| Clare County Library | Live Traditional Music
Sessions: The Musicians |
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The Musicians |
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The notes below draw heavily on Barry
Taylor’s book Music in a Breeze of Wind: Traditional Dance
Music in west Clare 1870-1970. Danganella Press (2013). Clare County
Library is grateful to Barry for permission to use this material.
Vincent (Vincie) Boyle, a native of Mount Scott, Mullagh,
grew up on a farm, but left in 1978 to live in Miltown Malbay. He has
sung all his life and comes from a musical and singing background; his
father was a singer, his brother James is a whistle and harmonica player
and many others of his family sang and played. Read
more...
Born in London, Kevin Burke started playing the fiddle when he was seven or eight years of age. Read more...
Born in Glendree, near Tulla, Co. Clare, Paddy came
from a family steeped in traditional music. One of three boys, both
Paddy and his brothers learned much of their music from their father,
who also gave lessons to some of the local children. A lot of Pat Canny’s
music was learnt from the blind fiddler, Pat McNamara who stayed with
the Cannys during the winter months for a period of three or four years.
Read more...
Born in Annagh, Mullagh, Bobby Casey was the son of renowned fiddle player, John ‘Scully’ Casey. Bobby was thirteen when Scully died by which time he is reputed to have had every tune his father played. His early playing was at house dances, where he often played with his sister Anna. Close neighbour Junior Crehan was a regular visitor to the Casey household and was an early influence on the younger Bobby. He enjoyed a close friendship with Willie Clancy and the joined the Tulla Céilí Band together around 1948. By 1950, Bobby and Willie had moved to Dublin, but in 1952 Bobby moved to London in search of work, where he was to marry and to live for much of the rest of his life. He was one of many Irish musicians in London at that time, and formed a musical partnership with Tommy McCarthy with whom he played all over England. He composed many tunes, which were often simply known as ‘Bobby Casey's’. These include The Porthole of the Kelp, The Hairy Chested Frog and Quilty Shore. He returned to Clare frequently and performed and taught at the Willie Clancy Summer School. He won the All-Ireland fiddle title in 1952 and in 1968. His recordings include Taking Flight ( 1979), Casey in the Cowhouse (recorded 1959, released 1991), The Spirit of West Clare (2007) and Maestro - the Music of Bobby Casey (2015) . He also appeared on the compilations Paddy in the Smoke (1968) and Ceol an Chláir (c.1976). Bobby playing was marked by a high level of technical ability and his ornamentation and imaginative variations mark him as one of the leading traditional musicians of his time.
Thady Casey was born in Annagh, in 1884. He was the
youngest of the family of Tom and Mamie Casey. Tom Casey had been a
teacher at Annagh School and was renowned as both a flute player and
a dancer. The Casey house was a regular venue for ‘swarees’
and, with so much music in the air, it is hardly surprising that a number
of the Casey children became accomplished musicians and dancers. According
to his daughter Peggy, Thady was playing the tin whistle by the age
of three and. later, progressed to the wooden flute, probably playing
a flute that his aunts had sent from the USA to his father. At some
stage, he began to play the concertina, which had also been played by
both his father and grandfather. However, the pinnacle of his musical
accomplishment was the fiddle, which he learned in tandem with his cousin
Scully. Thady did not say that any specific person taught him the fiddle
but, undoubtedly, Billy O’Donnell, of whom little is known, was
a great influence on both Thady and his cousin Scully, with whom he
played regularly at house dances. In his early years, Thady had become
a proficient dancer and, in an interview with Ciarán Mac Mathúna,
recalled dancing barefoot to the playing of piper Garrett Barry at the
age of nine years. During his life, he acquired a enviable reputation
as both a dancer and a dance teacher and his house in Annagh became
famous as a venue for dancing and music. Thady taught dancing to many
local people and also taught the fiddle to Willie Clancy and Junior
Crehan, among others.
.
