New book/cd : Sound your A : Ennistymon Bands 40s-60s

[Mr.Gumby]

Last week a book/double CD combo centered around bands from the Ennistymon/North Clare area during the 1940s-1960s was launched.



It's a typical local production but may be worth flagging up here for those into that sort of thing.

The book gives a history of bands that were active during that time period, both ceili bands and popular dance bands. Musicians were often active playing in the ceilibands and would also play the local dance halls with popular repertoire. It's a ice bit of social./musical history, a glimpse of another time.

The double CD is filled with the few recordings that are avaiable, with bits of various individual players and some material by surving members of the bands, notably Ennistymon fiddleplayer Michael Kelleher.

I had a look at the book this morning, I was eager to get to the launch but a cold snap hit and ten km of frozen backroads had me confined to home on the night. Mick O'Connot and Seán Keane, both longtime visitors to the area, launched the project. Seán is featured on some of the tracks, playing with some local musicianers.

more on the website : Sound your A

[Seanie]

Thanks Mr G for bringing this to my attention.

This shall be moving to the top of the list of must buys for 2023. And listening to Paddy Byrt on the website was a surprising delight.

In one of the pictures a fiddler is named Tom Ward. Hardly the Tom ward of the downfall fame?

Anyway, hope you have a peaceful Christmas.

John

[Mr.Gumby]

Hi John. I was about to fire off a message, you have been very quiet for a while and I was wondering how you are.

I had been wondering if the subject was too specific to post here, so good to hear someone is interested. I was looking forward to the launch, do a show of face and have a chat with Mick O'Connor but it was all ice and even the main road was still untreated at that point, I didn't chance it.

It's a worthwhile project. Enda Byrt , obviously, has a family history of several generations into all this so he's well-placed to tackle it. Bill Ochs was to do a chapter on the bands in his Micho book, Micho was in one of the bands, although not one featured in the book. I scanned a bunch of photos from Enda's collection for that. And it's nice to be able to hear the Corcomroe, for example.




Michael Kelleher was in there (second left), Paddy Byrt, George Byut and Paddy 'Organ' Mullins on the flute. It's also interesting to hear how the musicians put down the concertina and fiddle for another context, to play foxtrots etc for the formal dances. It's all music, not as segregated as it may be today.



I liked the Paddy Byrt clip, he's the one with the concertina in the photo. It's also good to hear Jimmy Mulqueeny, I learned that jig he plays from Tommy McCarthy during the nineties, he had a story about how he got it off Jimmy, good to hear the source.

It's also good to have Michael Kelleher recorded, I have a lot of time for his playing, no fuss and great heart in his music. He used to come into Friel's every now and again, great nights. Also had some great nights in the Blonds during the nineties with Michael Murphy, George Byrt and JC Talty. Nights of wall to wall ceili band sets, lovely.

[Seanie]

Thanks Peter - All fine here.

Both Sunday's at Lenas and Joe Doyle's new book landed here for Christmas.

The Sunday at Lenas is an excellent tome. I'm enjoying the recordings that came with the book. I never came across Paddy Grogan before but he is a very accomplished and tasteful musician.

Mary has written out two polkas attributed to Bill Malley. I remember her playing these on a TV program called the music of Clare. She started playing them and then was being interviewed over the music. They had stayed in the back of my head until I came across them in this book. Not very polka like at all, more like barn dances or slow flings. Very nice indeed.

Keep well my friend

John

[Mr.Gumby]

Good to hear John. Best wishes, happy new year.

There's a double archive CD from Tulla Comhaltas, there's some Paddy Grogan on that, a bit of Peter Browne talking to Bill Malley and Joe Bane and a lot more of the old guys from up there.

I got Bill Malley's polkas from Jackie Daly, who in turn got them from Andrew Mac. A compromise, perhaps. Polkas, but Clare polkas. We played them often on the Sundays in Gleeson's.

Malley and Bane appear to have had a lot of tunes that were versions of Scottish tunes, wherever they got them.