Inquiring minds want to know… why are there parrots on the cover of your tutor?
You perhaps own a pair? Are these a particular parrot native to the more Northern parts of Ireland?
Clearly, Polly wants a Craicer.
well, it is a groaner
but it’s a dang good one! 
LOL… indeed they do,
That actually might be the answer! If not I say Conal runs with it!
Can’t help with the parrots (excepting to say there are heaps of them around here!) but I just came across an interesting flute-related story concerning lyrebirds…
From Wikipedia:
One researcher, Sydney Curtis, has recorded flute-like lyrebird calls in the vicinity of the New England National Park. Similarly, in 1969, a park ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird song which resembled flute sounds in the New England National Park, near Dorrigo in northern coastal New South Wales. After much detective work by Fenton, it was discovered that in the 1930s, a flute player living on a farm adjoining the park used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird adopted the tunes into his repertoire, and retained them after release into the park. Neville Fenton forwarded a tape of his recording to Norman Robinson. Because a lyrebird is able to carry two tunes at the same time, Robinson filtered out one of the tunes and put it on the phonograph for the purposes of analysis. The song represents a modified version of two popular tunes in the 1930s: “The Keel Row” and “Mosquito’s Dance”. Musicologist David Rothenberg has endorsed this information.
Reason I was looking up lyrebirds is I’d come across one yesterday. There was an impossible collection of unrelated noises emanating from the bush just near our place, so I went to investigate. I caught a glimpse of the bird but then he melted away, as they do. I did find his display mound however, so I know I’m not fooling myself. Here’s a nice image of one from Wikipedia:
The Keel Row is one thing, but I’m wondering how he’ll go on “Lord Gordon”…
Terry
Perhaps Conal can explain why he didn’t use the lyrebird instead? Sounds amazing, Terry.
Bodhran player Colum Murphy did the cover art so maybe that has something to do with it 
Terry, you have to visit my neighborhood! There’s lots of unrelated noises coming from bushes, but no one dare investigate them…
Heh heh, my mum, Josephine O’Carolan, who was born in Ardagh Cottage in Co. Meath, told us of the parish priest beating the bushes to scare out young couples in her youth. I’m so not going there!
Terry
Ah yes, the parrots.
Well, its fairly traditional in West Cork for flute-players to have parrots. Hammy for instance has 5 of them and uses them for hunting. I have two that I send to the shop if I run out of milk or whatever. Each town land has their own colored parrot…a bit like the different tartans in Scotland. In sessions they perch on the flute (as shown on the cover of the book) and hop from leg to leg in time to the music, sometimes swapping ends in an acrobatic flight moves that draw whoops and yells from onlookers. When the pub is crowed they can be sent on refill missions to the bar above the heads of the assembled throng. My two even lend me money when I run short.
As I was completing the book, the parrots were perched, one on each shoulder, each with one of my ears held in their powerful beaks and they gently suggested I should give them main billing on the cover. Hadn’t the heart to refuse.
Hope this helps
Conal
Heh heh.
Conal mentions powerful beaks. Trust him. These birds live on seeds and nuts which in a dry country like Australia are rock hard. Here’s one of our locals, the Rainbow Lorikeet. Check out the beak…
Terry
Sounds like you have some great weed in Cork too.. 
My main parrot problem is having a cup of coffee in peace without having cookies stolen
Btw, i really appreciate the book!
(and help getting in touch with Colm)
Cheers, Lars!
Thanks Conal, I really appreciate you clearing this up for us. Over on this side of the Atlantic we can get a little isolated and some people have strange ideas of Irish folklore and tradition, so it is great to be able to get reliable information from someone who is right there on the spot. Also I’m very much enjoying working with the book and the CD.
Seeing Terry here and parrots reminds me of visiting my son and grandchillren in Brisbane Australia. They had parrots everywhere in the trees in front of their house. amazing site. It was those other birds that sounded horrible and the ones that attack you and the poisionous frogs that were bad. 
What we do to see our grandchildren.
The horrible sounding ones are probably the cockatoos. Beautiful bird with white plumage and a yellow crest, but a voice like train brakes in an emergency stop. The attackers are our magpies - very protective of their young in the breeding season. Don’t bother anybody local, but will divebomb anyone they don’t recognise. Lovely song - a real yodelling song, not just a chirp or a tweet.
The poisonous frogs will be the cane toad - introduced into Australia illegally in an attempt to deal with a bug that infests sugar cane. It’s an environmental disaster in the north of Australia as our native animals don’t know it’s poisonous. The ghastly creatures are now about half way across the top heading for Western Australia. Too late to do anything about unless they can come up with a biological control. Ugh!
Terry
Brilliant! I knew there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Hell… I gotta git me some of those Corkian parrots!
The kind we have here in L.A. (especially in Pasadena) only fly about like a giant green cloud and just scream and squirt.
Oh, really enjoying your tutor. Thanx!
Peri