It’s Monday morning and after a very exhilarating week with a thread exploring the music of Northern Ireland, I’m standing here at the site of the Maritime Hotel in College Square North in Belfast: the venue where Van Morrison and Them kicked off the blues boom in Belfast.
It’s time to move on. I’ve Googled. There are ferries from Belfast to Liverpool, Douglas and Cairnryan. Or I could sail from Rosslare to Fishguard and revisit the sites of many childhood holidays in Dyfed (Pembrokeshire).
But even after a Kneecap Corsair Chicken Banquet, I’m still hungry. I don’t want to take a Ryan Air flight to Stockholm or sail to Fishguard (or follow Yeats to Byzantium). The beauty of the autumn trees here in Belfast inspires me to travel south into the Republic and make a pilgrimage to Coole Park in Couty Galway where in 1917, Yeats wrote his poem about the wild swans.
That’s just for starters. This summer our book circle read Paul Murray’s epic family drama, The Bee Sting. Again and again we choose to read Irish writers. Colm Toibin, Michelle Gallen, Anna Burns, Roddy Doyle, Edna O’Brian, Patric Kavangah etc In the Guardian recently Kate McCusker pondered “why Ireland, a country that you can drive the length of in a few hours, punches so far above its weight when it comes to literature. It has contributed four Nobel literature laureates and six Booker prize winners” (And literature is not the only area where Ireland punches above its weight,. Music, movies, riverdancing….)
I’d like to hear how the Afterword Hivemind will answer that that question. Not to mention how you will explain the extraordinary popularity of Sally Rooney. The English Bookshop in Stockholm just can’t get copies of her new novel in fast enough. They’re selling faster than tickets for a Tailor Swift gig.
Teenage Kicks? I was fascinated to read @Bamber’s account of Gaelic language summer holidays in the Gaeltacht. I want to know more about the history of that and other initiatives to revitalise Gaelic.
What about up-and-coming Irish bands? Who should we be watching out for? I saw the magnificent Lankum in a tent at Roskilde this summer. Outside a thunderstorm raged which created a remarkable atmosphere. That indefatigable festival goer, @retropath02, has praised the Mary Wallopers. But who else is making waves? And who are they dancing to out at ceilidhs in Galway? I think we need to consult our Dancemaster @thecheshirecat.
After big audiences for The Quiet Girl and the Banshees of Iniskillen, my colleagues at Bio Reflexen will not be happy if I don’t find out which new Irish films we should be looking out for in 2024. Our audiences are also great fans of Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny who have produced some of the best animated films I’ve seen in recent years.The Breadwinner, Wolfwalkers, Book of Kells etc
Before I leave Belfast, I want to re-listen to Veedon Fleece (@Jaygee has really inspired me) and go on a walking tour of Van Morrison’s Belfast.
And then I really must treat @Colin_H to a slap-up meal to thank him for all his suggestions.
I’ve made a rather fab playlist of all the artists mentioned on the Kneecap thread. There’s much to enjoy. (See comments)
Some times a thread leads to a lot of answers. And sometimes it leads to a lot more questions. This morning I have a hive-full of lively Irish bees buzzing around in my bonnet!
I blame W.B.!
“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”
Actually Yeats could not be more topical!
This week millions fear the Second Coming.
“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
Head for Connemara. Hire a car and drive south-west. Navigate your way to Castlebar and then on to Westport – check out the bar owned by a Chieftain – then go south down the coast and across to Clifden.
Explore the shops there – The Clifden Bookshop is a great wallet-emptying place – and down at the bottom of town (oh, at least 300 yards from the bookshop) you’ll find a great little music shop hiding. Say hello to John there.
Continue your travels south west and head for Ballyconneely. As you enter the village, turn right and out along the single-track road to Mannin Bay. Prepare to be blown away by the beaches.
If you want the details of a great B&B along that lane, just PM me – I was there last week, and it’s a perfect stop-off for a chillout. Wi-fi and all, so you can tell us how you’re getting on.
Fantastic tips @Vulpes Vulpes. I am making notes.
So far, this journey is still in my imagination. I’m chained to the kitchen sink in Bagamossen.
But you really have inspired me to actually getting off my sofa.
Daydreamer? Me? My life makes the Secret Life of Walter Mitty look like a piece of social realism.
Actually, Vulps, I am really enjoying looking at the photos by you and Bamber.
We all need a bit of cheering up this week as the Trumpocalypse looms.
A tour of Ireland has been nicely laid out in The Pursuit of Farmer Michael Hayes:
Here’s the poem about the swans
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43288/the-wild-swans-at-coole
Tom O’Bedlam reads it rather well.
And here’s the playlist
If you visit Connemara National Park, trek up Diamond Hill for some breathtaking views. My wife and I managed to do it years ago in spite of my absolute terror of heights and her doubts about her fitness. This is one of my all time favourite photos of me. My wife took it to capture my trepidation on the descent. There are photos of me clinging to rocks at the summit while debating the cost of a helicopter rescue. This would be my album cover…
Wonderful photograph! Perfect for an album cover!
Connemara looks amazing.
https://www.nationalparks.ie/connemara/
I fear the Mods will suspect me taking a backhander from the Tourist Board. This bloke’s like something out of a Hollywood movie. But the scenery is amazing.
I stumbled across this clip of an international Gaelic summer school.
There’s a whole channel full of Connemara goodies.
Up and coming? You might enjoy the mesmerising Lemoncello, Fatz.
That is exquisite, Colin. You know me well,
By way of complete contrast..The Mary Wallopers.
Definitely not.
I watched them on the night and my whelm was seriously undered.
If you want to go down a rabbit hole @kaisfatdad there are tons of these on YouTube. This is from Coláiste Lurgan who were some degree looked down upon by my Gaeltacht Coláiste Chamuis back in the 80s. They allowed more English to be spoken though they had better facilities.This is very impressive I have to say. See the modern equivalent of the posh girls I spent my summers pursuing. There was always a core of these girls from the better schools who could add four part harmony to anything. I believe some of these recordings have been viral hits and there’s competition between the colleges to score a hit. I can’t stand the song normally.
They get quite a few style points from me. Africa sung in Gaelic! I am impressed.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a rabbit hole indeed, There is a whole pile of albums by T. C. Lurgan on Spotify. What a project!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TG_Lurgan
“TG Lurgan is a musical project launched by Coláiste Lurgan, an independent summer school based in Connemara, a Gaeltacht, where the Irish language is the predominant spoken language. TG Lurgan releases interpretations as covers of many popular tunes with new lyrics in the Irish language.
The purpose of TG Lurgan is to help and support learners in acquiring the Irish language and their YouTube channel is a world leading minority language platform.”
Here’s their channel. Hours of fun!
https://www.youtube.com/user/tglurgan
And here’s an amazing rendition of Cheerleader!!