Born on Christmas Eve, 1918, Willie grew up in an atmosphere of music, singing and storytelling. Both his parents, Ellen and Gilbert, sang and played instruments. Willie started playing the whistle at the age of five. He was greatly influenced by his grandmother, by his father and by Garrett Barry, the legendary blind piper from Inagh. Read more...
Pat Costello, from Moycarkey, Co. Tipperary, lives
in Shannon. He is the singer with the band Shaskeen and he also plays
guitar, bouzouki, banjo and mandolin. He plays on the CD Life in
the Slow Lane: Traditional Music from County Clare (2010) with
Seamus Bugler, Paddy O’Donoghue and Pat Mullins. He is a regular
presenter of traditional music programmes on local radio station, Clare
FM. Pat was the drummer in the Turloughmore Céilí Band,
which was runner-up for the All-Ireland céilí band title
in 2006.
Ita Crehan is from Bonavella, Mullagh. Along with her
brother Tony and sister Angela, Ita played the tin-whistle in the Briseadh
na Lice Céilí Band, which was successful in junior competitions
at county level. In 1959, she helped to record fiddle player Bobby Casey
on one of his visits home, with the recordings later used to produce
the cassette ‘Casey in the Cowhouse’. Ita produced ‘The
last House in Ballymakea’ (2CDs) featuring her father, Junior
Crehan, and other musicians.
In addition to being an accomplished player, Kieran Crehan is a violin maker and repairer, and proprietor of Crehan Musical Instruments in Dublin. His father was Patrick Vincent Crehan (tin-whistle and concertina), youngest brother of Junior Crehan, who, as a member of the Army Air Corps, was a long-time resident in Dublin. Along with his brothers and sisters, Kieran spent many summers at the Crehan family home in Bonavella, Mullagh, where he picked up much music from his uncle. Playing with his sister Claire and brother Dermot, Kieran was a prolific winner at county, provincial and All-Ireland fleadhanna. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the trio played in cabaret, both in Ireland the UK. In 1970, they were winners of the UK TV competition ‘Opportunity Knocks’ and went on to win the international version. Kieran Crehan was also a member of the band ‘Reel Union’, along with John Faulkner and Dolores Keane.
Margaret Crehan is from Bonavella, Mullagh. She is a daughter of Martin ‘Junior’ Crehan.
Junior Crehan was born in 1908 at Bonavilla, in the
town land of Ballymakea, Mullagh, parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane, Co.
Clare. He was the third of ten children born to Martin Crehan, principal
of the local national school, and Margaret ‘Baby’ Scanlon,
who was a distant relation of the piper Garrett Barry. Junior began
learning music on the tin whistle and concertina at the age of 6 from
his mother. Later he learned to play the fiddle from well-known and
respected fiddle players John Scully (Bobby Casey’s father) and
Thady Casey who lived close by. All music was transmitted aurally. The
Limerick dancing master Pat Barron taught him step-dancing and dance
tunes. Junior was a keen step dancer and set dancer, storyteller and
singer with a vast repertoire. He absorbed the many facets of tradition,
becoming an accomplished fiddle and concertina player, composer of tunes
and songs, which relate to local happenings and personalities such as
Scully Casey and Willie Clancy. Read
more...
Mick Crehan lives in Galway where he owns the well-known traditional music pub he Crane Bar. He is a brother of Niall, Terry, & Kieran and a nephew of Junior Crehan.
Niall Crehan is the youngest son of the accomplished whistle and concertina player Vincent Crehan (brother to Junior Crehan). Thanks to the efforts of his father, Niall was a highly proficient violinist from a young age in both Irish traditional music and classical music. He won the Father Matthew feis in under 14's and also won a multitude of competitions in the fleadh with groupí ceol and also in slow air competitions. Niall ran the renowned music shop Crehan Musical instruments with his brother Kieran which now, thanks to their efforts, caters for high end to beginner musicians in both classical and traditional music. Niall lives in Kildare where he teaches and can be seen at many sessions throughout the year, continuing on his family's long tradition. He is a brother of Kieran, Terry, & Mick and a nephew of Junior Crehan.
