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This account of Eamon Flynn’s life was contributed by his cousin, Helen Broderick, as part of his inclusion in the Saothar series, January 2024.
I recently came across a Career Guidance website that used codes to ascertain career choices in individuals. It described musicians as “tending to be predominantly artistic, meaning that they are creative and original and work well in a setting that allows for self-expression. They also tend to be enterprising, and good at influencing others. If you are one or both of these archetypes, you may be well suited to be a musician. However, if you are conventional, this is probably not a good career for you” This brought a smile to my face, since I immediately thought of Eamon Flynn, who is a musical genius, original, creative, and enterprising and most definitely not conventional in any sense of the word!
We were chatting in Eamon’s house, the place where he was born and raised, in Mountcollins. It’s a home I’m very familiar with since I’ve been visiting there for most of my life. Eamon’s mother, Nell Davy Lenihan Flynn, was my grandaunt, sister to my grandfather, and Eamon now remains the only surviving first cousin of my late mothers. We are regular callers to his house, mostly to play a few tunes but also to hear the wonderful stories that he tells us of his musical adventures through his life.
Eamon was born in Mountcollins, Co. Limerick in 1937 and began playing tin whistle at age six at family gatherings and sessions at home and at his uncle’s, Daheen Davy Lenihan, who taught him how to read and write music. His mother Ellen Lenihan Flynn played concertina and was always lilting tunes. His brothers also played accordion, especially Con, who was eight years older than Eamon.
My brother Con was playing the accordion as far back as I can remember. He would hide it from me when I was a young lad, but I’d play it when I got a chance. When Con finally decided to let me have a go at it, the expression on his face when I started walloping out tunes was priceless!
Eamon took fiddle lessons from Martin Ward of Tournafulla and by age twelve, he was an accomplished player of both fiddle and accordion. “I love the accordion, but I had more scope with the fiddle since I was able to play with folk bands, and even pop and rock and roll bands.” He told me. “Folk groups built everything around fiddle music, songs, and tunes. When the dancehalls went, that type of show took over.” At the time, he had many interests, including fishing and football, and won a county medal with Abbeyfeale when they won a County Minor Championship in 1955, but ultimately, music was his first love. His closest friends during his teenage years were the renowned ‘Paddy Gerry’ O’ Connor family in Brosna, brothers Patrick, Donal, and Liam. They learned their tunes together and amassed a huge collection of music. They played everywhere together and had many great nights at Noreen O’ Connell’s bar in Abbeyfeale. Donal, the only surviving brother, still visits Eamon and they still play many of the old tunes together. Besides local sessions, dances and concerts, Eamon eventually travelled throughout Ireland and England with popular music groups, playing traditional music concerts in pubs, dance halls, on concert stages, and on television and folk radio programs in Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland. He played with the All-Ireland Champion Brosna Ceili Band from Co. Kerry, and his music was recognised far and wide. He played for many years with the Moloney family, in a band called ‘The Star of Munster’. When he was in his late teens, he travelled over and back to England, filling in for accordion players in the dance halls. “They were modern bands, and I wouldn’t stay too long. I knew all of the older musicians that were there that time, like Roger Sherlock, Bobby Casey, Willie Clancy, all those guys”. He knew the now famous Sliabh Luachra player, Padraig O Keefe. “I bought him many a pint” Eamon laughed. He also toured the UK with the well-known popular Shandrum Ceili Band with Michael O Mahony “When I was leaving for the States, the whole band accompanied me to the airport. We played music while I waited to board the plane until the air hostess at the top of the steps finally shouted “Flynn, come on, we have to go!” he laughed.
In 1959, Eamon emigrated to the U.S. and his first stop was Lawrence Massachusetts, where he worked at this trade, which was carpentry. In 1960, he was conscripted into the American army and although he served six months in active duty only, he was six years in military life. This was during the Cuban and Berlin crisis. He would get weekends away and go to New York to visit the dancehalls and look at the music scene. After his term was over, he went back to working in his trade and was in the Carpenter’s Union. Less than a year later, he left there and headed to Boston, the home of the Irish community. He heard through the grapevine that a dance hall was looking for an accordion player and he applied straight away and got going. He started to play with The New State Ballroom Ceili Band, resident band at Bill Fuller’s New State Ballroom at 217 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. “We were getting big bucks at that time” Eamon said “Twice the pay of anywhere else. We played two nights a week there, to an average audience of around eight hundred people.” Eamon played with Mike McHale, Des Regan, Sean McGlynn, George Shanley, and Paddy Cronin at City Centre and Jaeger House in New York City, at Keeneland in Chicago, and in Baltimore and elsewhere.
