Come West Along the Road II

Uilleann Pipes
1

For those of you who slept through the announcement, RTÉ have recently released the second compilation of music videos from their long-running show, Come West Along the Road. The new volume is available on DVD, and is entirely different from the previous volume of the same name, which was only released on VHS.

Its a long DVD packed with great stuff. Its just arrived in the post. I am watching it now, but have already been treated to The Bothy Band in concert, Liam O’Flynn solo, and the Tulla Ceílí Band.

Perhaps this would be a good one to add to your Xmas list. I believe OssianUSA is carrying it on this side of the pond. If they don’t have it yet, they soon will. http://www.ossianusa.com

djm

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Thanks for the tip on this – couldn’t find it at OssianUSA, however. I’ll drop an email to them to inquire.

Cheers,

3

Mine arrived yesterday. I must have been spoiled by all the amazing footage of pipers present on the first video. This one has hardly any. One piece I would have actually liked to see was Paddy Reynolds (I think that’s his name) but all that was shot was his shoulders and head… you can’t even see his hands… pretty funny really! I’d say get it just to make you see how good the first one is. There is even repeated footage on this one from the first. One thing that stands out is that on neither production is there footage of Leo Rowsome or Tommy Reck to name but two? Surely there is some somewhere that should be included?

Overall, I wasn’t too happy with it… it’s fine. My thing is that it could be fantastic!

Ah well.

Patrick.

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"Come West Along the Road

Irish Traditional Music Treasures, Volume 1
from RTÉ TV Archives 1960s - 1980s

RTÉ RTEDVD99

1 - Jimmy Sinnott, lilting. Hornpipe: Mullingar Races. 2 - Bothy Band. Song: Pretty Peg; Reel: Gregg’s Pipes. 3 - Celine Hession & Donncha O Muimhneachain, step dancing; Paddy Glackin, fiddle. Slip jigs: Fig for a Kiss, Kid on the Mountain. 4 - Darach O Cathain. Song: Oro, 'Se Do Bheatha Abhaile. 5 - Liam O’Flynn, uilleann pipes. Jig: Frieze Britches. 6 - Tulla Ceili Band. Reels: Pigeon on the Gate, Foxhunter’s. 7 - Ann Byrne & Jesse Owens. Song: Lily of the West. 8 - John, John Jnr & James Kelly, fiddles. Reels: Ceathru Cavan, Wild Irishman. 9 - Clannad. Song: Teir Abhaile Riu. 10 - Mary MacNamara & Martin Hayes, concertina & fiddle. Reels: John Naughton’s, Tommy Coen’s. 11 - Swords Mummers. March, Song: Twenty Men from Dublin Town. 12 - Ceoltoiri Laighean. Slide: Scattery Island Slide. 13 - Paul Brady. Song: Shamrock Shore. 14 - Set dancers; Tulla Ceili Band. 15 - Scan Keane, fiddle. Air: Gol na mBan san Ar. 16 - Willie Reynolds, uilleann pipes. Reels: Rakish Paddy, Sligo Maid. 17 - Knocknagree Set Dancers; Johnny O’Leary, accordion; Michael Duggan, fiddle; Ellen O’Leary, whistle; Kathleen O’Keeffe, whistle. Slides: Ratnawaun, Hare in the Corn. 18 - Padraig Agnas. Song: An Baile Ata Laimh Lei Siud. 19 - De Danann. Jigs: Tom Billy’s, Sean Ryan’s; Reels: Mick Hand’s, Hills of Clogher. 20 - Colm Walsh. Song: Bonny Bunch of Roses. 21 - Tommy Peoples, fiddle. Strathspeys; Laird of Drumblair (two versions). 22 - Sean O Cuilleanain (John Cullinane), step dancing; Sean O Cearbhaill, fiddle. Hornpipe: Liverpool. 23 - Julia Clifford, Denis Murphy, fiddles; Paddy Moloney, whistle; Des Mulkere, flute. Reel: Liffey Banks. 24 - Nioclas Toibin. Song: NaPrataiDubna. 25 - Joe Cooley, accordion; Jack Cooley bodhran; Des Mulkere, banjo. Reel: Wise Maid. 26 - Unknown boy. Song: Four Green Fields. 27 - Session group. Reels: Lucy Campbell’s, Sligo Maid. 28 - Pat Keamey; Eric Benson, piano. Song: Site Ni Ghadhra. 29 - Wrenboys. Hornpipe: Harvest Home; Reel: Duke of Leinster. 30 - Planxty. Song: Jolly Beggar; Reel: Wise Maid. 31 - Sean 'ac Dhonncha. Song: Bean an Fhir Rua. 32 - Paddy Moloney, Sean Potts, whistles; Peadar Mercier, bodhran. Reels: Connaught Heifers, Micho Russell’s. 33 - Gerry Cullen, Brian Leahy, Fran McPhail. Song: Bonny Light Horseman. 34 - Stocktons Wing. Reels: Boys of Malin, Green Fields of Tyrol, Glass of Beer. 35 - Ludlow Trio. Song: Butcher Boy. 36 - Sean O Se & Ceoltoiri Chualann. Song: Ta 'na La. 37 - Dubliners. Song: I Must Away Now. 38 - Denis O’Brien, whistle. Air: Ni ar Chnoc no ar Isleacht; Reel: Finbarr Dwyer’s. 39 Tommy Makem. Song: Leaving of Liverpool. 40 - Session group. Reel: Maid behind the Bar. 41 - Frank Harte. Song: Valentine O’Hara. 42 - Tullyvin Ceili Band. Reels: Donegal Reel, Sheehan’s, Croghan Hill. 43 - Al O’Donnell. Song: Ramble Away. 44 - Ceili dancers. Dance: Briseadh na Carraige ('Siege of Carrick"). 45 - Siamsa Tire Folk Theatre. Dramatisation of song ‘Casadh an tSugain’. 46 - Matt Molloy, flute; Donal Lunny, bouzouki. Reel: Bucks of Oranmore. 47 - Bonus track: Meet the People 1961. "

