Tommy Peoples & Paul Brady - High Part Of The Road

Tommy Peoples is justly regarded as one of Ireland's greatest fiddlers who plays in the unique fiddle style of East Donegal. He has been a member of well-known traditional Irish music groups, including 1691 and The Bothy Band as well as performing solo since the late 1960's. Tommy Peoples has a unique style, particularly his way of executing bowed triplets, one of the signatures of his playing. What makes his playing great is the combination of his mastery of the fiddle, the power and emotionalism that run through his playing, and his fluid bowing. He is accompanied on this rare 1976 album by the superb guitarist Paul Brady on a collection of reels and jigs that have become standards of the Irish fiddle repertoire.

1 The Oak Tree, The Pinch Of Snuff

2 The Kid On The Mountain, O'Farrell's Welcome To Limerick

3 The Wheels Of The World, Toss The Feathers

4 Ard An Bhothair (The High Part Of The Road), Port an Bhrather (The Monk's Jig)

5 The Band Of Ireland, The Dairy Maid

6 The Nine Points Of Roguery, Bean An It Ar Lar (The Mistress On The Florr)

7 The Green Groves Of Erin, The Pigeon On The Gate

8 Port Shean Tseain (Old John's Jig), The Queen Of The Fair

9 The Salamanca, Lucy Campbell

10 The Silver Slipper, The Old Hag In The Kiln

11 Farewell To Ireland

12 McCahill's Reels

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Tommy Peoples & Paul Brady - High Part Of The Road

Pádraig O'Keeffe - Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Master

A long deleted and now extremely rare recording of the Sliabh Luachra fiddle player and teacher Pádraig O'Keeffe taken from RTÉ archive (RTÉ - CD174 - 1993) recordings made by Séamus Ennis between 1947 and 1949. This is absolutely brilliant Sliabh Luachra music, and the final set of tunes - a duet with Denis Murphy - is a classic [source ceolalainn]

1. Quinn's/Callaghan's [Reels]
2. Gallagher's [Jigs]
3. The Banks of the Danube [Air]
4. O'Sullivan's/O'Callaghan's [Polkas]
5. Johnny Cope [Hornpipe]
6. I'd Rather be Married than Left/Chase me Charlie/The Kilcummin [Slides]
7. The Old Man Rocking the Cradle [Air]
8. George White's Favourite/Kennedy's/The Road the Newbridge [Reels]
9. Gleanntán Frolics/The Hare in the Corn [Slides]
10. The O'Rahilly's Grave [Air]
11. The Humours of Ennistymon/I Will if I Can [Jigs]
12. John Quinn's [Hornpipe]
13. The Donaghmore [Reel]
14. Caoineadh Uí Dhomhnaill (Lament for O'Donnell) [Air]
15. The Kilcummin/If I Had a Wife [Slides]
16. As I Went Out Upon the Ice/Campdown Races/Tom Billy's/Jimmy Doyle's [Polkas]

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Pádraig O'Keeffe - Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Master

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger - Jacobite Rebellions

"In the Jacobite songs every battle became a cry against oppression, and every leader wears the aspect of Ideal courage, boldness and strength, without blemish. The songs are glorious. Through them the Jacobites have won their rebellions, for the songs exist In posterity, moving us who are so far removed from the events, the causes, and the feelings, of the Fifteen and the Forty-Five; who live In other countries and pursue other destinies. As Ewan MacColl writes: "To a world which has become familiar with the concept of genocide, which has known fascism and two world wars, the Jacobite rebellions appear as no more than cases of mild unrest. They have grown dusty in history's lumber room along with all the other lost causes. The Stuart cause is forgotten and nothing, remains of it except the songs. "And what songs they are'. Witty, tender, proud, bitter, ribald, delicate, passionate; the songs of a people with a great zest and appetite for life; the songs of a people who are essentially optimistic and who, oddly enough, succeed In combining sympathy for a declining royal house with the most republican sentiments." [source Ralph Knight]

1 Ye Jacobites By Name

2 Such A Parcel Of Rogues In A Nation

3 Will Ye Go To Sheriffmuir

4 Wae's Me For Prince Charlie

5 Charlie He's My Darling

6 The Haughs Of Cromdale

7 The Bonnie Moorhen

8 Johnnie Cope

9 Cam Ye O'er Frae France

10 There's Three Brave, Loyal Fellows

11 This Is No My Ain House

12 The Piper O' Dundee

13 Donald MacGillavry

14 MacLean's Welcome

15 Will Ye No Come Back Again

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Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger - The Jacobite Rebellions

Michael Dwyer - Traditional Music of Ireland

Recorded on his brother Finbarr's Silver Hill label in 1975, this is a lovely EP of Irish music played on the simplest of instruments by Michael Dwyer, and accompanied very tastefully by Kevin Taylor on piano. There was wear on the record, so there are some surface noises here and there, but this is a lovely recording of a great player, and it's well worth a listen. Sadly Michael died tragically a number of years ago, and there is very little of his sweet whistle playing left behind [source ceolalainn].

