Well, actually I have no idea who these people are that are mentioned. I don’t know what is recommended listening. I don’t know what is available. I am the proverbial blank page, waiting to be written upon (sigh).
It all sounds fascinating enough, though. I guess I would have to leave it open to the discretion of those making these recommendations as to what they think I should know. I’m open to suggestions - well, most suggestions. 
djm
We had the local piper’s club host a booth at the last St. Patrick’s day celebration downtown St. Paul Minnesota, and I got the name of some character who claims he’s got cases of reel-reel and maybe wire recordings or cassettes done on good equipment that he did as an audiophile starting back in the 50’s and 60’s and onward, of Willie Clancy and a load of others from wherever he calls his local and kitchens or parlours around the area. I offered to help him transfer to digital, clean it up and make a club project out of it or something, but he disappeared and never got back to me on it. The issue of possible value came up of course, and maybe copyright (probably not much of an issue) and then he just apparently forgot all about it.
We’ve also got another fellow around town who’s got an allegedly extensive collection of wax cylinders, some of which include pipers.
There’s a lot of stuff out there for sure.
Royce
There always seems to be more to find, that’s for sure.
The picture of Seamus Ennis in the Hannon/Garvin Ennis book was taken in Miltown Malbay in the 1950s. A native of Miltown had moved to Phoenix, AZ in the 1990s and struck up a conversation with someone there. When the other person heard Miltown Malbay, he mentioned that he had taken a bunch of photos in 1955 while in Miltown (I believe that was the year).
It’s a fabulous photo of Seamus. The photographer also had a photo of Willie Clancy. Notable was that the photos were in color - most photo work was still done in b+w.
It was Breandan Breathnach that recorded Seamus in 1958 (I believe) in Friels or Queallys. Peter Street, etc. Just marvelous playing. I seem to remember that the Ceol Rince notation was slightly incorrect for Peter Street (going against the 1958 Miltown recording).
I believe there is plenty of ‘unreleased’ Willie Clancy, Seamus Ennis, and Leo Rowsome. Whenever portable tape recorders were emerging (mid-1950s thru 1970).
If you want to look on that end of the world for material, there’s a collection of music in the Southern Folklife collection of the University of North Carolina that’s easily accessible and they’ll send you out copies at a very reasonable price.
In 1972 a man named Chris Delaney travelled to Ireland to do field recordings, he visited broadly the ‘right’ people and while I personally don’t think he got the best out of his informants there’s loads to be enjoyed in the collection. Willie Clancy is included, although mainly on whistle, Micko Russell, Denis Murphy, Paddy Canny, Peter O Loughlin, Joe Ryan who’s particularly on form , a 15 year or so old James Kelly, John Kelly, Paddy Glackin, Paddy Fahey, Tony Smith, nice whistleplaying by Ann Sheehy, and loads more.
Just to show how these things travel and how tunes may lay dormant on tapes for ages before being revived, I told several people about the collection after first stumbling into it and lifted a few tunes. The tune Dillon Browne which Willie Clancy plays on the whistle on these tapes has since been recorded by Tommy Keane, Mick OB and Caiomhin O R. When I played it during the Willie week Gay McK was over like a shot to ask what that was and where it came from and during a night with a few pipers and fiddler’s in Friel’s some weeks ago after I played the tune on Padraig MacMathuna’s Bflat pipes with Caoimhin O Raghallaigh on the fiddle, Liam O Flynn took note to make sure that that was the first tune he’d learn when he got home. Next year’s pop-tune to be sure.
You can access the library catalogue at North Carolina through the web and order the tapes. I mean, material is available but it won’t come knocking on your door, you have to go looking too.
Jim, that is a lovely set of photographs there are also a few of Thady Casey with the bodhran and Willie, they were taken when the county Fleadh was in Miltown I think. There’s a set of prints on the wall in the kitchen of the Crosses of Annagh, for those passing through.
Recently I came across a collection of around 200 hours of mainly unlabelled, unindexed music recorded locally from the late fifties onward,
sitting in a cardboard box under the desk of a friend of mine, a folkmusic collector whom I was swapping tapes with.
Material was mainly from the circle around Junior Crehan but most local players of the day are included, loads of Willie Clancy in it and Ennis too and everybody else. It’s in good hands now [the man who recorded the material died] and being indexed and looked at. Sitting there waiting to be opened up.
Yes, I noticed he has him using cuts in the second last bar in a fairly uncharacteristic way. It’s evident in the recording that he prefered popping there. And there’s odd melodic yokes in the second and third bars of the second part.
Regards, Harry.
Peter, that’s amazing, I’ve got to get cracking on them for some of that audio. Are there any other library catalogs that have material available like that? I know about Smithsonian Folkways, they have some tapes or maybe CDs by now with Willie on them. They’re listed in the Dance Music of Willie Clancy’s discography, if some of you want to go digging. Some great stuff, Clancy/Michael Gorman, bits of Denis Murphy, lots of good singers.
Is that the Dillon Brown that Paddy Killoran played? Fiddlers usually call it Langton’s Reel, and play it in A. As rendered in G it’s first part would be: BA GEDE G.Bd edBd edge dBBB gBBB BAGB A. (repeat). Great tune but those B rolls are a bitch.
Or, there’s a Dillon Brown in O’Neill’s that’s also in the Leo Rowsome tunebook. Willie picked up the odd tune from Leo, playing in the pipes quartet. I’ve a tape with him playing this other Leo reel, The High Road to Galway, that’s a great tune. Or Dillon’s Fancy. Hey, there’s Dillon again! That’s in O’Neill’s, too, in A. Willie’s transcription’s in Ceol Rince Vol. 1.
First of all, I am in awe of those of you who have been out there digging some of this stuff up. I had never been aware of the Southern Folklife collection before, but like Kevin, you can bet I’ll be in touch with them now.
As an aside, I’m specifically interested in finding some recordings of Andy Conroy. Any advice/ reccomendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
-CD
The University’s website is http://www.lib.unc.edu/. Do a search for catalog materials with the author Chris Delaney. The Irish material is 9 sound recordings. He also contributed a collection of recordings of old-time music, and “A compilation of broadcasts from 1996 and 1997 dealing with the hog industry in North Carolina.”
Hello
CD said
"As an aside, I’m specifically interested in finding some recordings of Andy Conroy. Any advice/ reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. "
In an earlier thread about biggest influences I offered a cassette tape of Andy’s playing to whoever was interested.
Only two people asked for a copy.
The offer is still open.
Email me if you are interested.
Cheers
John