Tony Crehan (1943 – 1995) was the eldest son
of Junior Crehan and was born in Bonavella, Mullagh. Before becoming
a noted concertina player, Tony was an accomplished button accordion
player, on which he played in the Briseadh na Lice Céilí
Band, with his sisters Angela and Ita. Like his father, Junior, he also
composed tunes. Tony worked in the forestry and later married and settled
in Gorey, Co. Wexford, where he was involved with the local branch of
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
Terry Crehan is from Dublin. He is a brother of Niall and Kieran, cousin to Mick and a nephew of Junior Crehan. Terry is recognised as one of the leading teachers of the fiddle in Dublin.
Angela Crehan Crotty is from Bonavella, Mullagh. She is a daughter of Martin ‘Junior’ Crehan and was married to flute-player PJ Crotty. With brother Tony and sister Ita, Angela played in the Briseadh na Lice Céilí Band. Angela produced a booklet of her father's tunes and recollections - Martin Junior Crehan: Musical Compositions and Memories.
In the 1950s Mrs Crotty was one of the best known and highly respected traditional musicians in Ireland. She was born Elizabeth Markham on 6th December, 1885 in Gower, Cooraclare in West Clare. Her family were small farmers and she grew up in a home that was filled with music. Her mother played the fiddle, having learned the instrument from a travelling blind fiddler named the Schooner Breen. Her sister Maggie played the concertina. They played together for local house dances, weddings, christenings and "American wakes" but in those days only a very small number of women publicly played Irish traditional music. Read more...
PJ Crotty came from a musical family in Moyasta, south west Clare. His father was a fiddle player and the house was a regular venue for house dances. PJ and his brother, Peader, learned to play whistle from their two sisters before progressing to the flute. The Crottys were neighbours of the great fiddle player Nell Galvin and Peadar remembered regular visits to her house. Along with accordion player Peter Haugh, the two brothers played regularly at house dances before PJ emigrated to London in 1969, where he became a part of the London Irish music scene along with such as Roger Sherlock, Bobby Casey and Tom McCarthy. In the 1970s, PJ helped form the band Le Cheile, with Raymond Roland, Liam Farrell, Danny Meehan, John Roe, Tom Madden and Kevin Boyle. They played mainly around London and recorded two LPs. In 1971, PJ linked up with fiddle player, Kevin Burke, to play at The Singers Club in King’s Cross, London. Shortly after, Kevin and PJ were invited to provide the music for the Danish National Theatre’s production of The Hostage and toured Denmark for six months with the company. The recordings of PJ Crotty were made by Jim Carroll and Pat McKenzie, firstly at the Singers Club in London and, later, at PJ’s suggestion, in the kitchen of the takeaway food shop in Lahinch, which he had opened with his wife Angela (nee Crehan) on their return to Ireland.
Joe Cuneen was a contemporary and close neighbour of flute player and piper Michael Falsey from Seafield, Quilty. Joe was confined to a wheelchair for much of his life and, therefore, unable to travel outside his immediate locality. However, his ability on the whistle and flute attracted many visitors to Quilty, where he could be heard playing regularly
Born at Clashduff, Kilkishen, Francie started playing
the fiddle at eight years of age and his first teacher was his mother
Mary, who was also a fiddle player. An uncle, James Connellan and sister
were also noted fiddlers. Like most musicians of his generation, crossroads
dances and house dances, threshing dances and American wakes were the
mainstay in younger years, before the advent of the lounge bar. Long
regarded as a fine exponent of East Clare fiddling, Francie played with
the Tulla Céilí Band for the first time around 1947, replacing
original Band member Bert McNulty, until domestic responsibilities forced
his ‘retirement’ in the early 1950s. Subsequently, Francie
formed and played with the Inchicronan Céilí Band, which
included his son Brian (d. 1986) on flute. The Inchicronan won the Senior
Munster Fleadh in 1982 and were runners-up to Paddy O’Brien’s
Ormond Céilí Band in the All-Ireland. Among the talented
musicians in the band was Martin Hayes, on banjo. Francie also played
with a number of musicians locally over the years including Steve Donnellan,
Pat MacMahon, John Duggan and Michael Treacy. After some persuasion,
Francie rejoined the Tulla Band in 1987 and was still playing with them
up to his untimely death in 2000. He made several recordings with the
Band, including the 40th and 50th anniversary CDs. He was also part
of a number of the Tulla Band tours to the UK and US. During the latter
period, his duets with P. Joe Hayes has been much in demand - the two
fiddles evoking much of the atmosphere of an earlier recording made
by P. Joe Hayes and Paddy Canny. Francie and P. Joe were the mainstays
of the Wednesday night session at Pepper’s Bar in Feakle over
a number of years.