1. Richard Dwyer's/Seán Sa Cheo [Reels]
2. The Sunshine [Hornpipe]
3. The Flax in Bloom/The Castle [Reels]
4. The Laurel Tree/Speed the Plough [Reels]
5. The Kid on the Mountain [Slip Jig]
6. The Heather Breeze/The Chattering Magpie [Reels]

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Michael Dwyer - Traditional Music of Ireland

Willie Clancy - Minstrel From Clare

The musicians who have truly influenced Irish traditional  music have not been many. Willie Clancy (1918-1973), piper, whistle-player and singer of Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, was indisputably one of them. He belonged to a strong tradition and left one after him. Clancy was born into a musical family. His parents both sang and played concertina, and his father, who had been heavily influenced by local blind piper Garret Barry, also played the flute.

Clancy started playing the whistle at the age of five, and later took up the flute. He first saw a set of pipes in 1936 when he saw Johnny Doran playing locally. He obtained his first set of pipes two years later. His influences included Leo Rowsome, Séamus Ennis, John Potts, and Andy Conroy. Clancy won the Oireachtas competition in 1947.

01. Langstern Pony

02. The Templehouse / Over the Moor To Maggie

03. Bruachna Carraige Báine (The Brink of the White Rock)

04. Erin's Lovely Lea

05. The Killavel Fancy / The Dogs Among the Bushes

06. The Family Ointment

07. The Dear Irish Boy

08. Caoineadh an Spailpín (The Spalpeen's Lament)

09. The Pipe On the Hob

10. The Gander

11. The Flogging Reel

12. The Legacy Jig

13. The Song of the Riddles

14. Spailpín a Rúin (Spalpeen, My Love)

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Willie Clancy - Minstrel From Clare

Kila - Kila Live In Dublin

The magnificent Kila recorded live in Dublin over four nights between 2002 and 2004. Celtic/Irish contemporary traditional music with a massive style injection.

1. Her Royal Waggledy Toes
2. Cabhraighí Léi
3. Dusty Wine Bottle
4. Tine Lasta
5. Wandering Fish
6. Bully's Acre
7. Grand Hotel
8. Glanfaidh Mé
9. Luna Park
10. Faoiseamh
11. Seo Mo Leaba

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Kila - Kila Live In Dublin

Josephine Keegan - Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Airs

Josephine Keegan Keegan was born of Irish parents in Dundee, Scotland, and at the age of four went to live with her family in South Armagh. She began to play piano and violin when she was about six, being taught by both parents at home, and later taking formal lessons. She studied classical music on both instruments as well as playing traditional music, and won many prizes at competitions throughout Ireland. She won a gold medal at the Feis Ceoil in Dublin, and later won the gold medal at the All-Ireland Fiddle Championship at the Oireachtas in 1955. After that, fiddle playing took a back seat and she concentrated on being a piano accompanist to other musicians, including Joe Burke and Seán Magure. She recorded her first of five solo albums in 1976; in 2006, after a gap of twenty-five years she recorded a new solo album. This 1980 album is one of five featuring Josephine Keegan's solo fiddle albums on which she double tracked her own piano accompaniment. There is some lovely playing as well as a very nice selection of tunes.

1. The Kylebrack Rambler/Gerry Cronin's [Reels]

2. The Queen of the West/Hasberry Howard [Hornpipes]

3. Cronin's Rambles [Jig]

4. Sliabh Geal gGua [Air]

5. Dancing Eyes/Eddie Kelly's [Jigs]

6. Music in the Glen/The Lass of Ballintra [Reels]

7. The Square of Crossmaglen/Coolderry Bridge [Reels]

8. To the Waters and the Wild/The Hazel Wand [Hornpipes]

9. The Lark in the Morning [Jig]

10. An Buinnean Buidhe [Air]

11. The Pear Tree/The Stranger [Hornpipes]

12. Jimmy McBride's [Reel]

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Josephine Keegan - Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, Airs