Set Dances Of Ireland, Volume II

Produced by & notes by ~ Larry Lynch
Sound Engineer: Harry Bradshaw

Set: The Set of Mezerts ~ Cork & Kerry
Figures 1 - 5 ~ jigs
Figure 6 ~ hornpipes

Musicians:
Denis McMahon ~ fiddle
Paudy Scully ~ flute
Timmy O’Connor ~ melodeon

Set: The Plain Set ~ Clare
Figures 1 - 4 ~ polkas
Figure 5 ~ Jigs
Figure 5 (alternative) ~ flings
Figure 6 ~ hornpipes

Musicians:
Eamon McGivney ~ fiddle
Michael Tubridy ~ flute
Tommy McCarthy ~ concertina

https://thesession.org/recordings/2923

https://thesession.org/recordings/2925

https://thesession.org/recordings/2812

Seádna Books & Dal gCais Publications, 1989
A4 format, 323 pages
ISBN: 0-9623366-0-2 (U.S.A.)
ISBN: 0-9514848-0-X (Ireland)

Seádna Books
88 Walter Street
San Francisco, California 94114
U.S.A.
2nd Printing, 1991

John O’Donnell
c/o The Connacht Tribune
15 Market Street
Galway, Eire / Ireland

Highly recommended, as this is the only publication on the subject that I feel makes a resonable attempt to incorporate in it’s pages and story something of the people the dances were collected from, with pictures and some quotes. This weighty tome has more heart than the many other publications that tend to just amass dances and figures and with short and limited references to sources. I admit my bias, I am interested in more than just the mechanics of the dance. We both like to read and see the heart and context of a tradition, and YES!, that can be done in print, and even better if it also has pictures to go along with the weave… For us, this is about ‘quality’ rather than ‘quantity’, heart and community rather than flash and competition…

For the inexperienced the notations might be confusing, but I love it. He tries to further represent his sources by using their descriptions of the dances, their terminology. At the back of the book is a glossary of terms and movements with illustrations, to help…

So, Ceolachan,

Where can I obtain these recordings and book? Do you have a source?

The only search link returned from google and kartoo came back to this listing.

Yes, do a search for the book. It is also for sale with the CD… The first four cassettes are harder to come by. I have recently bought the set for others for roughly around 20 to 25 quid… There are also used copies available, for example through Amazon, from 10 quid upwards…

Try here ~ some include the CD, some do not ~ search by title or author ~

http://www.alibris.co.uk/

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/

http://www.addall.com/

http://www.justbooks.co.uk/

http://www.bookfinder.com/

http://www.bookfinder4u.com/

Set Dances of Ireland: Tradition & Evolution
by Larry Lynch
Large format paperback
ISBN: 0962-33660-2
ISBN: 13: 978-0962-33660-7
ISBN: 095148480X
ISBN: 9780951484807
ISBN: 0-9514848-0-X
Seadna Books, January 1991

It was published jointly in Ireland and in the U.S.A. under different ISBN numbers…

https://thesession.org/recordings/2939

“The Plain Set ~ Clare” here is the one described at length in Larry Lynch’s “Set Dances of Ireland: Tradition & Evolution”, pages 99 to 103 , and indexed in the book as ‘The Plain Set - Lakyle’. As danced to slowish (historic data on beats per minute supplied, page 99) polkas all around that area in West Clare - Lakyle, Labasheeda, Creegh, Kilkee etc. The dance is summarised as ‘Plain Polka Set’ in Pat Murphy’s ‘Toss The Feathers’ (1995).
As ceolachan says, “Set Dances of Ireland: Tradition & Evolution” is a classic book, and the accompanying tapes are from musicians well chosen to reflect the history and styles outlined in Lynch’s book.

Thanks Rover, nicely put, and something I should have mentioned. Folks more used to the manic ways that rose up out of the late 70s and 80s ~ through competitions, exhibition, and a tsunami of interest that swept forward from the cities, and represented further in commercial recordings ‘for set dancing’ ~ have been known to be disappointed by more relaxed tempos…