JP Downes came from Quilty where his father Jimmy was a flute player. He learned the flute by ear from those around him and played with the Quilty Céilí Band before emigrating to England. On his return, he played with the local Leon Group and the trio of Michael Falsey, Paddy Galvin and himself were legendary in the West Clare area. A 2006 recording of his playing and singing was released in 2011 as ‘Traditional Flute Music from Quilty, Co Clare’.
The single storied house that was the home of Michael Downes and his wife Bridie for many years stands in Cloonlaheen West near the shores of Doolough, in the gently sloping foothills of Sliabh Callan. Michael was born in 1918 in the once thatched cottage, situated a hundred yards away from his later home. . . Like Junior [Crehan], Michael was a farmer but, like many Irish small farmers, also had a full-time job, working as a road worker with Clare County Council. Michael’s mother played the concertina and a little fiddle music but Michael was only ever interested in playing the fiddle. This was possibly due to the influence of his uncle Michael, who lived in the Downes’ household. Read more...
According to his diary, Séamus Ennis made just
two visits to Co. Clare in the course of his work for the Irish Folklore
Commission. In September 1945 he spent three weeks in Lahinch and Doolin,
and in November of the same year he went to Ennis for two days, to collect
songs from Martin MacNamara of Croisín [Crusheen], who was in
the County Home. Four years later, in 1949, he made another working
visit to Co. Clare, this time as a mobile recording officer for Radió
Éireann. The R.T.É. sound archive contains seventy two
minutes of recordings made on 5th November, 1949, from Bobby Casey,
Willie Clancy, and Martin Talty and many others, including some of the
people he had met in 1945. In addition to his visits for the Irish Folklore
Commission and Radió Éireann, Séamus Ennis made
a recording trip to west Clare in 1960, while working on a short-term
contract for the BBC. By this time, he had developed a strong relationship
with Willie Clancy and, not surprisingly, he headed down to Miltown
in the August of that year. He recorded the great piper and went on
to record a number of other Clare musicians, including Thady Casey,
Peadar O’Loughlin, Micho Russell and Chris Droney, and also fiddle
player Aggie Whyte of Ballinakill, Co. Galway (recorded in a trio with
Clancy and Casey playing an unnamed double jig). Doubtless guided by
Willie’s recommendation, he also recorded concertina player Mary
Haren from Cloghaun Beg, a townland situated a couple of miles out from
Miltown on the road to Inagh. Mary, who was possibly related to either
Willie’s mother or father, is said to have been quite advanced
in years. At the time of the recording, she did not own a concertina
and was out of practice. Nevertheless, an old German concertina was
procured and, during the session, Mary recorded four reels, ‘Over
the Moors to Maggie’, ‘The Heather Breeze’, ‘Silver
Spear’ and ‘Spike Island Lasses’. She also plays a
jig that she names ‘The Cloghaun Beg Jig’, doubtless after
her home place, but which is better known as the ‘Ship in Full
Sail’.
Michael was born in Seafield, Quilty, and picked up
the flute from the playing of his father, John Falsey, without receiving
any formal teaching. He started playing in house dances around the age
of fifteen, often with his father and John Fennell. Michael remembered
that there were many local flute and whistle players in his youth, including
Joe Cuneen, Thomas and Willie Callinan, Jimmy Downes and Thomas Neenan.