If I was the parent of that nerdy boy who sings so well, I would be very worried on his behalf! What goes on that those summer camps?
The same level of hysteria as a Kneecap gig!
Both T.C. Lurgan and Kneecap ( who are three charming, Nogood Boyos) understand that if you want to get young people speaking Gaelic, it has to be put across as something modern, fresh, exciting, relevant and sexy..
A stuffy choir singing the Ancient Bede’s Greatest Hits will not cut it.
Ooops sorry! Bad choice. I don’t think Old Beadichops had any hits in Gaelic.
Currulan maybe? Was he a minstrel?
iarla features in this current RTE show about the history of Irish music. It’s more “a”, history than “the”, history but if this is your current buzz, no doubt you’ll find it interesting.
https://www.rte.ie/player/series/creedon-s-musical-atlas-of-ireland/10008450-00-0000?epguid=IH10008449-24-0003
That is a find! Thanks @Bamber.. And what’s more it’s not blocked for viewers in Sweden as the Beeb’s stuff always is.
Interesting to see Mike Scott there in the introduction. The Scot who has made one of the very best Irish albums ever! Fisherman’s Blues. (Room to Roam is rather decent too). And made a whole album of songs by Yeats. He really is an Honorary Irishman!
I have to report that, unlike you @Bamber, I absolutely adore that song. And this version is equally, and utterly, magnificent, I loved it. Thanks for posting it!
Here are two more traditional numbers, both favourites of mine. The first is sung by Iarla O’Lionaird one of the finest modern singers in Irish.
The second is older and, to my ears was the nearest Irish song to the blues. The title means the Cursed Kerryman.
https://youtu.be/VJPnoltE1wA?si=QIdQXp12vaz48vCd
Well, you just made my evening with those two exquisite songs, @Bamber.
It’s remarkable the beauty that can be achieved with just a voice, a guitar and a box. And how beauty transcends language.
Both singers were new names for me. I’m very pleased I started this thread.
I’m not the person to ask about up and coming acts but one of my favourite albums this year is Coming Home from Dungiven’s finest, Cara Dillon. She’s from just down the road from Seamus Heaney’s Home Place which is well worth a visit, so you could stop by for a cup of tea with Cara and Sam Lakeman on the way.
Great choice @Blue Boy. A gorgeous song
@Max the Dog also posted a beautiful track from Cara”s latest album on the Kneecap thread and so now she’s seriously on the map for me. It’s suggestions like this that keep me coming back to the AW.
I noticed on Spotify that Cara did a BBC Radio show, This Woman’s Work, and has produced a playlist with all the songs she mentioned.
What a wonderfully varied selection!
I know this is obvious, but Van Morrison is quite the guide to places around Northern Ireland. Around his old stomping ground of East Belfast – Hyndford Street, Cyprus Avenue, Beechie River and The Hollow, Orangefield, Harland and Wolff et al. Further down the Belfast Lough he’ll take you for an ice cream at Fuscos in Holywood, to Donaghadee, and a swim in the Pickie Pool in Bangor. Then you can carry on down Strangford Lough to all those places in ‘Coney Island’ – St John’s Point, Ardglass, Downpatrick and the rest. And then he’ll take you across the border to walk the streets of Arklow. There are very few singers and songwriters who have used place names, and a sense of place, so deeply.
That is a fantastic song.
This chap went to Arklow and took photos to capture what Van was writing about. A fascinating task but Mission Impossible.
Van always adds a mythic dimension can’t be captured by a camera.
For example, I like the way that he can’t pin down who Madame George was.
“In fact, most of the songs on Astral Weeks are like short stories. In terms of what they mean, they’re as baffling to me as to anyone else. I haven’t got a clue what that song is about or who Madame George might have been.”[
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_George#:~:text=Recording%20and%20composition,-%22Madame%20George%22%20was&text=The%20character%20of%20Madame%20George,sketch%2C%20or%20a%20short%20story.
Following up, what you were saying @BlueBoy, here’s an enjoyable article on Van Morrison’s Belfast:
https://www.arbuturian.com/travel/travelfeatures/van-morrisons-belfast
You’re right about literature and film as well. I’d add to your list of current novelists the brilliant Sebastian Barry – everything I’ve read by him is superb but especially ‘The Secret Scripture’, ‘Days Without End’ and his latest, ‘Old Gods Time’. ‘Trespasses’ by Louise Kennedy is a powerful novel that came out a couple of years ago. Claire Keegan’s gorgeous novella ‘Small Things Like These’ has been made into a film with Cillian Murphy which is about to come out. And that’s before we go back just a few years and start to explore the brilliant novels of Brian Moore and William Trevor.
And talking of film, Ireland is also having quite the moment there, with not only Cillian, but Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Barry Koeghan, and Jessie Buckley just the latest generation to punch way above the country’s weight.
Damn right @Blue Boy! It’s quite remarkable how many talented writers and actors there are in 2024.
Mescal, Ronan and Murphy!! All three are seriously A list talents. But surely they must have all had some very good agents pushing their names about? I take that back! All three richly deserved their success.
I really must read more of those writers you recommend.
Here’s that Guardian article I mentioned in the OP.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/20/we-all-read-like-hell-how-ireland-became-the-worlds-literary-powerhouse?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
I don’t want to see things through rosý-tinted spectacles, but it does seem to me that the Irish revere poets, musicians, novelists, singers and actors to a far greater extent than the English. Please feel free to tell me I am talking bullshit if you all disagree with me.
I really enjoyed Sebastian Barry’s Days without end
In recentish times I have enjoyed bits and bobs from Orla Gartland, Kojaque, Lucy Gaffney, Aibhe Reddy, Olive Hatake, Pillow Queens, Stomptown Brass and Fears
(Fears – 11249)
but the only one who seems touched by greatness is CMAT, who I saw earlier this year on her “Ciara’s tour”.
And going back a little while, there’s this
Thanks @Sewer Robot, You did us proud there. Lots of interesting new names for me.
That Other Voices YT channel who posted the For Those I Love clip looks well worth a look.
https://www.youtube.com/@OtherVoicesLive
“Part festival, part TV show, part fairytale, for over two decades each Winter we’ve brought Glastonbury headliners, Grammy-winners and New York Times cover stars to a tiny church in Dingle to raise their voices and sing.
Over the years we’ve witnessed breathtaking sets by Amy Winehouse, Loyle Carner, Sam Fender, The National, For Those I Love, Young Fathers, Little Simz with friends like Hozier, Sigrid & elbow coming back to play time & time again.
We’ve travelled the world, from Austin to London via New York City and Berlin, taking pals like Dermot Kennedy and Lisa Hannigan with us for the ride, and making new ones like Gregory Porter, Willie Nelson, Ed Sheeran & Celeste along the way.
