Though it helps to have a good teacher 
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0127/1224288386168.html
I notice that Mary isn’t using this as an opportunity to promote the south paw - which raises a question: is she a left-hander for other things too, or did she just get into playing the whistle the way she does because nobody taught her otherwise?
Oh, thanks for that, Roger. A good article, and I enjoyed reading it. There are some good tips here for the beginner who can read between the lines.
I find it interesting that Mary feels rhythm is the most important element of music. Her sense of time and rhythm are what impress me most about her playing. Even at lightning fast tempos her playing sounds relaxed and “in the groove”, never rushed.
She’s not alone by any stretch. Anyone in ITM that I have ever looked up to that had anything to say about it has said the very same thing, and first off.
Citing “music” as a generality as Bergin did, a person could nitpick and say, “Well, what about classical North Indian alap, for example, or Irish airs?”…good question. If they’re being done well, both require phrasing and a sense of pulse (in airs, knowledge of and reference to the lyrics behind the melody is a must), even though they’re played unmetered and not foursquare like dance tunes. An air should not be an amorphous blob. The employment of phrasing and pulse, even if it’s not in strict rhythmic meter, amounts to rhythm too. And it does matter. Without it, there is only disorder no matter how brilliant the technical minutiae may be.
Yes, she’s amazing to me that way.
What also impresses me to no end is how her ornamentaion is so lavish and bubbly, yet the “encrustations” never hide the tune itself under their weight. You can always still clearly hear the tune for what it is, and I love that. It’s no accident that people hold her up as an example. 
Very nice article. Does anyone have the abc for the tunes mentioned (and know which versions)? I’m trying to figure out if I know any. The first one is also known as Raglan Road, but at least half aren’t around on the web probably because the titles out here are in English (or perhaps they aren’t well known tunes). And at least one title has jigs, polkas, slip jig, and slide with that same name…
It is always interesting to see how a fine teacher picks tunes that progress naturally and I’d like to know what was done in this case.
Chuck, do you mean Twinkle Twinkle, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Row Your Boat, and Frère Jacques?
OK, seriously, they’re all on The Session, such as it is. I think I’ve picked the right settings, and be sure to check the comments.
Fáinne Geal an Lae / Bright Ring of the Day / Raglan Road
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1441 (march)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/10192 (waltz)
Peigín Leitir Móir / Peggy Lettermore (polka)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/9154
Britches Full of Stiches (polka)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1075
Have You Washed Your Father’s Shirt
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1820 (polka)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1022 (as “reel”, parts reversed)
Cuil Aodha (slide)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/14
The Boys of Blue Hill (hornpipe)
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/651
Gee Mr. Guru, do you really have dots for Twinkle Twinkle? AND Frere Jacky? Can I get them?
Seriously you’re a better man than I. I looked at the session, and at abcnotation.com and at John Chambers and didn’t turn up most of those named an Gaelic. Thanks.