Audio
We believe that Irish music is for listening (and for dancing, of course!). We’ve been collecting recordings of some of the best players and singers out there, and here is some of what we’ve found.
Our audio archives come from a variety of sources: commercial recordings in our library, recordings that we’ve done of our tour groups over the years, donations from music collectors and our own archive collection. Seámus MacMathúna, in particular, spent years on the road with a tape recorder, capturing musicians in their sitting rooms, kitchens and favourite sessions.
Browse through our collection below - we may not have the track you’re looking for online yet, but you are always welcome to come and listen at one of our Regional Centres.
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- Seamus Creagh’s / Trip to Dingle
- 15 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, Peter Staunton & Niamh Varian-Barry play the polkas, “Seamus Creagh’s” and “Trip to Dingle”. Niamh learnt this polka from the playing of fiddler Séamus Creagh, and the second polka is a composition of Roscommon piano accordion player Alan Kelly.
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- Rosewood / Tommy Maguire’s
- 14 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, the Comhaltas Tour Ensemble plays the jigs, “Rosewood” and “Tommy Maguire’s”. The first jig is believed to be a composition of Scottish fiddler/composer James Scott Skinner (1843-1927), while the second jig is a composition of the now deceased Offaly accordion player Tommy Maguire, who spent much of his life in Chicago.
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- Na Páipéir á Saighneáil
- 14 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, Eimear Arkins sings “Na Páipéir á Saighneáil”. The song is believed to date from the time Wild Geese, at time when Irish soldiers and chieftain families left their country following the English settlers plantations.
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- The The Maids of Castlebar / The Swallow’s Nest
- 13 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, Aonghus Buggie plays the reels, “The The Maids of Castlebar” and “The Swallow’s Nest” on banjo, accompanied by harper Cathy Potter.
The ‘Maids of Castlebar’ was recorded by Sligo fiddlers Paddy Killoran and James Morrison in the 1936 recording ‘From Ballymote to Brooklyn’ and has consituted part of what is considered to be ‘core repertoire’ ever since. ‘The Swallow’s Nest’ is a composition of the much reknowned accordion maestro and composer Paddy O’ Brien Co. Tipperary (1922-1991).
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- Miss Hamilton
- 12 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, the Comhaltas Tour Ensemble plays the harp piece, “Miss Hamilton”. Miss Hamilton is included in the Bunting Collection having been notated by Bunting from the from harper Patrick Linden in 1802, although the scholar Dónal O Súilleabháin established that the original Bunting manuscript gave Hugh Higgins as the source of the tune. The piece was composed by harper Cornelius Lyons in 1706.
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- The Dawn / Music in the Glen
- 11 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, piper James Mahon plays the reels, “The Dawn” and “Music in the Glen”. This selection of reels tunes were recorded by Leo Rowsome in London on the 27th July 1947, and that recording was the first recording of uilleann pipe music ever heard by the then young flute-player James Mahon.
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- Galway Bay
- 10 October 2008
- From the “Echoes of Erin 2008” Comhaltas Tour CD, the song “Galway Bay” is performed by Seán Ó Sé and the Comhaltas Tour Ensemble.
This fine song of emigration written by the Galway songsmith Francis A. Fahey (1845-1935) should never be confused with a later song of the same name made famous by crooner Bing Crosby. This particular recording of the song featured on the Echoes of Erin 2007 CCÉ US Tour Album.
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- Laura’s Reel / The Highest Hill in Sligo
- 9 October 2008
- From the Echoes of Erin 2008 Comhaltas Tour CD, the reels “Laura’s Reel” and “The Highest Hill in Sligo” are performed by Eibhlín Healy, Eimear Arkins and the Comhaltas Tour Ensemble.
This first reel was composed by the fiddler Philip Duffy, a highly respected fiddler from Co. Sligo. The reel featured on Philip’s 2003 album ‘Killin Clocks’ which displayed his discerning understanding of the musical legacy of the great fiddle masters of Sligo. ‘The Highest Hill in Sligo’ is a composition of Ed Reavy ( 1898-1988) the well-known fidder and composer who, having emigrated from his native Cavan to the US in 1912, settled in Philadelphia.