He learned many tunes from local musicians and also picked up tunes
from gramophone records. See also
Paddy Galvin was from Tromroe, Quilty where he played with the Leon Group. During the 1950s and ‘60s he played with the Laichtín Naofa Céilí Band, often returning from England to play with the band. He later played with the Quilty Céilí Band and was a regular player in sessions in Gleeson’s pub in Coore, Mullagh for many years.
Stephen Harrison was a colleague of Barry Taylor at University of Leeds, where they played together in Irish music sessions. He has held a lifelong interest in traditional music and his thesis was a study of the traditional making and playing of the Northumbrian smallpipes. He also plays the classical guitar. He was Director and CEO of Manx Heritage for 25 years, winning a number of international awards, latterly becoming a Trustee, and a past Chairman of the European Museum Forum. He was awarded the MBE in 2005 for services to heritage.
Josie Hayes played whistle and flute with the Laichtín Naofa Céilí Band. He was a life-longfriend and musical partner of Junior Crehan and a regular member of ‘Dad’s Army’ - the resident band in Gleeson’s pub in Coore, Mullagh. He was married to concertina-player Kitty Hayes.
Kitty Hayes (neé Smith) was born in Fahanlunaghta near Lahinch. Her father Peter Smith played the concertina and would often play with Gillie Clancy, Willie’s father. Kitty would steal her father’s concertina whenever she got a chance and taught herself the basics, based on what she had heard her father and others play. “I picked up bits and pieces that my father played. I had it all from listening to music. My head was bursting with the music but I had no way of playing it. But then my father gave in and gave me his concertina.” Read more...
P.J. Hayes was born in 1921 in Maghera, Tulla, Co. Clare and lived there all his life. He came from a farming background and spent all his life in the Maghera area. His mother, Margaret Hogan, played the concertina and he began learning the fiddle at the age of 11, taught by Pat Canny of Glendree, a near neighbour and father of the fiddler Paddy Canny. He recalls his family receiving a gramophone from America and playing ’78 records’ of Michael Coleman, Paddy Killoran and Hughie Gillespie. Both Paddy Canny and P.J. learned tunes from the gramophone and they were to play house dances together in the following years around Killanena, Feakle and Tulla. The two were also founding members of the Tulla Céilí Band in 1946. Read more...
John Joe, a contemporary and good friend of Junior Crehan, was born in Quilty in 1915; he was a fiddle and concertina player and he made and repaired fiddles. John Joe left for England as a young man, a carpenter by trade; he and Peggy raised their family there and became well-known figures on the London-Irish music scene, along with other Clare musicians, including Bobby Casey, Tommy McCarthy, Michael Falsey, P.J. and Angela Crotty and Paddy Breen of Kilmihil. Read more...
John was born in 1912 in the townland of Rehy West
in Kilballyowen, not far from the village of Cross. He got his early
music from his mother, Elizabeth and his Uncle Tom Keane from nearby
Kilclogher, who were both concertina players. One of his grandfathers
was Johnny Keane and John heard from his father that he was connected
with Frank Keane, from whom George Petrie collected music, including
a double-jig, in the early part of the nineteenth century. At the age
of nine years, John started to play the concertina - as John said, ‘on
a cheap half-crown instrument bought in a draper’s shop’
- probably in either Kilrush or Kilkee, gaining early experience from
listening to his mother and his Uncle Tom. He recalled that the old
concertinas were often of very poor quality and would not last for more
than a few days. A little farther afield, not far from a fiddle player
called Patsy Geary, who will loom large later in John’s story,
lived Tim Griffin, who John described ‘as fine a concertina player
as you’d wish to hear’. Later in life, it seems, he took
up the fiddle and made a competent job of it.
John Kelly Jnr was born in Dublin, son of John, the renowned fiddle and concertina player from Kilballyowen. He inherited much of his father’s music and started playing in sessions in Dublin in the early 1970s with his father and his brother, James. With James, he recorded ‘Best of Irish Traditional Fiddle Music’ in 1974. He has been teaching at the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay from around 1975 and now supervises the fiddle classes at the School.