In 2020, we launched Courage – beaming inspiring performances from Fontaines D.C., Lankum & more into homes around the globe.”
Yikes! I’m out of touch! I read that CMAT is already a global pop superstar. Here she is in Dingle.
Here’ are two other major Irish acts they mention.
Lankum
And Fontaines DC
Another Irish artist with a sense of geography would be Christy Moore. He tends more to be an interpreter of others than a writer himself, but when he does, he tends towards a rapid sprechgesang: Hibernian rap before there was rap. Here is an early example, about a celebrated music festival. His latest album maintains this trend, with a couple of similar songs, or, at least in that style. (But for every jolly song, he can follow it with a deeply political song, sometimes to the extent of proving uncomfortable listening, so be aware.)
I was wondering which Irish artists had done a Tiny Desk session for NPR-
Rather a few! Here’s a list of five of the best.
If you have other Irish Desk favourites, I’d be delighted to hear about them..
https://www.balls.ie/the-rewind/here-are-5-of-the-best-irish-npr-tiny-desk-performances-435887
If you appreciate traditional songs with exquisite accompaniment, you could do no better than this lovely little album, which I picked up in Connemara on my recent visit:
That sounds very promising.
Here’s a little more info., @Vulpes Vulpes
https://orourke-feeley.bandcamp.com/album/casadh-na-n-amhr-n-turning-the-song
And here’s a clip of them playing together.
That’s Jimmy’s guitar John is playing. Not Hendrix! Jimmy Joyce, the Ulysses Hitmaker.
John’s done an album with this lass, Eleanor Shanley.
I love the crowd in this clip. She sings sweetly and the kids in the crowd, standing there and trying not to fidget are wonderful.
Guitar and voice duos seem rather popular in Ireland. And rightly so!
@Vulpes-Vulpes
Helping you out @Kaisfatdad as I see most of your mentions of others do not work.
Thanks Dai. Much appreciated.
Reading about T.G. Lurgan, I was delighted ( as the son of a Welsh speaking mother) to read this:
“On World Translation Day (Monday, September 30, 2024) members of Wales’s largest youth organization, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, and Irish youth project TG Lurgan joined forces to release a new cover of Florence and the Machine’s hit song “Dog Days Are Over”—in a mix of both the Irish and Welsh languages.”
https://www.languagemagazine.com/2024/10/21/welsh-and-irish-unite-in-song/
I’m sure they can learn a lot from each other in terms of how to boost interest in their respective languages.
It was my birthday in October and that got me thinking about my mum and her attitude towards her native language. In the 1950s attitudes were starting to change after a long period of suppression.
https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Welsh-banned-in-Schools-by-the-English”
All fairly unbelievable!
“The ban on the Welsh language in schools by the English can be traced back to the 19th century, particularly through the implementation of the Welsh Not policy. This policy was enacted during a period when the British government sought to assimilate Welsh speakers into English culture. Here are the key points regarding this historical context:
Welsh Not Policy: Introduced in the 19th century, this policy involved punishing children in schools for speaking Welsh. Students caught speaking Welsh would be made to wear a wooden board or token known as the “Welsh Not,” which would be passed around, and the child wearing it would be subjected to ridicule or punishment.
Cultural Suppression: The broader context of the ban was part of a systematic effort to suppress Welsh culture and language. The British government and many English-speaking Welsh people viewed the Welsh language as a barrier to progress and modernization.
Education Act of 1870: Although this act aimed to provide education for all children, it also contributed to the decline of the Welsh language in schools. English became the medium of instruction, and Welsh was often marginalized.
Decline in Usage: The impact of these policies led to a significant decline in the number of Welsh speakers, especially in urban areas, as children were discouraged from using their native language.
Revival Efforts: It wasn’t until the late 20th century that efforts to revive the Welsh language gained momentum, leading to increased recognition and support for Welsh in education and public life.
Overall, the banning and discouragement of Welsh in schools were part of a larger strategy of cultural assimilation and control by the English authorities, which had lasting effects on the status of the Welsh language.”
As a Welsh-speaker, I fear she saw herself as a second-class citizen.
Sorry! That was seriously off-piste. I just wanted to explain that I am very partisan on the survival of Gaelic and Welsh.
As you can imagine, I am fascinated by the trans-Gaelic TV programme: Port. Hosted by
In this episode…
Sraith ceoil á chur i láthair ag Julie Fowlis agus Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. Julie and Muireann visit the Orkney Isles to meet musical friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARfc9Ayv9D4
Here’s a breakdown of the episodes. It’s very ambitious.
https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/10537/port/episodeguide
You’re missing out on a vast amount of Irish music, Fatz, by not asking for anything from the instrumental tradition. Here are two masters – Johnny Doran, pipes (1947) and Martin Hayes, fiddle (1995), playing the same tune, ‘Rakish Paddy’, and showing how much can be wrung from it in two wildly different approaches.
Fantastic stuff, @Colin_H. Please fell very free to nudge this thread in whatever direction you fancy. Actually, that invitation goes out to all of you. All detours will be greatly enjoyed.
Colin, I’ve been listening a lot to my Northern Ireland playlist for which you supplied so much input.
Some of those songs have become real favourites and are making me keen to discover more tunes by those artists.
Anthony Toner’s An Alphabet for example, led me to this.
The Starjets’ Veronica Guerin led me to..
Joshua Burnside’s Far away the hills are green also made me keen for more.
Please keep all those suggestions coming!
Bumped into Anthony on the street yesterday, actually, fresh from a UK folk clubs tour with Barbara Dickson (performing mostly her pre-fame trad repertoire). These recent NI/Irish threads are a curious experience – so many of the people mentioned are my friends.
Aside from his solo career, Anthony has also played for many years in Ronnie Greer’s blues band. Ron is a 70s Belfast bar scene veteran whose elder statesman fame has grown in the 2000s. His favoured music is 50s Chicago blues, 50s Blue Note jazz and, oddly, yacht rock. Ron’s Chicago blues have real bite but he’d admit that he’s not really a rock fan – anything he likes from the rock era tends to be smooth and muso-y (James Taylor, Steely Dan…). Here’s Anthony fronting a slab of yacht rock with Ron’s band recently (with Scott Flanigan sitting in on piano for the regular John McCulloch, who plays with Van these days and thus isn’t always available; bassist Nick Scott played with Van for many years but luckily escaped):
What can I say, @Colin_H? You have some very talented pals. I’m delighted that you’ve brought them to our attention.
Is there a musician in Belfast who hasn’t played in Van’s band??
Seriously though, he has put Belfast and the area around it seriously on the map. as @Blue Boy comments very perceptively above: “There are very few singers and songwriters who have used place names, and a sense of place, so deeply.”
You could actually say the same thing for Yeats and his use of place names in his poems.