He stayed with the band for a few years, until folk music started to become the music of choice with audiences. “The big names at the time were The Clancy Brothers” he said “For a long time, I didn’t play with any particular band, but I played with all of them just the same because they’d look for me to gig with them. I was busy all the time, but also worked at my trade by day” he told me. Tommy Mackem had a club in New York at the time called the Irish Pavilion and Eamon played there. He also travelled all over Boston with showbands, playing interludes in evenings of musical variety, including traditional, folk songs and rock-and-roll. He even learned to play bass guitar at one time and played with the Des Regan Showband in Boston. They travelled all over New York, Chicago and Boston playing back up for Brendan Boyer’s Royal Showband.
He then joined the Hanafin Cooley branch of Comhaltas, based in Boston and played with the Connaught Ceili Band, with some of the greats like Tommy Sheridan, Brendan Tonra, and Larry Reynolds. They toured Ireland and the UK. By this time, he had been married for many years and had six children.
The last band he played with was called The Irish Mist, with singer Joe Glynn from Galway. Eamon left Boston at the age of forty-eight, after his marriage sadly, had ended. He was never a fan of the city, always preferring the countryside. He spent much of his youth on the banks of the local rivers fishing and loved nature and the great outdoors. It was therefore no surprise that he fell in love with Vermont, his next home. Vermont is second-least-populated U.S. state and the only state in New England region that does not border the Atlantic Oceans. Although Vermont is an inland state, it has beaches and water sports at the Lake Champlain, along with many lakes, streams, and swimming holes. In the centre of this region is Green Mountain National Forest. He fell in love with a big old house, in a rural area, and after purchasing it, he started fixing it up. Sometime later he also remarried and had a daughter, Sarah. When it was ready, he and his second wife Vicky and his daughter moved in. “I thought to myself, that’s the end of the music scene for me. I worked at my trade and was happy”. But his friend Bill McComiskey, New York born box player, had other ideas for Eamon and informed the musicians of Vermont that he had taken up residency, and they too had very different plans for him. “It seemed that they were there and waiting for me” Eamon laughed.
One day, I went to a pub in Montpellier and this guy, Sid Bloom, comes up to me and handed me an accordion. He said, “I hear you play one of these”. I hadn’t played a box in ten years, but I sat down with it, it was a C sharp D Paolo Soprano, and started to play. Within minutes, a crowd gathered around me. And that’s how it started again
he said. It was through that introduction that Eamon met Benedict Koehler, a world-renowned Piper and Pipe maker. He taught Benedict’s wife Hilari how to play accordion, and they became fast friends.
He did a radio interview in Vermont and realised that many people didn’t know jigs from reels, so he started to explain about his music, and its origins, of which he has a vast knowledge. He also spoke of Sliabh Luachra and his own origins with the tradition. I asked him about his favourite genre of music. “In those days, I didn’t have a favourite because I loved all types, but nowadays, I just love hardcore trad” he answered, showing how musical tastes develop in the course of a lifetime. “I’ve gone full circle, I now feel real traditional music is my genre, not just the tune, but the ornamentation, the feeling, the soul that can be brought to the notes.” Even though he played some very fast music in his time, he never played at such speed that wouldn’t allow for the ornamentation that he was famous for. Eamon recorded several solo albums, and one with other artists called ‘We’re Irish Still’ in a nod to their roots. ‘An Irish Night in Vermont’, ‘Traditional Music of Ireland’ and ‘Down by the Glenside’ are still widely played over the airwaves today. During his early days in Vermont, a Presbyterian church nearby, across the border in New Hampshire, was fundraising for refurbishment costs. Eamon organised a concert, at the request of the reverend. “I got on the phone and got a ton of my music friends lined up, from Boston and beyond”. On the way there the night of the concert, Eamon was held up in traffic. He thought there had been an accident. In fact, it was traffic all heading in the direction of the concert. “The place was packed. The reverend feared that the balcony would cave in, but it was a great success” he told me. His reputation as a master craftsman also grew, and he was asked to restore an historical part of an old Methodist church that was near his home. He restored twelve horse stalls back to how they originally were, with old wood and stone. It’s fair to say that the community were thrilled to see it, and Eamon became something of a hero in their eyes. He loved his old homestead too. He gradually refurbished all the house, renovating it and also doing landscaping. He had maple trees in his garden. In the early days, a neighbour had jokingly given him a tiny maple sapling to plant. “I took it from him and planted it in my front garden”. His neighbours joked that he was being a bit optimistic, but “the tree loved where it was planted, and took off like a bullet”. It grew to be a huge tree, and he was able to harvest the maple syrup from it. At one time, I was the lucky recipient of a quart of Eamon’s organic Maple syrup which is absolutely delicious. In the meantime, his friend Hilari asked him to consider teaching classes. She wanted to get an apprenticeship up and running through the Folklife Centre. The Vermont Folklife Centre Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program was initiated over thirty years ago to support Vermont’s living cultural heritage. An apprenticeship is a face-to-face learning opportunity in which an experienced artist teaches students. When Eamon agreed, he was interviewed for the job, and immediately was asked to join the Arts Council.