Pat Kelly was a bodhrán player and singer. He performed regularly with ‘The Band’ in Gleeson’s pub in Coore.
Patrick Kelly was born in Cree, Co. Clare in 1905, the only child of Tim Kelly and Maria Killeen (1863-1951). Tim Kelly, born in 1866, played the fiddle and had been a student George Whelan, a traveling fiddler from Kerry who was in the area around 1880. Throughout his musical life, Patrick seems to have been a solo player. Given certain hallmarks of Patrick’s style - the uniqueness of his settings and the fiddle tuned low - it makes sense that he was primarily a solo player. There were, however, a few ensemble opportunities: Patrick recalled his father teaching two bands, a Land League band in 1892 and a Sinn Fein band in 1917. There was also a Cree Ceili Band, apparently short-lived, that Patrick took part in. Read more...
On the southern slope of Doonagore mountain in the townland of Ballyfaudeen live the Killourhy brothers, John and Paddy. The townland is one of a mosaic of similar ones spreading across the mountain bog that abounds in this area. To the south lies Liscannor Bay and Lahinch and to the north the village of Doolin. In their cottage, the back of which faces the winds and fog that often roll in from the cliffs of Moher, they live in a manner that reflects another era. They were both born in that cottage as were their father and grandfather, and others of the Killourhy family over countless generations. Music and memories of bygone days come alive in front of the open hearth and spine chilling tales of “another world” are just part of the recounting. There is a timelessness about the place. Read more...
Peter Laban is a photographer and piper living in
Miltown Malbay. He has recorded a CD with Kitty Hayes – They’ll
be good Yet (2006) and features on Kitty Hayes Remembered
(2009). A collection of Peter's photographs of Clare musicians is available
on Clare County Library's website
Born in the townland of Shyan, Kilmihil, Tommy was
inspired to play the tin-whistle by a visit on one Stephen’s Day
to the family home by a group of Wren Boys, which included the Kilmihil
whistle-player, Paddy Breen. The Shyan/Clonreddan/Leitrim townlands
were a hot bed of concertina music, mainly inspired by Michael ‘Stack’
Ryan from Leitrim. Although Tommy did not possess a concertina, in his
youth, he regularly visited Stack along with Solus Lillis, who kindly
allowed him to use his instrument. Later, Tommy also acquired a fiddle,
which he played for many years, although he freely admitted that it
was an instrument that he didn't ever truly come to terms with. Barry Taylor, May 2016
Tommy McCarthy grew up in London where he played music with his father Tommy and sisters. In 1986 he moved to the USA where he played in sessions. He now runs the famous traditional music bar in Boston, The Burren.
Paddy Joe McMahon came from Miltown Malbay. He played accordion with the Laichtín Naofa Céilí Band and performed on their album Come to an Irish Dance Party (1959). He was a founding member of the Miltown Malbay branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in 1954.
Fergus McTeggart was a fiddle and fife player, originally
from Teemore, County Fermanagh, though his search for work led him to
move to various places in Britain and Ireland. We met him while he was
living in Brixton in London in about 1986 and working as a self-employed
builder; Jim carried out electrical work for him on several of his jobs.
An ardent admirer of the fiddle-playing of Michael Coleman, he mastered
many aspects of Coleman’s style and was extremely articulate in
describing his technique. We recorded his playing and interviewed him
at length in our home in Wandsworth, south west London; we also heard
him play at many sessions in Camden Town and other venues in different
parts of London, particularly with the renowned Galway flute-player
Marcus Hernon.
Pat Mullins is a fiddle player from Ennistymon. He plays on the CD Life in theSlow Lane: Traditional Music from County Clare (2010) with Seamus Bugler, Paddy O’Donoghue and Pat Costello.
