Traditional Music From Doolin, Co. Clare

Recorded in 1997.
Accompanied by Gerry O‘Beirne (guitar), Sharon Shannon (accordion), Tommy Hayes (percussion) and Eoin O’Neill (bouzouki).

Excellent album. One of the better banjo albums i’ve heard.

One of my favourite albums of all time - its just gorgeous!

I haven’t heard the album, but a friend picked up a copy in Ireland and urged the people at our session to learn the jig set called “Seamus Connolly’s/Brid Harpur’s”. I found ABCs for them somewhere, along with a story about someone asking Seamus if he knew about the tune named for him. He denied having anything to do with the tune.

Much later, I was listening to Patty Furlong’s CD and heard the same tune. She calls it “Micky Quinn’s” (or maybe “Micky Quinn’s Favorite” - I don’t have the album handy). I asked Patty about it. She got the tune from Jack Coen, who got it from the late Paddy O’Brien, who recorded an album with Seamus Connolly way back when.

Anyhow, maybe when I get some time, I’ll post these two great tunes.

The track called “Ballyvoe” is a medley of the two hornpipes “Tailor’s Twist” and “Poppy Leaf”. There was a comment today about “Poppy Leaf” which reminded me that I wanted to figure out what that familiar first hornpipe was. I also want to identify some of the other tunes on this CD that aren’t properly titled, but not today.

also important to notice that the great fiddle player James Cullinan is playing on track 10…

Just got a copy of this again after having lost the original.
Love it, although the backing really kills me. Not into it at all.

The 2nd set on the album is made up of The Coalminers (aka More Power to Your Elbow) and followed by The Noon Lassies. I love this album and it’s follow up “Across the Pond”.

Both albums are pretty much desert island banjo albums, if that isn’t an oxymoron.

The jig referred to above as “Seamus Connolly’s” is in fact a composition of Paddy O‘Brien called “O’Brien From Newtown” and is to be found in his collection, “The Compositions of Paddy O’Brien”. And “Tommy People’s Reels” are “McDermott’s” followed by “The Red Haired Lass”. One of my all-time favorite recordings.

In “The Definitive Collection of the Music of Paddy O‘Brien 1922-1991” compiled and edited by Eileen O’Brien, published in 2009, the jig in question is called “Mick Quinn’s”, is listed as “arr. Paddy O‘Brien”, and is in the section of “Arrangements and Settings of Traditional Tunes” rather than in the “Compositions of Paddy O’Brien” section.

A correction to my above post about the jig Seamus Connolly’s/O‘Brien From Newtown. GaryA is quite correct in pointing out that the tune is NOT in The Compositions Of Paddy O’Brien. The tune appears on Seamus Connolly’s “Here and There” album. Seamus says in the sleeve notes:“I named the second jig ”O‘Brien From Newtown“ for my legendary accordeonist friend Paddy O’Brien. Paddy maintains he learned the tune from his grandmother, but I have a sneaky feeling humble Paddy composed it”. I know Eileen is very meticulous about her father’s legacy so Mick Quinn’s it is.

Great album , one of the first trad banjo albums I bought.
According to the cassette I found in Doolin it was recorded in Nov 92 ( on sale in McGanns pub).
That good I bought the CD when I found it.
Other great recordings from around this time, again on cassette were by Terry Bingham and Mary Custy and Eoin O Neill (With a lot of help of help from their friends) These recordings also found their way on to CD a few years later.