) and sang Australian and Irish songs but the tunes were pretty basic. I got stuck in this groove for many years and though we were moderately successful in our remote locations I never advanced my tune playing beyond beginner level. Then when kids came along the fiddle hardly got touched. It had always been my dream to play well. Ok that was then, this is now.

Now I am in Ireland I have that opportunity. But I soon realised coming here how much I had to fix before I could really go forward. Both my intonation and tone were woeful and although I had been listening to recordings for many years and thought I had an understanding of the music this ‘feel’ did not translate to my playing. Recognising the things that needed fixing was the first step.

So what has changed since I came to Ireland? I have been to hundreds of sessions, workshops and lessons. Playing in sessions is a double edged sword. I have picked up many new tunes. I can play faster, if that’s a virtue, and I have hugely increased my ability to learn by ear. Previously I learned new tunes from the dots and it took ages; and I never really learnt them properly. Now I find myself playing along with tunes that I don’t ever remember learning. This is a great feeling. However in a large session I have trouble hearing myself and can’t really tell if I am playing in tune or not let alone whether I am playing the right notes. Also there is a temptation to fudge bits you don’t know. Hence I record many. I have hundreds of hours of session recordings and am gradually going through these to identify the commonly played tunes and sets in Clare and try and learn them.

This partial learning becomes exaggerated when I try and play the tune on my own. My problems are obvious so I have been working hard on a few rather than the many. On the advice of a couple of tutors I am also concentrating on scales in the basic keys and I can really feel this making a difference.

So am I playing better? Let me put it this way. I think I am. I am playing in tune better. I have slowed down. I am listening better. I am listening to a lot of the old fiddlers on cd and the newer ones as I try and expose myself to as many different ways of playing as possible. I ‘know’ more tunes but still get flustered when asked to start one. A consequence of accumulated hours of listening is that there is a resetting of the brain from thinking about the music as a collection of notes to a series of phrases linked by short runs. A retuning of the learning process from the eyes to the ears. I am playing with a much lighter bow. I am feeling the rhythm and while I know I am still not sounding how I want to, I am happier with the sound I am making. It has been frustrating but at the same time it drives me to practice harder. Constantly in my mind are the words of Lahinch fiddler Yvonne Casey who told me to ‘feel every note; to love every note’. I think I have laid the groundwork and I expect exponential improvement over the next six months. That’s when I am hoping the immersion will pay off.

My goal in all this is to play the best I possibly can.

As a post script I was playing in a session the other day with Jackie Daly and Maurice Lennon among others at Friels in Miltown Malbay. Jackie launched into Mason’s Apron (the two part version) and as I joined in the realisation suddenly hit me that here I was in a session in Ireland with legends of the box and the fiddle and it was sounding pretty darn good. A year ago I was struggling with this tune. These are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

Categories: The Fiddle, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, fiddle, Ireland, Irish music, Jackie Daly, learning fiddle, learning music, learning violin, Maurice Lennon, photography, Sessions, trad, traditional irish music, traditional music, travel, violin, Yvonne Casey | 1 Comment

St Stephens Night – my last session in Clare 2014

Posted on January 12, 2015 by singersong

Undaunted but exhausted after my adventures as a wren boy on St Stephens Day (check out my blog https://singersongblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/st-stephens-day-and-the-wren-boys/) I ended up that night at Danny Macs in Lahinch. The pub was crowded. There was a great mix of familiar faces and newcomers (at least to me) and a marvellously enthusiastic audience. The pictures tell the story but what a fabulous way to end the year, with this being my last session for 2014 in Clare, before heading off to the winter school in Gweedore.

Categories: Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Boxing Day, Clare, Danny Macs, Irish music, Lahinch, photography, Sessions, St Stephen, St Stephen's Day, traditional music, travel, Wren boys | 2 Comments

Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair. Winter School, Gweedore.

Posted on January 5, 2015 by singersong

I posted the other day on the final night of the Winter School in Gweedore, County Donegal. Here is a selection of photographs from the earlier days of the Festival which ran from 27^th December 2014 to 1^st January 2015.