Meet the People?

Tullyvin Ceili band?

This looks to be entirely a sequel, no overlap with the VHS release at all. Some really keen looking bits, too, unless you’re just a hopeless piping snob like Fr. Pat!
The…first first issue? Vol. 1, No. 1? Is this Vol. 1, No. 2 then? Anyway the first tape had George, Fin, and Ted Furey, Willie Clancy and Joe O’Leary, Seamus Ennis, and another Planxty (I think) for pipes content. I’ve seen other bits that would go very nice on video - footage of Felix Doran, Sean McKiernan, Dan O’Dowd. But you expect this stuff to come out in dribs and drabs no matter how much you’d wish for more. I hope they put out the first on DVD sometime as well, since I can’t find my tape copy!
Too bad about Willie Reynolds! Paddy Reynolds was a fiddler. Willie will now be the Elvis of uilleann pipes (Elvis was shot above the waist when he was on Ed Sullivan in the 50s, it was thought the gyrating hips (Elvis the Pelvis they called him) would excite the sensibilities of impressionable Amerikan youth too much!).

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Yes, it just makes you want to kick RTÉ. They must be sitting on a fantastic hoard of piping material. I was told that Eamon de Butler has put a hold on publishing a lot of material, including a lot of stuff of Ennis. I don’t know why, but if someone has any IRA contacts, perhaps they could remove this … er … impediment. :wink:

Actually, in the interview Nicholas Carolan did on The Late Session, 2005-11-06, he noted how little of any of the RTÉ archives had ever been saved with the intention of preservation. They are still going through trying to catalogue it all, saving what they can to digital formats. On the other hand, Peter Browne noted that there is a strong push to get RTÉ out of the publishing business altogether, so it would have to take someone from the outside to make the material available to us mere plebs.

djm