Could anyone recommend musicians I should listen to who best represent the East Galway style of playing? I have tried to find a CD by Paddy Fahey but had no luck. My other question concerns the similarity between Martin Hayes’ style of playing and the East Galway style. Is there much of a similarity?
Thanks for the help.
Paddy Carty made two recordings, one solo and one with Conor Tully, just before he died (Carty that is not Tully he’s very much still going). The RTE Music of Galway & Limerick has some good examples of the Moloneys, Brodericks, Kieran Collins and Paddy Kelly. Lucy Farr’s cassette is also interesting.
Sadly not many of the great exponents were recorded commercially so you will have to talk nicely to some of the people on this or the piper’s board who have private recordings to hear more.
Martin Hayes is pretty much a virtuoso performer and what there is of East Galway in his style is probably balanced by Tommy Potts, Paddy Canny and the East Clare style, and dare I say it a pinch or two of jazz, bluegrass and goodness knows what else.
Ken
I tend to be a bit carefull applying ‘the East Clare style’ as a blanket statement concerning the area’s music, to my ear there is such a vast difference between the relatively bare rhythmic music people like P Joe Hayes and Joe Bane played and the lyrical ourpourings of Paddy Canny and Martin Rochford.
Martin Rochford, who I think is in many ways one of Hayes’ main influences, spent a lot of time at the White’s in East Galway during the 1930s, playing fiddles exchanging tunes, it was as he said ‘only ten miles as the crow flies across the Sliabh Aughties’. Geographically the areas are close and musically there are many connections. A couple of years ago Hayes was very interested in Paddy Fahey’s music, the styles of Fahey’s and Hayes’ playing are quite different though. Of the younger fiddlers [well, relatively] I’d say Liam Lewis is much closer to Fahey’s playing style.
For East Galway, listen also to Aggie White, the whole group around the Ballinakil traditional players [the Whites, the Maloneys etc] it is stuff you will have to look for, it’s not always easy to find.
What’s the title of the solo recording, and any info on the publisher, item #, etc. I’d really like to find a copy of this (LP or cassette, I presume).
Kevin Krell
International Traditional Music Society, Inc.
That one is long out of print Kevin and it was only ever available as a cassette
Paddy Carty, Conor Tully and Frank Hogan. - Traditional Music of Ireland. -Trad HHC 002 released through GTD Heritage Recording Co., Ballybane industrial Estate Galway
That said, it’s brilliant.
Thanks, Peter. GTD is still around, though, maybe I’ll give Sean a call.
BTW, I just sent you a copy of “Wooden Flute Obsession”, assuming the postman can find you.
Kevin Krell
Nice, thanks a letter to Peter Laban, Ireland once made it to my door so if it’s aimed at roughly the right area it will arrive. I e-mailed you a duet of Paddys Fahey and Carty that you may find interesting.
Hello
I don’t have my recordings to hand but wasn’t Gabriel O’Sullivan from the Ballinakill area. He made a recording in 1979 with Joe Heaney called Joe and the Gabe. (out of print as well probably)
Cheers
Sean
Gabriel O’Sullivan is now in London, UK.
Kevin Krell
The Paddy Carty solo LP I referred to was the Shanachie record which I think is available on CD now. I wasn’t aware there was anything else.
Peter makes some sound points in his brief analysis of Rochford’s style and influence. Thanks by the way for the mp3s of Rochford, it’s a pity more of his playing isn’t easier to find.
You’re right about the generalisations, I would normally be reluctant to try to classify players by locality but when somebody asks for examples, you tend to generalise, and to some extent look for the players who made commercial recordings.
Just to throw a final joker into the ring, Joe Burke is East Galway born and bred but I think you’d be hard pushed to describe his box playing as east galway style.
Ken
I was more or less making a general statement, with Martin Hayes’ marketing blurb HIS style has suddenly become synonimous with East Clare. While really it embraces quite a bit, Martin Hayes and Mary Mac, Pat O Connor and the whole Feakle scene, Canny is very much alive and kicking but Rochford and Martin Woods, Nauhgton, Bane, who are all gone. But where to put Vincent Griffin and Paddy Donohue, East Clare stalwarts too. There’s a multitude of influences there from all sides.
I keep making the point about Rochford, I was struck as by lightning by his music, first when I first walked into his piping in 1980 and alter sitting in his kitchen when he took down the fiddle spoke his characteristic ‘do you know this one, that’s a nice one’ and swept me completely off my feet with his fiddleplaying.
I’d recommend the Rafferty cds, Mike and Mary Rafferty, and also Mary’s
solo cd with Do/nal Clancy. I’m not sure where you can hear a preview
but they are available at http://raffertymusic.com/ (though for some
reason I can’t get through to the site at the moment). You can also get
them from Philippe, Ossian, etc.
Also I’m not sure if there is a cd but I heard Claire Keville in a concert
once with a fiddler, she plays the concertina, I believe she is from Co.
Clare, and she was just fantastic.
Cheers, Lesl
I would also like to throw in Billy McComiskey… have to be careful though while he is primarily East Galway, he can and does play tunes in other styles and recordings of him alone are hard to find; he is most famously featured on the Trian and The Irish Tradition Albums/CDs… though he does occasionally make rumbings about making a second solo album.
Bill
A few more:
Jack and Fr Charlie Coen “The East Branch Line”–though they’ve been New York-based for 50 years, their repertoire is solidly E Galway.
Joe Box Burke is often thought of as an East Galway player; I hear it especially in his flute playing.
Second the recommendation on Mike Rafferty.
There are a few very interesting archival tracks by a melodeon player named Michael Kennedy on the Larsen/League “Green House” disc. Can’t remember the name of Kennedy’s townland, but he emigrated in the 'Teens to Cincinnati and his repertoire stayed quite local to his home place. Very interesting playing. Don’t think he’s recorded anywhere else, though Grey Larsen still plays some of his tunes on concertina.
Duh. Belated addition:
The seminal E Galway player: Joe Cooley.