I am going to let the photos do the talking but as you will see it was a fabulous event. Can’t speak for the other workshops but Brid Harper’s fiddle was outstanding. Concerts and recitals from Boys of the Lough, Liz Carroll and Brid Harper, Harry Bradley, Brendan Begley, Seamus Begley, Seamie O’Dowd and great sessions where humble plebs like me could find themselves playing next to these guys or a host of others, perhaps less well known but just as good. A smooth, well-organised Festival. Great job Conor Byrne and all the volunteers who made it all happen. There were even a couple of days of sunshine.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Boys of the Lough, Brendan Begley, Brid Harper, Cathal McConnell, Conor Byrne, dancing, Dermie Diamond, Donegal, Festival, fiddle, Gweedore, Harry |Bradley, Ireland, Irish music, Liz Carroll, music, photography, Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair, Seamie O'Dowd, Seamus Begley, Sessions, Summer School, traditional music, travel, Winter School, Winter School Gweedore, workshop | 5 Comments

St Stephens Day and the Wren Boys

Posted on January 5, 2015 by singersong

In Ireland no one seems to talk about Boxing Day – It’s St Stephens Day. But when I ask who St Stephen was, it’s like asking an Irish trad musician the name of the tune they just played. I just get a blank look.

So I did some research. Stephen was in fact a Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jew who died around 34 AD and was the first martyr of Christianity. He was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death. Thanks Wikipedia.

In Ireland though the day is also known as Lá an Dreoilín, meaning the Day of the Wren, an apparent reference to legends linking the wren to episodes in the life of Jesus. People (mainly kids) dress up in old clothes, wear straw hats and travel from door to door with fake wrens (previously real wrens were killed) and they dance, sing and play music.

It is also used by charitable organisations to raise funds so when Michael Talty asked me if I wanted to join the Wren Boys from the local Kilmurry-Ibrickane GAA I jumped at the chance. It meant getting up at 6.30, the morning after Christmas, which I had spent with friends in Connemara, and driving back to Quilty to be there at 10.00. Not easy.

The weather was not good. Cold and the threat of rain. A number of musicians and dancers had congregated in the GAA clubrooms and we were split into two teams of three musicians and four dancers. The idea was to go door to door to every home in the Parish, do a quick half set and solicit donations. First we had to agree on a tune (I won’t mind if I don’t hear Sally Gardens again!) and a speed, so after a quick run through with Pat on flute and Gerard on whistle and my fiddle tucked under my coat we piled into a windowless van and hit the streets.

We stopped outside every house (except those that the locals knew to be unoccupied) and knocked on the door. Without ceremony we would launch into Sally Gardens, the dancers would do their thing and we would be off again. People were very generous; I saw the odd 50 drop into the tin. Many made a donation and out of sympathy for us in the cold waved us on without playing. And cold it was. Squalls of drizzly rain swept in as the temperature seemed to continue to drop during the day. Eventually I resorted to playing in gloves and after a bit of practice, made a decent fist of it. I would tuck my fiddle under my coat when not playing and managed to keep it out of the elements. The bow however was another story. Ever tried to play with a wet bow?

Occasionally we were invited inside and that was special, as tables and chairs were pushed aside and if you briefly closed your eyes you could imagine you were transported back fifty years to a kitchen ceili. Occasionally we were also offered beer or cider. In one house we were treated to slices made by Amish girls in traditional headgear and costumes. There must have been a dozen of them. The things you find in West Clare.

There was a welcome break at Cooney’s Pub in Quilty, who put on soup and sandwiches, and then it was back out in the afternoon continuing what was a very long and challenging day until darkness descended finishing on my own street, the Clogher Road. Very fitting.

Despite the privations I had a ball and enjoyed the whole experience – a window into an Ireland that foreigners would likely not see. Thanks Michael and all my fellow dancers and musicians who accepted me and made me feel part of the community. For the record we raised 2,200 euros.