That started me getting more and more into the music again.
Being the only Irishman in the vicinity, he was well received, and he started to teach not just music, but about the culture of Ireland. The people loved it. “They were really a lovely people. They were like the people who were here in Ireland when I was a young lad” Eamon said “it felt like I was at home. In fact, I wrote a tune called “Going Home” because of it. We just hit it off” He travelled all over Vermont with his music. Vermont is roughly the size of the Republic of Ireland. He met many musicians and made lifelong friends. He also met country and western stars like Merle Haggard. He loved his time in Vermont. But eventually, after thirty years living there, he and Vicky moved back to Ireland. “From the time I left Ireland, my plan was always to end up back home” he said. “No matter what I had done with my life, I knew I wanted to die at home” Eamon is thankfully in great shape and has no intention of dying. “I’ve lived two lifetimes and I’m well into my third” he laughed. He is now living in the home he was born in, eighty-five years ago.
Eamon was inducted to The Hall of Fame by The Northeast Region of the North American Province on November 5, 2005.
Seamus Connolly, the renowned Irish Fiddle player and collector of music, compiled an index of music which is known as the Connolly Collection. He features several of Eamon’s compositions. Connolly said “I have known and admired the music of Eamon Flynn since 1957. Eamon, like myself, lived in Boston for many years, and we often played music together. When Eamon decided to move to the state of Vermont, he began to compose some smashing tunes. And, yes, Eamon did eventually go home to his native Mountcollins in County Limerick, where he now resides and continues to play and compose.” They remain fast friends to this day. In fact, Eamon told me
I always test a new tune on Seamus. If he likes it, I go with it
They’re in regular contact. Seamus rang Eamon recently and told him he had come across another great collection of tunes by Eamon, all Sliabh Luachra polkas and slides. He promised to send them on to Eamon on CD.
At one time while Eamon still lived in Vermont, Mance Grady, whose roots as a classically trained percussionist, and bodhrán maker, are what make him the versatile and virtuosic player that he is today, said of Eamon “”Residing in the Northeast Kingdom seventy miles from the Canadian border in rural Vermont lives a wonderfully talented musician and composer whose proficiency on fiddle, box, and whistles is like a hidden treasure. Those who have been fortunate enough to see Eamon in performance or have one of his albums know what I mean. I have had the pleasure of accompanying Eamon in performance and on several tracks on his latest album, and I highly recommend that if you have the opportunity to hear him, do so. You won’t regret it.”
Since returning to Ireland ten years ago, Eamon has faced many challenges. He struggled with some health issues and in the interim, he sadly lost his wife, a son, and his youngest daughter Sarah. It’s a hard pill to swallow. The last of his siblings, Connie, is interred in Eamon’s family grave in Mountcollins. But Eamon is stoic and continues to compose and write music, often titling his compositions after loved ones, such as Sarah’s Valentine, Nell Davy’s Reel, and more. He is a joy to visit, and even though I always say at the start of the visit that I’m staying a couple of hours, inevitable the visit lasts for several hours since time has no meaning in his company. His cat Duke, brought to Ireland from Vermont, is twenty-one years old and sits regally on his perch while demanding attention, and the energy in the house is light and inviting. An animal and nature lover all his life, Eamon has arranged that when he passes, Duke, if still alive, will be euthanised and cremated and buried with him, his wife and daughter. He is in regular contact with his family in the States, including his first wife. His house is a house of music, storytelling, and laughter. On any given night of the week, musicians can be found playing in the sitting room, indulging in refreshments of fruit and drinks, and it really is one of the best places a lover of traditional music can be. He still has many young musician callers, along with many of his older musician friends who regularly stay with him. He goes to sessions in the locality, and the many festivals that take place around the country. My brothers Jimmy, Davy and cousin Rita and I always enjoy a night at the “Gate”.
The great Maya Angelou once said “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” This is true of Eamon and his music. He will leave a future legacy that will outlive generations of musicians. “I’m happy here” Eamon said. “I’ve a good life and have plans for the future”. During the pandemic, he didn’t rest on his laurels. He composed several more beautiful, melodic tunes, many of which are now being played by musicians that have visited his home in recent times. It’s always a thrill to be given one of Eamon’s tunes. Sometime in the near future, we hope to see his music complied in a single book, for musicians to enjoy worldwide, and for providence.
In truth, this is just a snippet of his life. It would take a book to tell it all. There’s lots of stories in eighty-five years of living the life he did. “I was one of the lucky ones, I followed my heart” he told me. Eamon’s music would never be allowed to die or be forgotten. It’s essentially a part of him, a make-up of his DNA that can’t be denied. I am thrilled that he has permitted me to do this, and grateful for his time and patience! But most of all, I’m incredibly privileged that he and I share a bloodline that goes back hundreds of years. I look forward to many more nights of music and conversation with this incredible man who I am honoured to know.
Helen Broderick, December 2023