Well, it’s more accurate that he’s put a map of Belfast into his music! I live a few streets away from Cyprus Avenue and half a mile from Hyndford Street, Fusco’s ice cream shop etc.
Your mention of Fusco”s led me to this wonderful little gem of Belfast nostalgia.
https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/super-8-stories-fuscos-ice-cream-536
Ah, I could listen to Martin Hayes all day long. He has that lonesome touch, felt so deeply when roaming in the gloaming out west.
Completely agree about Martin Hayes, @Vulpes Vulpes.
And on Spotify you can even listen to a playlist of his faves.
If it’s local colour you’re after, try wee Gemma’s joyful tribute to the (oft maligned) place where she was raised
(Gemma Dunleavy – Up De Flats)
Fabulous! What a banger @Sewer Robot-
Wonderful video for a song that hit the spot at once for me.
This is probably my favourite new Irish music that I’ve heard this year (just to prove that I don’t just listen to old stuff). It reminds me of Stereolab or Jane Weaver. I wasn’t able to see them when they played Dublin recently but I think they’re on the up so it might be harder to get a ticket next time around… Silverbacks
Another immediate fave.
I see what you mean about Stereolab but they certainly have their own sound too.
Gosh! This thread is bursting at the seams with new discoveries!
That Stereolab / Jane Weaver connection is one that I make too.
This morning stumbled across this album by the late Seamus Heaney and piper Liam O’ Flynn.
It sounds very promising.
Here’s a review of their live show.
https://journalofmusic.com/criticism/live-reviews-poet-and-piper
Liam is magnificent.
A bit of trivia – Seamus Heaney was Horslips’ Barry Devlin’s brother in law.
High time for a visit to Cartoon Saloon- Here’s the story of Kilkenny’s remarkable animation studio.
They are master story tellers.and there’s a great variety to the tales they tell.
For example, Wolfwalkers is inspired by Celtic mythology.
By contrast, The Breadwinner, tells the dramatic story of a girl in modern Afghanistan.
Anybody her got any favourites?
I saw The Song of the Sea while channel hopping and loved it, drawn animation.
You should try some of the other films, @Hubert Rawlinson.
Music is central to the films.
Excellent! I’ve just discovred this. Ten Gaelic songs animated by Kilkenny’s finest.
Wolfwalkers is so good you don’t even mind that Tommy Tiernan is in it..
I didn’t even know who he was!
Here’s a production from another great Irish animation company Brown Bag featuring the great Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly, formerly the lead singer in the brilliant U2 parodists The Joshua Trio also featuring Arthur Matthews of Father Ted fame. Real name Paul Woodfull he’s a brilliant character comedian and accomplished musician and appears in Father Ted in three separate episodes as minor characters. He’s had a few very successful tribute bands over the years. Here he is is with an ould Irish Ballad from his Publocked album…
Once again @Bamber, you are opening up some wonderful doors.
How did I miss Brown Bag? Another remarkable success story!
https://www.brownbagfilms.com/about
As is Ding Dong Denny O’ Reilly.
This is hilarious!
You really díd us proud there!
Here’s the ballad. Foul language warning!
He is quite wonderful!
This a slight edit of the album version where the gargling solo is done by Scribbler O’Donoghue who also provides the harmony in this song. Scribbler is an alias of Joe Rooney (Father Damo “Blur or Oasis”, in Father Ted), a very entertaining stand-up who does some great musical impersonations. In a previous life he was the lead singer in Irish band Guernica who had a definite early New Order vibe to them. He and Ding Dong did some great shows as a double act years ago. I have seldom laughed so much. If you’re feeling brave check out Ding Dong’s finest song the Ballad of Dan McCrae on YouTube. It’s far too rude for this site methinks.
The sad fate of poor Dan McRae had me in stitches @Bamber. Ding Dong is an hilarious chap.
https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/a-belching-blasphemer/26258983.html
One more from him; Me heart gets so full you’d swear I had tits
This is a hoot too
The Hairy Bowsies don’t pull any punches.
Paul’s a very amusing chap!
Thanks @Kaisfatdad I hadn’t seen the newspaper article before or the Jonathan Ross appearance. The Joshua Trio were hilarious live and excellent musicians. Paul Wonderful (as he went by then) famously entered a gig at Dublin’s Baggott Inn on the back of a donkey once. I first saw him in the Olympia Theatre with two very elaborate shows promoting the Publocked album. They featured Christ tangoing with his cross to a violin accompaniment, a slideshow mercilessly taking the piss out of Ireland’s musical big names and a Republican boyband complete with dance moves, white suits and balaclavas. Their songs included Take That tributes “Whatever we say, whatever we do, we fucking’ mean it, we want Ulster back for good, we want it back, we want it back…” and “reload and fire, 6 counties our only desire”. There were a number of walkouts including some American tourists who’d sat near the front and got plastered with “puke”, as he sang Get it Up , his tribute to puking. He would swig cold vegetable soup out of a beer can and spew it towards the audience at the chorus. Art?
There’s considerably less footage of his short lived Tony St James character, a failed Vegas cabaret singer back in Ireland with an Indie minded backing band. They were another hilarious live outfit with a mix of original songs and corrupted, often crude cover versions – Losing my Religion became a swinging Losing my Erection. Very few lyrics had to be changed. Here’s a taster…
Irish comedy! Now that was a topic that didn’t come to mind when I kicked this thread off, @Bamber.
But looking at the Wiki page about Paul Woodhull about his long and varied career, I realise there is an awful lot of excellent stuff to explore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Woodfull
How about this film, When Brendan met Trudy (2000), written by Roddy Doyle, in which Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly make an appearance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Brendan_Met_Trudy
Here is Paul with the four members of the Joshua Trio.
Paul has his own YT channel where there’s lot to explore.
https://www.youtube.com/@paulwoodfull6337
On the subject of Irish comedy, perhaps we should dust off a few clips of Dave Allen?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Allen_(comedian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVPUIRGthI
Culturally, my first encounters with Irish literature took place in the 6th form at school. The novels of James Joyce and the poems of Yeats.
It’s remarkable how many of them have been set to music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_based_on_poems
The Waterboys recorded a whole album of Years songs:
As did Italian singer Angelo Branduardi
Well then, talking about I Cigni di Coole, this seems like an appropriate moment to hear a little more about Lady Augusta Gregory, the Celtic Literary Revival and Coole House.
Here’s an informative short film.
And now a clip about Yeats’s early life.
I’ll have to take a lot of responsibility for how we went from WB Yeats to this – Fester and Aillin’ aka Podge and Rodge aka Zig and Zag (to UK viewers) and the not-well-remembered Bronx Bunny Show, now trading as DoubleZ Productions writing Children’s TV scripts, with their Halloween classic for the night that’s in it…
The Podge and Rodge rabbit hole is a veritable labyrinth of near the knuckle humour.