Mick O’Brien was born in Dublin. He began playing the uilleann pipes in the Thomas Street Pipers Club and later joined Na Píobairí Uilleann. He recorded his first LP with his family when he was 13 years old (his father was box-player Dinny O’Brien). Mick released a solo album – May Morning Dew in 1996 and two albums with fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – Kitty Lie Over (2003) and Deadly Buzz/Aoibhinn Crónán (2011).
Stevie O’Halloran was a flute player from Knocknahilla,
Mullagh. He played with the Mullagh Fife and Drum Band. "Our knowledge
of Stevie O’Halloran is limited to the two times we rented the
cottage next door to his in Knocknahila for two weeks on each occasion.
He was aged about 80 when we met him and had originally come from Cree,
a few miles away; he told us he had once played the pipes but when we
met him he played only whistle, and that only occasionally. He invited
us into his home where he played, sang talked of his youth as a musician
and dancer."
Peadar was born in Kilmaley,
where his father played flute, fiddle and concertina. After starting
school, Peadar began to learn the tin-whistle and fell under the influence
of local flute players Jimmy Kennedy and Mickey Hanrahan, later graduating
to the flute himself. As well as the home influence, there were many
other local and visiting musicians and he spent a lot of time listening
to ’78 rpm records, being particularly impressed by Tommy Whelan
and Stephen Moloney from the Ballinkill Céilí Band. Not
satisfied with his first two instruments, Peadar determined to try his
father’s fiddle, spending some time with Hughdie Doohan of Connolly.
Around 1940, with financial assistance from parish priest Father Roche,
the Fiach Roe Céilí Band was formed, which Peadar joined
around 1948. He was later to play with distinction with both the Tulla
and Kilfenora Céilí Bands. Musicians of Clare, Clare Champion, 13 October 2000. Updated by Barry Taylor June 8 2016
Seán was born in Castlefin, Co. Donegal, on
30 September 1907 but, on the death of his father, the family moved
to Crew, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, the home of his uncle. Seán
Reid’s first foray into Irish music was on the fiddle, an instrument
that had been played by both his father and an uncle. He first heard
the uilleann pipes played by R. L. O’Mealy at a feis in Cushendon,
Co. Down, in 1930. Later, he acquired a gramophone record made by Irish-American
piper Tom Ennis and this determined him to try to learn the uilleann
pipes. The opportunity came after he had moved to Dublin in 1934, where
he met fiddle player Tommy Potts and was introduced to Tommy’s
father, piper John Potts, who supplied him with a set of pipes and began
to give him lessons. Later, Seán met Leo Rowsome at a concert
in Thurles and was invited to enrol in the pipe class that Leo held
weekly in the Municipal School of Music, Chatham Row, in Dublin. In
1937, he was employed as an assistant engineer by Clare County Council
and, in 1938, married Mary Anne Hetherington from Kilkenny. Seán
was to become the driving force behind the revival of piping in Co Clare,
inspiring such as Martin Rochford, Paddy O’Donoghue and Willie
Clancy. Barry Taylor, June 2016
On his father’s side, Martin was a descendent
of the Wylie family of Bodyke, who were renowned concertina players,
with legendary piper Patsy Tuohy a regular visitor to the Wylie household.
During his youth, he became familiar with many local musicians, such
as concertina players Delia MacNamara, Michael O'Donoghue and Sandy
Carty. lthough the concertina was a popular instrument in East Clare,
the area was also noted for its fiddle players and Martin took up the
instrument at the age of eleven, attending classes in Tulla held by
Paddy Poole. Through the 1930s, Martin learned the tin-whistle but,
in 1936, he heard travelling piper Tony Rainey playing in Ennis and
immediately made up his mind to acquire a set of pipes. In 1937, he
paid £2 to Dan McMahon of 76A Parnell St., Ennis, for a practice
set that Dan had bought from Johnny Doran. Martin became friendly with
both Johnny and Felix Doran, who were regular visitors to his house,
and acquired many elements of their piping style.
