http://www.box.net/shared/m6893qh2xv
If’n anyone is interested I have uploaded some files of my Grandads Band"The Moate Ceilidhe Band" frae the 1930s and 40s.This band played regularly on Saturday nights frae Radio Eireann Athlone and was used at dances throughout Ireland.Their tour of America was cancelled because of the War.It will give ye a good idea of the dance tempo used then and in ma youth.The fotie shows the band Ma grandad is 1st left standing and ma Uncle is the wee boy sitting .He went on to be 7 times All Ireland Champion on the Accordion.The medals and trophies all belonged to ma Mother as she was all Ireland Champion Dancer several times over in the 30s-40s and ma Grandad thought it would enhance the fotie but it is a bit of PR hype.
That’s powerful stuff there Uilliam, but now that ye’ve teased us with a taster, have ye got any more?
‘Kinnegad slashers’ is one of my favourite jigs, it just has a bounce to it when it’s played.
whistle-man…thats all I have readily available.I have more but they are on a cassette tape which I do not know how to copy to PC.All the original RTE Athlone recordings/tapes were destroyed during the Emergency(WWII) to make room for Government Documents.
Uilliam
Hya ,thats sounds really good o ye.Of course I trust ye.On the b side there are more tunes frae the band but also a lot of solo stuff frae John Jo Gannon (1st sitting left)in ma Grans kitchen,in his later years but he lost none of his sparkle in the playing.PM me wi your Address and I will dig up the tape for ye.Thanks.
Uilliam
Lovely stuff.
Very interesting point in the OP about the tempo then and how they play nowaday.
I loved that extra bit of a lash as the Lark in the Morning comes around for the second time.
I agree with Simon, that does look like a clarinet and maybe it’s auto-suggestion but I could swear I heard it in the Salamanca. I’ll have a closer listen later.
Thanks for these tracks .
Slan,
D.
I don’t know where ye got the idea it was a flute frae Of course it is a Clarinet. My grandad played fiddle, pipes, accordion and clarinet.He only played the clarinet and fidil wi the band.The Clarinet was a favourite for the waltzes that were very popular wi the dancers between the wars.More for the body contact it gave I would say than musical ethos I do believe it was the only Ceilidhe Band to feature a Clarinet.
Uilliam
Just out of curiosity … Would that have been a C clarinet, do you know? A standard Bb clarinet puts the D chunes in E, the G chunes in A, and the A chunes in B, which are not the friendliest keys on the liquorice stick.
There was a lot of guys in those days dabbling in the Big Band sound. They heard the music on short wave wireless and picked up what they heard, depending on what instrument they played.
Come rehearsal night, the boys would try and put all the pieces together. Made for some very interesting arrangements.
One of these guys once told me that the big tune at the end of the night was “Take the A train”…and when he got around, years later, to hearing the original..he barely recognised it.
Nothing like the way that him and his band played it.
Like the big Ceili bands, those days are over, alas.
It always struck me as being funny that some many Irish guys, all those years back, had such a passion for Jazz…and not a decent radio between them.
In order to complete the collection there is one 78 missing it is in the old Regal-Zenophone Record Catologue 1950 and is No.IZ1280
The tunes are Set Dance:(a)St.Patrick’s Day;(b)Humours of Bandon.
Hornpipes:(a)The Plains of Boyle;(b)The Echo
If anyone out there in the ether knows where I can get either a copy of the 78 or a copy of the recordings I would be VERY grateful.
Enjoy.
Uilliam
ps They play fine in Windows media player and they are also in MP3 format so ye should be OK.
Of course it is a Clarinet. My grandad played fiddle, pipes, accordion and clarinet.He only played the clarinet and fidil wi the band.The Clarinet was a favourite for the waltzes that were very popular wi the dancers between the wars.More for the body contact it gave I would say than musical ethos 
I do believe it was the only Ceilidhe Band to feature a Clarinet.