Thanks @Bamber. I’d never heard of them.
I can see why they are popular. They are very amusing.
I mentioned above that Cartoon Saloon from Kilkenny had produced lively animations for a series of popular Gaelic songs. I’ve now dug a little deeper and discovered that this was done for a TV series, Anam An Amhráin.
https://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/anam-an-amhrain/
The series was presented by one Of Ireland’s greatest singers, Iarla Ó Lionáird, who @Bamber introduced us to earlier in this thread.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iarla_%C3%93_Lion%C3%A1ird
Fascinating chap! He has recorded for Real World and was the singer of the Afro Celtic Sound System. He is now the singer of the Irish-American band, The Gloaming.
This provides a fascinating portrait of this great singer.
Back to the cartoons…
“In this series, he is staying much closer to home as he journeys through Ireland to meet other popular singers as they can breathe new life into some old favourites in performances that will form part of a totally new creative version of the song when fused with the new animations.”
Here you can see short clips from the songs in the programme.
Several different animators were involved in the project.
For someone who knows little about Gaelic music, it was interesting to find out more about the singers who appear in the programmes:
John Beag Ó Flatharta
Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill
Skara Brae
Declan O’Rourke
Paul Brady
Damien Dempsey
Róisín Elsafty
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Altan)
Tomás Mac Eoin
Nell Ní Chróinín
And to find out more about the songs they had chosen:
Oró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile
Amhrán Na Bo
An Damhán Alla
An Puc Ar Buile
An Seanduine
Bean Pháidín
Cad é Sin
Cailleach An Airgead
Dún Do Shúil Greasaí Bróg
Tá Dhá Ghabharin Bhui Agam
These animations are a brilliant way to breathe new life into these beautiful tunes.
Two of the artists that Iarla visits are the Donegal sisters Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill.
While they were still teenagers they were in a legendary band, Skara Brae.
The YT notes are very informative:
“Formed 1970, Ranafast, County Donegal, Ireland
Disbanded 1972
Members: Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals), Mícháel Ó Domhnaill (guitar, vocals), Daíthí Sproule (guitar, vocals).
Skara Brae were a traditional Irish music group. The group consisted of three siblings, Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill, Triona Ni Dhomhnaill and Micheal O Domhnaill with Daithi Sproule. Although they were together for only a year, their one and only record is considered to be one of the most important albums in its genre, as they were the first group in history to put harmonies to Gaelic songs.
The band would sing Beatles songs, but they’d also sing Irish songs and experiment with chords. They learned a lot from the Beatles. They listened a lot to them and all the music that was happening at the time and they tried to bring that to bear — Pentangle, Steeleye Span — they tried to bring that to bear on the Irish.
The only album of “Skara Brae” was recorded in 1970 and released in 1971.”
“The group disbanded in 1972 and each of the musicians went on to perform with groups such as The Bothy Band, Altan, Relativity, and Nightnoise among others. In December 2021, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta marked fifty years since the album’s release with a special programme including members of the group in the studio.”
That clip was taken from frpm the TG4 You Tube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@TradTG4
TG4 is the Irish language Public Service broadcaster in Ireland, which produces programmes on Irish Culture, Music & Sport.
I suspect that most of you (like me) have not heard of those singers that Iarla meets in that TV series, Anam An Amhráin. Time to start putting that right!
They are all rather under-represented on Spotify.
Roisin Elsafty
Nell Ní Chróinín
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (from Altan)
Great thread, @Kaisfatdad! It was the Yeats’ quote in the sidebar caught my eye…”now where is that from?” I wondered, semi-dementedly, and came up with Housman… but no… of course it’s Yeats. Like you, I first really encountered Irish writers in the sixth form (i.e. decades ago): Joyce and his fraught relationship with Ireland – indubitably the product of her language, her religion and her history and yet Ireland characterised as “the sow that eats her own farrow”. Joyce (poss in Portrait, maybe Ulysses) quotes from Yeats’s “Who goes with Fergus?”
And turn no more aside and brood
Upon love’s bitter mystery;
For Fergus rules the brazen cars
And rules the shadows of the wood” etc.
Stirring stuff! So enamoured by Joyce, I became enamoured of all things Irish: heck, I even bought a bodhran and tried to learn the language… A Biology teacher (Mr Hobbs) said “son, get yourself some Planxty” which I did… an astonishing revelation. Of course, in those days, listening to music was a matter of trial-and-error, and with limited funds, the errors soon brought the trials to an end. However, discovered along the way the Bothy Band (see Triona Ni Domhnaill, Donal Lunny (late of Planxty), De Dannan (fantastic bodhran player – Johnny “Ringo” McDonough – “Over the Bog Road” was a cracker), the Chieftains… etc… sadly the Kilfenora Ceilidh Band were not quite “up to the knocker”, as Mr Joyce might phrase it.
Regarding efforts to preserve the Irish language, I can only mention an encounter I had with the proprietor of the Eshcol guest house on western side of the Isle of Lewis back in the mid 90s.. I’d gone there wanting to experience a part of Britain very different from the home counties, where hopefully they still spoke Gaelic. The chap said “when I was growing up, Gaelic was the language of the playground and English the language of the classroom; nowadays, it’s the reverse”. I did manage to hear some Gaelic spoken: in a shop on Uig Bay. I might also have attended a church service in Gaelic, but opted for the English one instead (excellent sermon – which I can still remember – on the opening of the blind man’s eyes by means of a paste made with spittle).
TradTG4 is a fantastic channel and this is one of my favourites:
https://youtu.be/tu_3-VDi7wY
If you like TG4, @Diffugere_Nives, I presume you know about BBC Alba, who do programmes in Scottish Gaelic.
https://www.youtube.com/@BBCALBA
There are lots of excellent clips to enjoy. I mentioned the series Port earlier in this thread.
Julis Fowlis makes frequent appearances.
Mr Hobbs the Biology Teacher did you proud. Thanks for that useful list of artists. I’ve added them to my playlist for this thread.
“Not quite “up to the knocker”? The Kilfenora Ceilidh Band look rather fun to me. But I see what you mean.
I can imagine they are a hoot live though.
Marvelous anecdote about the classroom and the playground. The Eshcol Guest House is still going strong!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g551855-d315724-Reviews-Eshcol_Guest_House-Breasclete_Isle_of_Lewis_Lewis_and_Harris_Outer_Hebrides_The_Hebride.html
Thanks for the tip re. BBC Alba… I’d only seen that on my list of channels on the TV but never really watched so grateful for the pointers. Julie Fowlis is, it goes without saying, an exceptional artist.
I take it all back. The album I had by the Kilfenora CB was dire: recorded using a potato in an aircraft hangar with Chas ‘n’ Dave style piano as the dominant instrument. But to be honest those two videos absolutely slap: they really would be fantastic live. And an outfit doesn’t keep going for over 100 years for no good reason.
