'They Love Music Mightily' – All tracks

Tom Mhick's, Dálaigh's, Julia Clifford's (polkas)
Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich - accordion

Breanndán comes from a musical family from the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry. As well as playing the accordion, he is also a highly regarded singer. He plays three polkas in this recording which are commonly played in his locality.

Among the many attractive features of Breanndán's music is his use of the bass notes on the accordion which greatly adds to the sense of excitement and urgency he generates in his performance of dance music. This recording is typical of his music in general, which is full of passion and energy and captivates the listener from the outset. Breanndán is a professional musician who plays as a solo artist and he is also a member of the groups Beginish and The Boys of the Lough.

The Flower of Magherally (song)
Patricia Flynn – singer

A native of Dromintee, Co. Armagh, Patricia lived in England in the 1970s.  Since settling in Mullaghbane, Co. Armagh, in 1980 she has learnt many of the songs from that area.  Here she sings ‘The Flower of Magherally’, which is associated with neighbouring Co. Down.  One of the most notable features of this song is its peculiar rhyming scheme.

As well as having drawn extensively from the repertoire of Mullaghbane singer and storyteller Mick Quinn, Patricia has a high regard for Tyrone singers Sarah-Anne O’Neill and the late Geordie Hanna.  She has also been influenced by Róisín White from Co. Down.

Gusty’s Frolics, Hardiman the Fiddler (slip jigs)
Paul O'Shaughnessy – fiddle

The two slip-jigs which Paul plays here are associated with the Donegal fiddle-playing tradition.  ‘Gusty’s Frolics’ was composed by Gustavus Nicholls, a landlord and uilleann piper who lived in Co. Leitrim in the first half of the nineteenth century.  The second tune is the Donegal version of ‘Hardiman the Fiddler’. 

Paul, a Dubliner, was introduced to traditional music by his mother Pearl, who also plays the fiddle.  He became particularly interested in the fiddle music of Donegal and is one of the leading exponents of that style.  A personal friend of the late Con Cassidy (1909-94) from Teelin and Francie Byrne (1902-87) from Kilcar, Paul has assimilated much of the repertoire and technique of these important Donegal musicians into his own playing.  Formerly a member of the group Altán, he now plays with Beginish.

John Naughton's, The Reel with the Birl (reels)
Mary MacNamara – concertina

The first of these titles commemorates a respected east-Clare concertina player who was one of Mary’s main influences.  The second tune was a favourite of Elizabeth Crotty (1885-1960), a celebrated concertina player from Kilrush, Co. Clare, who came to prominence in her broadcasts with Radió Éireann in the 1950s.

Mary lives in Tulla in east Clare and her concertina playing is typical of the unhurried style associated with that area.  She has absorbed much of the repertoire and technique of respected players such as John Naughton and Mickey Donoghue.  Traditional music in this area is renowned both for the richness of the repertoire found there and the measured pace favoured by its practitioners.

My Charming Edward Boyle (song)
Rosie Stewart – singer

This song from the Roslea area of Co. Fermanagh vividly portrays the sadness of a young woman whose sweetheart has gone to America in search of his fortune.

Rosie is from Rogagh, near Garrison, Co. Fermanagh.  Singing and music were very much part of her upbringing and she learnt a number of local songs from her father Packie McKeaney.  Other early influences were the late Francis Joseph Judge and Eugene Edward Judge from her own locality.  Rosie regularly gives workshops in traditional singing and is keen to pass on her expertise to the next generation.

The Lost and Found, Kimmel's (jigs)
John Carty – banjo

John learnt to play Irish traditional music as a teenager in London in the 1970s.  As well as playing the banjo, he is also a wonderful fiddle player and an accomplished flute player.

He plays two unusual jigs on this recording.  The first was composed by the Co. Tipperary accordion player Paddy O’Brien (1922–91).  The second is associated with John Kimmel (1866–1942), an accordion player born in New York of German immigrant parents, who made a number of successful commercial recordings in his lifetime.

John Carty developed an interest in traditional music from listening to his father who played flute, fiddle and saxophone.  In London he was exposed to the main regional styles of traditional music, but he is especially interested in the music of the south Sligo area and is highly respected for his interpretation of this wonderful body of music.  John plays and teaches traditional music professionally.  He moved to Co. Roscommon in 1991.

Cuimhne an Phíobaire (air)
Seán Potts – whistle

Seán composed this air ‘Cuimhne an Phíobaire’ (A Piper Remembered) in memory of his grandfather, John Potts (1871–1956), a highly respected uilleann piper, whose house in the Liberties area of Dublin was a regular meeting place for musicians from all over Ireland.