The Russell brothers (Micho, Pakie and Gussie) came from a family steeped in traditional music and folklore. Their unique style of playing has left an indelible mark on Irish music. Born in Doonagore, Doolin, their parents were Austin Russell and Annie Moloney. Austin and Annie had five children, Micho (Michael) born on March 25th 1915, Gussie (Austin), Pakie (Patrick) born in 1920, Bridget and Mary-Kate. Micho's father had bought him a Clarkes tin whistle when he was eleven years old. All three brothers learned much of their music from a neighbour, Patrick Flanagan. Patrick was a concertina player. To begin with, he simply taught Micho which fingers to lift to play a scale on the tin whistle. After that Micho was more or less left to his own devices and continued learning by ear. He returned to Patrick Flanagan later on to polish his tunes and add to his store. He also sought out older players in the locality, like flute player John Darcy, to learn all he could from them. Read more...
Born in Inagh, Joe’s father sang and, in the
absence of a musician, would often be asked to lilt for the house dances.
Joe started on tin whistle and moved to the fiddle at the age of eighteen
after hearing his brother Jim and Patrick Foudy play. Foudy was his
first fiddle teacher and Joe soon progressed to playing at the usual
house dances, Soirees and American wakes. After leaving school, Joe
worked as a wheelwright in Ennistymon and later in Ennis, where he was
able to develop his interest in music.
Joe was born in Derrymore Inagh in 1956. The youngest of 5, he began playing on his father's fiddle at a young age taught by neighbouring fiddle maestro Michael kelleher , whom he has played with regularly for many years since. He was inspired and encouraged by his older brother also, the late Tom Rynne, who himself was an accomplished accordion player. He has played with many different bands throughout the years including All Ireland Fleadh cheoil champions - the Gortbofearna ceili band, The Rambling Rose , the Clare Ramblers, the Dreoilin and Disirt Tola, and most notably and to-date the Four Courts Ceili Band who he has played with for over 20 years. Read more...
Michael Sexton was born in Mullagh and music was very
much a part of everyday life in the Sexton household. Michael’s
father, Paddy, played fiddle and drums with the Mullagh pipe band in
the 1930s and his mother Margaret had a deep appreciation of music.
Michael started playing tin whistle when he was twelve years of age
and progressed to the accordion while at school. He played with the
Laictín Naofa Céilí Band for three years while
still young and appeared on their recording Come to an Irish Dance
Party in 1959.
JC Talty was from Caherush, Quilty. He was a founding member of the Miltown Malbay branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Shortly after the branch was established two practice sets of pipes were bought, and one was loaned to JC who went on to win the All-Ireland intermediate piping Championship in 1960. JC played with the Laichtín Naofa Céilí Band and performed on their album ‘Come to an Irish Dance Party’ (1959). He later played with both the Kilfenora and Tulla Céilí Bands.
Martin Talty was born in Glendine,
Miltown Malbay and was one of the founders of the Clare branch of Comhaltas
Ceóltoirí Éireann. He helped organise the first
Fleadh Cheoil in Ennis in 1956 and subsequent fleadhanna in Miltown
in 1957 and 1961 and was on CCÉ’s executive for a number
of years. Martin was a contemporary of Willie Clancy, helped set up,
and contributed towards the success of the festival in Willie’s
honour in Miltown Malbay. He was actively involved with Na Píobairí
Uilleann and in the All-Ireland Fleadh Scoil Éigse for top young
musicians.
Barry Taylor was born in Manchester and first became interested in Irish music through involvement with folk clubs in Manchester in the 1960s. A move to London in 1969 brought him into contact with many musicians from west Clare. He first visited west Clare in 1975 to attend fiddle classes conducted by John Kelly at the Willie Clancy Summer School. In 1993 he presented the Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture on the fiddle player Junior Crehan at the summer school, an activity repeated in 1996 (The Musical Tradition of East Clare) and 2015 (House Dancing in West Clare). He has written many articles on Irish music and his study of Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, A Touchstone for the Tradition, with photographer Tony Kearns was published in 2003. In 2013, he published Music in a Breeze of Wind: Traditional Dance Music in west Clare 1870-1970.
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Jack Broome, England