Glad to see the Eshcol is still going strong – did a very nice bowl of porridge: “soak the oats overnight and cook with cream”.
A very pleasant setting of Yeats’s The Ballad of the Foxhunter by Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, set to the tune of The Foxhunter’s Jig (which may be familiar as the third part of the medley on Fairport’s Liege and Lief).
(I couldn’t help but wonder if the name of this group, Cherish the Ladies, was a play on “Chase me ladies, I’m in the cavalry!” from Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist)
That’s an interesting theory, @Diffugere_Nives. But I fear you may be letting Joyce and his extraordinary fascination with wordplay go to your head.
Back in the day, I dipped my toe into Finnegans Wake. It was fascinating as a small helping, but I fear my sanity would have been at threat if I’d tried to read the whole thing.
The Foxhunter track is excellent.
Yes, it is somewhat far-fetched but you never know. Their name always makes me think of that line, anyway.
Having a copy of Finnegan’s Wake was a top sixth form pose. But has anybody read Finnegan’s Wake? Is it even readable? A catchy opening line, to be sure:
riverrun, past Eve’s and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay
which is poetic…but I’m not sure one can read page after page of words, often made-up words, which convey almost no meaning. I suppose music conveys meaning – of sorts – without the need for words; as can poetry in the manner of T.S. Eliot. But pages of the stuff… not sure.
Yeats’s Down by the Salley Gardens is another oft-covered tune.
All this way without a mention of the titans Moving Hearts. While I’ve enjoyed their various singers over the years, I always preferred them in their instrumental incarnations. Here’s a slice…
If we are doing ‘all this way without a mention’ then we need to pull these rascals into the party:
That is a cracker: love the instrumental at the end. The banjo made me think of De Dannan, who frequently employed one, but not in this classic of theirs:
That’s a rolicking good tune, @Vulpes Vulpes.
It made me want to visit the doctor’s! (What a joyously enjoyable live band the Saw Doctors are!
But meanwhile, YouTube was getting up to all sorts of “donkey business”!
Not heard of them before but they seem to be great fun.
Ooooops! My sincerest apologies to Ms Fowlis.
That clip should have been The Whistlin’ Donkeys.
An easy mistake to make! Not!
As you may know, the Swedes are bonkers about Eurovision. Ask the Swede in the Street to name an Irish singer, they won’t be mentioning Christy Moore or Van Morrison!
How did we get so far without mentioning this chap?
And for heaven’s sake! Let’s not forget these two talented fellows!
Time for a return visit to County Wicklow and the streets of Arklow. That small town was the birthplace of one of my favourite electropop singers, Roisin Murphy.
I saw her at Roskilde this summer and she was as magnificent as she was in the heyday of Moloko.
A remarkable, very inventive stage show and a superb band.
“the boygenius/Ye Vagabonds Sinead commemorative version of The Parting Glass may well be the best song I have heard in the 202s” (@retropath02 on Dai’s ” more interesting list” thread).
Ye vagabonds are part of the new wave of folk musician from Dublin that includes
Lankum, Lisa O’Neill and Landless.
One new piece of musical terminology that I’ve learnt during the last week is “sean-nos”
Here is a classic example filmed in the 1960s.
YT provides an explanation:
“The term sean-nós, Irish for ‘old style’, refers to traditional Irish music and dance from the Gaeltachts (Irish-speaking regions).
This is some of the earliest audio-visual footage of sean-nós singing. It was filmed in Begley’s Pub in the village of Baile na nGall (‘Ballydavid’) on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The singer is Jack Ághas (mistakenly called ‘Patrick Ashe’), from the village of Muiríoch in West Kerry. He was born some time around 1900-1910 and died in 1990.”
This morning, while trying to find out a little more about sean-nos I stumbled across the website of Comhaltas.
https://comhaltas.ie/
They offered this explanation:
“The term ‘sean-nós’ (in the old way) as applied to traditional singing in the Irish Language, encompasses a style of singing, which is rooted in the Gaeltacht regions of the country. There are three main styles of sean-nós, corresponding to the three areas where Irish is still spoken as a community language, the Gaeltachtaí of Munster, Connacht and Ulster. Munster Gaeltachtaí includes parts of Kerry, Cork and Waterford, the Connemara region of Connacht and the Ulster Gaeltacht in Donegal. ”
Comhaltas was a very interesting discovery. Wikipedia offers a useful explanation of who they are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comhaltas_Ceolt%C3%B3ir%C3%AD_%C3%89ireann
2Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkoːl̪ˠt̪ˠəsˠ ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ]; meaning “Society of the musicians of Ireland”) is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has promoted Irish music and culture among the Irish people and the Irish diaspora.
Its current Director General is Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú. Today[when?] it has more than 400 branches worldwide, in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.”
As you can imagine, their site is full of all kinds of interesting material. Here’s a page on traditional singing in both Gaelic and English.
https://comhaltas.ie/music-more/singing/
They post this YT clip
Here are the YT notes:
“There are moments in music, as in life, which are truly unforgettable and this must surely be one of them. On a rainy night in August 1986, James Last and his orchestra performed at an open air concert at a packed College Green in the heart of Dublin.
Joining him on stage that night were a group of musicians, singers and dancers from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and one of the highlights of the evening was the performance of legendary traditional singer Séamus Mac Mathúna from Cooraclare, Co. Clare.
His powerful rendition of ‘Mo Ghile Méar’, backed by a magical blend of orchestral and traditional instruments, had a spell binding effect on the audience that, for those who were fortunate enough to be there, lingers to this day. ”
On the same page of the website there is fine article by that very singer Séamus Mac Mathúna, which tells of his younger days:
https://comhaltas.ie/one-song-leads-to-another/
“My love affair with traditional singing began just over fifty years ago in 1950, when at my aunt’s house in Leitrim (Cree) in West Clare I first heard Joe Cooney singing his many songs in his lovely old style. I was a ‘garsún’ of eleven years of age at the time and already had a few favourite songs, which I regularly sang when going on the ‘wren’ or at informal sessions at home.
……
During those years (the early fifties) the Lenten season was a time of year when local or visiting groups put on shows in the local school or hall. The night’s entertainment would include a play, some traditional music and some songs.
It was at these concerts that I heard such songs as ‘The Cliffs of Dooneen’, ‘The Flower of Sweet Strabane’, ‘Lovely Old Milltown’, ‘The Lonely Woods of Upton’, and that hilarious ditty ‘The Digs in Birmingham’.
Hearing and taking a fancy to a song was one thing but getting the words and tune often entailed months or even years of waiting, enquiry and pursuit until the song was committed to memory. Those were the days when radios were still a rarity and the tape recorder was still a few years down the road.”