Seán was a member of two of the most famous groups in the history of Irish traditional music, Ceoltóirí Chualann and The Chieftains.  The chief influences on his music have been the dance music of Clare and Sligo and the Irish-language song tradition of Kerry and Connemara.  He also has a deep interest in the uilleann pipes.  As a teenager he took lessons from the great Dublin piper Tommy Reck (1921–91) who had been a pupil of Seán’s grandfather John Potts.  Seán has been chairperson of Na Piobairí Uilleann, (The Society of Uilleann Pipers) since 1988.

Thiar i gConnachta (song)
Treasa Ní Laifeartaigh – singer

In this recording Treasa sings ‘Thiar i gConnachta’ (Over in Connacht).  According to the Tory islanders, a local fisherman learnt this song whie he was taking shelter after becoming storm-bound somewhere in Connacht.  It has been popular among the islanders ever since.  It concerns the plight of a young woman who has been subjected to an arranged marriage to a much older man.

Treasa was born and raised on Tory Island, nine miles off the coast of north-west Donegal.  The island remains predominately Irish-speaking.  Treasa learnt much of her repertoire from an uncle of hers, one of the finest singers on the island, Séamus  Ó Mianáin, better known to the islanders as Jimmy Shéamuis Bháin (1877–1991).  Treasa settled in the town of Falcarragh on the mainland a number of years ago.

Loftus Jones (harp piece)
Paul Dooley – harp

Paul plays on a harp made by himself which is based on a medieval harp-type found in Ireland.  Its sound is much brighter than that of the contemporary Irish harp.  He plays a piece composed by the famous harper and composer Tulough Carolan (1670-1738) in honour of Loftus Jones from Ardnaglass, Co. Sligo, who died in 1781.

Unlike most modern harps, which generally have nylon strings, the harp Paul plays has strings made from harpsichord wire and adapted guitar strings.  By plucking them with his fingernails, in keeping with the practice of the medieval Irish harpers, the sound he produces must be very close to the sound of the Irish harp in medieval times which had brass strings.  Born in Quebec, Paul lives in Co. Clare.

Bessy the Beauty of Rossinure Hill (air)
Gary Hastings – flute

The song on which this air is based is still commonly sung in Fermanagh.  Gary learnt it from fiddle player and singer Mick Hoy from Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh.

Gary was introduced to traditional music while studying at the University of Ulster in Coleraine in the late 1970s.  As was the case with a number of Belfast flute players of his generation, he became particularly interested in the music of Fermanagh and learned many tunes from two well-known flute players from that county, the late Eddie  Duffy from Derrygonnelly and Cathal McConnell from Derrylin, a founder member of the group The Boys of the Lough.  Gary is a Church of Ireland minister based in Westport, Co. Mayo.

Oíche Nollag (jig)
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin – piano

Mícheál is Professor of Music at the University of Limerick.  Here he plays a jazz-influenced improvisation of the traditional jig ‘Oíche Nollag’ (Christmas Eve).

Mícheál was brought up in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, and studied music in University College, Cork.  He was a lecturer in the music department of that university from 1975 to 1993.  In that year he was appointed to the chair of music in the University of Limerick where he established the Irish World Music Center in 1994.  He is well known for his work in blending Irish traditional music with other types of music, most notably classical music and jazz.  Many of his own compositions reflect this fusion of musical genres.  Mícheál scripted and presented The River of Sound television series in 1995 which generated much debate in the world of Irish traditional music.

Sliabh Geal gCua na Féile (song)
Éamonn Ó Bróithe – singer

The song ‘Sliabh Geal gCua na Féile’ (Bright, hospitable Sliabh gCua) was composed by the Co. Waterford poet Pádraig  Ó Miléadha (1877–1947) while he was living in Wales in 1912.  The song praises the attributes of his native place Sliabh gCua.

As well as being a highly –regarded singer Éamonn is well-known as an uilleann piper.  Born in Dublin, he has been living in Co. Galway for a number of years.  Éamonn has a great interest in the Irish-language song tradition of the Waterford Gaeltacht and the great songs of the Munster literary tradition of the eighteenth century.

The Banks of Lough Gowna (jig)
Ronan Browne – uilleann pipes

Ronan inherited his interest in traditional music from his parents while growing up in south Co. Dublin.  He has developed his own personal, attractive style of piping.  In this recording he plays the double jig ‘The Banks of Lough Gowna’ which is frequently associated with the famous uilleann piper Willie Clancy (1918–73) from Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare.

Ronan’s maternal grandmother was the famous ballad singer Delia Murphy (1902–71).  An impressive collection of field recordings of influential traditional musicians made by his parents in the 1960s had a great impact on Ronan in his formative years as a musician.  One of the highlights of his music is his imaginative use of the regulators which provide a harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment to the melody.  A professional musician, Ronan plays with the group Cran and he has also played with the group The Afro-Celt Sound System.