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Celtic Sessions

By Na Connerys


  1. The Old Bush
    The Crooked Road To Dublin
    The Man Of The House
    The Dublin
  2. Casey’s
    The Ships Are Sailing
    Crossing The Shannon
  3. Mná Na hÉireann
  4. The Mist Covered Mountain
    The Walls Of Liscarroll
  5. The Clare
    Sean McGuire’s
    The Kesh
  6. Tommy Peoples’
    The Irish
  7. The Woman Of The House
    The Yellow Tinker
    Miss McLeod’s
  8. The Flogging
    Burke’s
    The Salamanca
  9. The Lark In The Strand
    Apples In Winter
  10. Na Connerys
  11. Father O’Flynn
    The Irish Washerwoman
    The Connaughtman’s Rambles
  12. The Drunken Landlady
    Hand Me Down The Tackle
  13. The Hunt
  14. Taime Mo Choladh
  15. Reevy’s
    The Bucks Of Oranmore

Eighteen comments

Celtic Session

This is a recording by a group of annymous artists. They are reproducing the feel of an Irish pub session by playing con brio a number of the well-known Irish Traditional tunes and some lesser known ones. They create a “Wall of Sound” with all the soloists playing together simultaneously. Backup is provided by a rhythm guitar. This is a good opportunity for those musicians with no access to sessions to have a private one in their own home by playing along. The tune selections are sets of reels and jigs with an occasional air and mazurka thrown in to vary the tempo and feel. The airs are played on solo instruments accompanied only by the guitar. The rhythm guitar gives guitar, bazouki, and mandolin players the chance to get ideas on how to accompany these various dance beats. My only gripe--I sure miss having someone flailing away at a bodhran during all of this (this is a terrific Music Minus One CD for bodhran). Otherwise, the recording is quite traditional sounding and energetic. A must get CD.

Buy this one…

An absolutely amazing CD. Quality throughout. A must-purchase…

Posted by .

Help, help…

Anybody know another name for the tune on the 8th track, marked as Burke’s Reel?

Who they are

An internet search rendered:

Paddy and Kevin Glackin: fiddles
Sean Og Potts: uilleann pipes, tinwhistle
John Regan: accordion
John Wynne: flute
Tom McDonagh: bouzouki
Mark Kelly: guitar

In my mind this is one of the best recordings of traditional Irish music ever made. There isn’t a single duff track!

Thier follow up album is at the top of my Christmas list!

Very good CD!

The reel named as “Casey’s” is “tuttle’s” Or “the mills are grinding”.

I think I got this recording on my first visit to Ireland some years ago. It was cheap, but I found it rather boring and sold it to the local second-hand cd shop for nothing. There are actually some nice sets of tunes, but I remember the entire recording sounded a little bit “celtic” rather than “traditional Irish.” It doesn’t reproduce the feel of an Irish pub session at all.

Track 10 is the air of the song that’s given the band its name.(see http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8998/naconnerys.html for lyrics, translation and notes to which I add for those who don’t know; Dungarvan is a town situated in/by today’s Waterford gaeltacht-)
I’m just after buying this album today for a friend. I was looking, for him, for that elusive ‘authentic’ or ‘as experienced before’ sound.. Which prompts the following remark;
I’m sure slainte knows that there are no two sessions the same, therefore no two similar ‘feel’ of what it is/supposed to be… ‘reproduce’ is right: how could one reproduce that sort of sound (let alone experience /feel)? Having said that, I agree; this is not the sound of a pub session (with busy background noise say, as captured perhaps by a Martian ethnomusicologist ) but neither is it an air-brushed celtic session (with crashing celtic ocean waves and electronic howling banshees in the back-no: fore-ground) We don’t know in what conditions the album was recorded but there is a nice untouched, diy, live edge to it. (definitely pre-celtic to me! 😉 )
Listeners might want to compare this with the ‘Matt Molloy’s (pub) session cd or Lunasa’s one-take live ’session’ at the…(co. offaly hotel gig -can’t member the name) …
For those who are after the ‘real’ sound, nothing beats your own ‘bootleg’ takes of course (-Do you mean the ones where the sound of music is covered over by that of your own big mouth cracking some stupid joke at a random neighbour? -Mm…)

The hunt?

This tune is not “The Hunt”.
It is the Galtee Hunt located here:
https://thesession.org/tunes/386

Seriously play both the tunes along with the cd and you will see which is more accurate!

Eh ?

Same thing. If you know another tune called “Hunt”, please post it.

Posted by .

“Burke’s” is “Drag her ’round the road”

I must be a total dork because I find this album lovely to listen to. ‘Con brio’ indeed, lively stuff, much passion, and kudos to the lads for leaving their names off, though we found them out.

Na Connerys

I just got a copy of this, from a charity shop. I liked it a lot.

Anyone know why the players wanted to be anonymous?

One of the best recordings I have heard!

I feel lucky to have come across it! 🙂

Re: Celtic Sessions

This is a great album. The Clare Jig/Sean Mcguire’s Jig/Kesh Jig set was one of the first sets I ever heard when looking up Irish music several years ago. I think I’d found it by searching for “clare jig” because I’d seen it as a jig name.
I too would be interested to know why they originally wanted to be anonymous, if we know their names now!
And I think they sound more traditional than “Celtic.”