I imagine that anyone who has learnt songs in the old way, without tape recorders etc can relate to this. I thought of our very own @thecheshirecat.
This is all one magnificent rabbit hole to explore. Here a couple of tunes from Séan Ó Sé .
The first mentions Donald Trump!
And now one in English.
Here’s a version of An Poc Ar Buile (The Mad Puck Goat ) which has an English version of the lyrics in the notes.
“As I set out for Dromore town
Pike in hand to go a-workin’
Who did I meet on the hillside
But a tan puck goat stone mad for scrappin’
Comhaltas are indeed a wonderful organisation keeping the music alive. They run a local class, as I’m sure they do all over the country, where youngsters can start playing music and learn some tunes and play with friends, hopefully to develop a Grá (love) for the music. Our eldest, who’s 9 has been teaching herself tin whistle for the last year because her best friend, half-Algerian has been going to lessons with Comhaltas and passing the tunes on while my wife childminds her and her brother.
At the start of this year this daughter of mine spent most of January trying to figure out how she might get into the Guinness book of Records, having become aware that it existed last year. We timed her putting together Lego and running up and down the hall until this passed.
Another new word now for you @kaisfatdad the Fleadh was happening in Wexford this year. The Fleadh is an annual gathering and celebration of Irish music that takes place over a week (I think) and attracts musicians from all over the country and the world. It’s a big deal.
My wife is from Wexford and every year, it has become a thing for her and the kids to spend the first weekend in August at the in-laws about 15 minutes drive from Wexford town. This year it coincided with the Fleadh.
As luck would have it, part of the Fleadh this year was an attempt at a Guinness World record for the most people in the same place playing the same tunes on tin whistle. My daughter and wife signed up and my wife taught herself the two tunes and, when the day came, they took their place in the crowd and the record was broken. They both have certificates to that effect and apparently the record may be featured in the 2025 edition. To say my daughter was delighted is a massive understatement. Serendipity in its purest form.
Another line for you to investigate would be Gael Linn and Claddagh Records who kept the music going in the darkest days.
Thanks a lot @Bamber. You certainly made my day with that story.
I can imagine how happy both your wife and daughter must have been. Serendipity indeed!
What a fantastic experience for a nine-year-old. A memory for life.
A fantastic experience for all ages in fact.
I had to check which tunes they were playing.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0808/1464114-tin-whistles/#:~:text=The%20Guinness%20World%20Record%20for,previous%20record%20of%201%2C015%20players.
The Boys of Wexford and The Dawning of the Day . I did actually recognise the latter.
Some of these Guinness records can be very silly. This one was very uplifting. They mad a very fine noise together
“The event’s organiser Catherine Roche said they are “thrilled” to have broken the record.
“We’ve spent months teaching people, from kids to people in their eighties, and the journey to today has been nothing short of inspiring,” she said.
Chairperson of the Wexford Fleadh Cheoil Executive Committee Eddie Taaffe congratulated everyone who took part and said “today’s success is a perfect embodiment of this year’s theme: ‘A Fleadh For All'”.
“We’ve brought people together from all corners of the globe and all walks of life to celebrate our rich cultural heritage and make a mark on history,” he said.
I will be investigating the Fleadh in more detail. This clip captures the spirit of it all. Lots of youngsters laying and dancing.
Comhaltas really was a find. I didn’t look for it as I never imagined such a thing existed.
While out and about in Wexford enjoying the Fleadh, my daughter who’s not lacking confidence, found a spot on the street, played her small repertoire of tunes on the whistle and earned a few quid from passers by. Truly the spirit of the Fleadh.
I played a lot of tin whistle in my teens and was quite good at it. I started because in my Gaeltacht, there were about 25 lovely girls in the tin whistle class and no boys. I liked those odds. Back in Dublin I mostly played along with blues tunes as long as they were in C or D. The whistle is quite a blues friendly instrument. I’m surprised there isn’t more around.
Another wonderful anecdote, @Bamber!
From tin whistle classes to Tinder! And they call it progress! It sounds like meeting attractive young lasses was a lot more fun back in the day.
Thanks a lot for the tip about Gael Linn and Claddagh Records . Stupid me! I thought Gael was a girl’s name and so I went looking for her on Spotify. But Gael Linn hadn’t had any hits.
Then I found this excellent article.
https://drb.ie/articles/the-gaelic-hit-factory/
What an extraordinary story. Football pools, cinema bingo sessions, rabbit farming… they were ingenious.
And then there was film making.
“The film about history which made history for Gael-Linn was, of course, Mise Éire (1959). In May 1958 George Morrison submitted a report to the patrons of Gael-Linn where he outlined the perilous state of much of the archival film relating to the founding events of the Irish state. It was decided to make a feature-length documentary film dealing with the period from 1878 to 1918 with a musical score by Seán Ó Riada. First shown at the Cork Film Festival in September 1959, it was then screened in Dublin at the Regal cinema on January 27th, 1960. The film critic of the Belfast Telegraph, though unhappy with what he sensed was an undercurrent of nationalist propaganda, went on to state that the film was “one of the finest documentaries ever made”. The Guardian critic, Lane Jones, was taken by the deftness of the editing and the overall aesthetic effect:”
“The film led to perhaps some of the most dramatic cinemagoing practices the capital had ever seen. On Monday of the second week, officers and soldiers from the Fifth Battalion marched in full military uniform from Collins Barracks to the Regal. On Thursday February 11th, over four hundred members of the Old IRA, Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna paraded from the GPO to the Regal accompanied by a Citizens’ Army marching band. In Belfast, Republican prisoners in Crumlin Road jail were allowed to watch the film and UTV broadcast extracts, the first time Irish was ever heard on the Northern station. Though the sequels to Mise Éire were less successful, the film demonstrated, as would Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins many years later, that there was an appetite among the Irish for seeing their own history on the big screen as opposed to endless replays of the histories of others.”
Gaelic films were a hit long before The Quiet Girl!
And then there was music. Another long quote from that article about what they achieved in terms of recording Gaelic language music.
