After a couple of years of trying, I’ve finally obtained a copy of the CD: Beauty an Oileain (Claddagh Records). It consists of music and song from members of the community who once inhabited the (now uninhabited) Blasket Islands off the coast of Kerry. The CD consists of unaccompanied song and solos and duos mainly of fiddle, accordion and melodeon.
I’m not going to launch into a full-scale review but I do want to share my enthusiasm for this charming CD with you. There are no virtuosos here yet the playing and singing is delightfully satisfying, relaxed, informal and very intimate. The style seems to me to be peculiar to the islands and not what I would expect from mainland Kerry musicians. Listening to this CD, I felt like I was catching a final glimpse of what must surely already be a lost world. Much of the unhurried pace of island life comes across in the music and the songs have a sad poignancy as much a product of the loss of the culture from which they came as of their (usually sad) subject matter.
It’s easy to find better musicians than those featured here but I’m not sure that it’s easy to find better music.
This isn’t a pointless attempt to revive a dead thread. I came upon some information which might be of interest to some of you.
A few days ago I acquired a CD by Danu, The Road Less Travelled. Tonight I was surprised to find that two tracks on that CD were derived from Blasket Islands sources. I was even more surprised to find that versions of both tracks are on this CD.
The song ‘Bannacht o Ri na hAoine’ is sung by Sean O Cearnaigh. The tune ‘Neili’ is played by Muiris O Dalaigh.
i’m thinking this may be due to the presence of Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh… according to the band info, she comes from Dúinquin, “which looks out over the Blasket Islands, in the West Kerry Gaeltacht”.
Absolutely correct, rh. On the Danú DVD, One Night Stand, Muireann goes into a bit more detail about this. She says that many of the islanders moved to the same areas of the mainland, and maintain their own social groups, including singing and playing, so that the tradition of the islands is not lost.
That too is correct. The islanders form a small community of their own. That they play in a distinctive style is evident from the first mentioned CD. It’s well worth checking out if you can find it.
My mother-in-law (she is 89) is from Cuas, about 8 miles west of Dingle. She said that you always knew the Island people when they visted Dingle (to do some shopping). They always made their own clothes and they always walked in single file, one after the other. She said that this derived from the very narrow walkways on the Islands, that people had to walk in single file.
Sean O’Cearnaigh’s daughter Eilis has recorded a CD with another girl who is the daughter of an islander. (I’m in work now and I do not have the name of the CD).
Aine Ui Laoithe, Eilin Ni Chearna - Mna An Oileain
Catalogue Number: MNACD001
Thanks for the story and the tip Seanie. That CD would be well worth chasing up. Aine Ui Laoithe sings on the original album. I’d like to see just how much the distinctive style has survived.
Sean’s brother Padraig also sings on the original album.