In case you haven’t seen this yet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHcDY76a_eY
BTW - is that James Galway watching with a tear in his eye?
yup
That was great playing on a great tune.
Thanks for posting that.
–James
Wow!
yikes matt sure put an exclamation point on that one !
AWESOME !!!
I can’t decide whether I should go practice or start a fire… 
Yes, Matt Molloy is the King.
I got that opinion when I first bought Tears on Stone a couple of years ago, back then I hadn’t heard a whole lot of other stuff of course. Now I’ve heard all the great masters, and that is still my opinion.
But what is that flute he’s playing?? That can’t be the old Boosey can it? If it is it must be the Olwell I’ve seen for all these years, but I thought he didn’t make the switch until later. Was he playing something else completely in the 70s?
Sorry for the fanboy questions 
The man’s fantastic…
That’s the Eb flute he played on most of the tracks of “the black album.” I can’t remember what make it was. He played a concert-pitch Rudall on the first Bothy Band album but I don’t know what the make of the Eb flute was.
This clip is from the Come West Along the Road DVD, by the way.
I think James Galway looks more amused than anything else…I’ve seen him look that way at Molloy when they’ve performed together with the Chieftains; he always seems to put on this air of the master watching a talented disciple who has chosen to go his own way, which of course couldn’t be further from the truth!
I think he’s doing his best to not look jealous. 
Here’s another good video clip. This one is priceless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOrReDJEpNQ
They all look so young, and wow, Tríona is so cute!
I love the shot from behind where you can see how skinny Matt and Kevin are. And how about those “bell-bottoms”. Donal is so cool.
This is a classic Bothy Band song and it’s great to see it performed live.
Alas, that they didn’t reunite before Mícheál departed.
technical question, he looks to me like he’s cutting everything on the bottom hand with the top hand ring finger, is that correct?
Yes… But that’s what I have always done, even though I’m not Molloy.
I always found doing it differently was much more difficult, and not so neat.
i just ask because Grey Larsen is so adamant on cutting with the finger directly above the sounded note – Molloy is the progenitor of the “bubbly fingerwork” style, his stuff is so crisp and yet he doesn’t do what Grey seems to imply is the way to achieve bubbliness.
bubblitude?
bubblosity?
I think that Grey was writing for the beginner…
perhaps he was more clear in the section on triplets.
I never quite understood what bubblism actually was, I just love Molloy’s style… 
But if “bubbly” means very crisp ornamentation, then I think Molloy’s left hand cutting is the way to go. Just tell me if I’m wrong.
No grey means it. Took workshops and private lessons
with him. He’s thought things through and believes
his conclusions.
I think there’s a great deal of mutual respect between Molloy and Sir Jams. Years ago I read a review of a concert which reported that, after a solo by Molloy, someone in the crowd yelled, “James Galway is dead!”, to which Matt immediately replied, “James Galway is god”. Fair play to him, I thought. As to JG’s expression, don’t forget the guy can hardly see his hand in front of his face.
I don’t think Grey’s advice to cut with the finger directly above was aimed at achieving “bubbliness” but rather, in his words, at “maximizing the clarity and definition” of the cut. I personally find that a bit paradoxical because when I cut with a much higher note it sounds more clear and defined to my ear than if I cut with the note just above. I’ve always followed the rule of “cut high, tap low,” cutting most notes in the first octave with B (cutting B and A with C#), and that provides a sharp, clearly defined cut.