“One of the immediate difficulties Gael-Linn faced with its weekly sponsored programme was not so much what to say as what to play. Despite the activities of recording companies in the United States in the earlier part of the century, there was a dearth of recordings of traditional Irish music and song. Under the label Ceolta Éireann, over twenty recordings were issued with particular emphasis on Irish-language song. Contrary to modernist misconceptions about a land beholden to the theme music of the crossroads, for much of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, in Irish broadcasting circles and beyond, there was a widespread petit-bourgeois disdain for the music of the common people. This would change with the pioneering work of Gael-Linn and the visionary presence of Roibard Mac Góráin. It was Gael-Linn who would provide Seán Ó Riada and Ceoltóirí Chualann with both the financial support and the public exposure that would allow them to pursue their quiet revolution in music in the period, culminating in the legendary concert in the Gaiety Theatre in 1969. The recording from that concert, Ó Riada sa Gaeity, is still one of the bestselling records in the Gael-Linn catalogue. The involvement with a classically trained composer was indeed part of a broader attempt to bring the folk and classical traditions into a musical conversation that would go beyond the sniffiness and suspicion that had largely dogged the relationship between them up to this point. It was in the Gaiety Theatre, ten years earlier, on March 15th, 1959, that Gael-Linn brought together the RTE Light Orchestra, the classical pianist Charles Lynch, the Belfast fiddler Seán Maguire, the sean-nós singer Seán ’ac Dhonncha and others in an effort to end the performance apartheid that bedevilled the Irish musical scene. 1967 Gael-Linn issued a record, Ceol na nUasal (Music of the Nobility), which showcased the work of Turlough O’Carolan and others who had worked between the two traditions. As traditions are only as vital as their renewal, a decision was made to start the Slógadh competition in 1970, a talent competition for young people working with Irish music or song, inspired by a similar competition at the Welsh Eisteddford yr Urdd. At the first competition, the audience was mesmerised by a group of musicians from Donegal playing “Lisa”. Clannad would be the first in a long list of groups and performers that would achieve fame after first coming to prominence in the Gael-Linn competition. Others included Skara Brae, The Hothouse Flowers, Na Casaidigh, Stockton’s Wing, Sharon Shannon, Iarla Ó Lionaird, Declan Masterson and Kíla. Critical to the success of Slógadh was the disavowal of the volkisch trappings of the more established competitions and the celebration of forms of musical hybridity that proved deeply compelling for the younger musicians working the traditional idiom.”
The composer, Sean O Riada was another new name for me and a very important one.
Here’s an interview with him from 1970.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSn07vfWwKM
He composed the soundtrack for the film Mise Eire.
Ceoltóirí Chualann, the band that ORioda created is another name we really ought to know more about! Wiki helped.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceolt%C3%B3ir%C3%AD_Chualann
“Ceoltóirí Chualann (pronounced [ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈxuəlˠən̪ˠ]) was an Irish traditional band, led by Seán Ó Riada, which included many of the founding members of The Chieftains. Ceoltóirí is the Irish word for musicians, and Cualann is the name of an area just outside Dublin where Ó Riada lived. Ó Riada’s work with Ceoltóirí Chualann is credited with revitalizing the use of the bodhrán as a percussion instrument in Celtic music.
In 1960 Ó Riada was looking for musicians to perform music for the play “The Song of the Anvil” by Bryan MacMahon. Paddy Moloney, at the age of 20, was called to participate in the project, along with his friend Sean Potts on tin whistle, Sonny Brogan on accordion and John Kelly on fiddle.[1]
They rehearsed weekly in Ó Riada’s house in Galloping Green, on the outskirts of Dublin.[2]
Following its success, Ó Riada had the idea of forming Ceoltóirí Chualann, a band to play traditional Irish songs with accompaniment and traditional dance tunes and slow airs, arranged with instruments: harpsichord, bodhran, piano, fiddle, accordions, flute, pipes and whistles. The idea of actually arranging folk music, or dance music, had been done on at least one or two 78rpm recordings in the past, but they were folk tunes done in a classical way, highly orchestrated.[3] Another aim was to revitalize the work of blind harpist and composer Turlough O’Carolan.[4]
The band was launched during the Dublin Theatre Festival in September 1960, at the Shelbourne Hotel, at an event called Reacaireacht an Riadaigh (Ó Riada’s Recital). Included in the program were traditional singers, writer Seán Ó Ríordáin and poet Seán Ó Tuama. In March of the following year Ó Riada recorded the first of a series of radio programmes for which he retained the name Reacaireacht an Riadaigh, and included music played by Ceoltóirí Chualann.[5] Soon after the band’s formation, Peadar Mercier and Seán Keane joined.”
Here they are for your listening pleasure.
A wonderful YT comment:
“Just loved it! ..brought me back to ..Fleadh Cheoil an Radio…every Monday evening..All our family ‘stopped’ to listen…This old ‘ Radio Eireann ‘ programme was actually ‘ Revolutionary’ ( in a cultural sense ).and it gave us back our pride in our traditional music..which thankfully, continues to today..Thanks to ..COMHALTAS…..So much grew from this programme..!!”
Still Loving it…We loved Monday nights in our house..With ..Fleadh Cheoil an Radio…Everybody danced…Irish style..We need more of these programmes..
And now the golden voice of Sean O’ Se accompanied by Ceoltóirí Chualann
I tried to find the name of that gorgeous song h is singing. It might be Nil Sen La.
Here are Clannad with their version.
Late last night I stumbled across his rather recent TV interview on the Late Late Show with Christy Moore. @retropath02 posted a previous interview but I think he’s worth a second appearance
His final song is Viva la Quinta Brigada, a celebration of the Irishmen who fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.
In the churches, priests were urging the worshippers to go and fight for Franco.
That brings us on to another war which Ry Cooder and The Chieftains made an album about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Patricio_(album)
“San Patricio is an album by the Irish musical group, The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder, released in 2010. It was their first album with Hear Music and the first studio album in over six years since Further Down the Old Plank Road (2003). It tells the story of the San Patricio battalion—a group of mainly Irish immigrant volunteer soldiers who deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).”
As we’ve finally got round to The Chieftains, let’s brighten Sunday morning with this.
I was fascinated to discover that in 2002 Sinead O’Connor released an album Sean-Nos Nua (New Old Style) on which she sung traditional Irish songs. You can listen to it on Yer Tube.
One of the producers was reggae maestro, Adrian Sherwood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean-N%C3%B3s_Nua
One track is an epic duet with Christy Moore: Lord Baker.
Not Tigger-tested the album yet but on one listen it sounds very promising.
Claddagh Records proved to be very interesting. They have a top notch website which is a great pleasure to browse.
https://claddaghrecords.com/
They also have two shops in Dublin. Here’s an eccentric (?German) You Tuber visiting them back in 2015.
All very DIY but I got a useful impression of the shop and a musical tip from the staff.
Dublin band: Skipper’s Alley.
Buachaillín Deas Óg Mé
Why She Couldn’t Drink Her Tea
Back to our eccentric German Tuber. His thing is to visit small shops of many different kinds and let the staff tell about them. It’s rather amateur but definitely interesting.
Here he is visiting a Catholic bookshop in Cork.
I can’t help but be fascinated by it all.
That reminded me of the late, great Pete McCarthy, a wonderfully amusing chap. He had many acerbic comments on the might of the church in Ireland
I can warmly recommend McCarthy’s Bar. I suspect many of you have already read it.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/englishman-irishman-travel-writer-comedian-pete-mccarthy-loses-battle-with-cancer-aged-51-27652.html