| “THE OLD MUSICIANS OF NORTH KERRY†The Script from a Presentation given by Diarmuid O'Cathain |
“THE OLD MUSICIANS OF NORTH KERRYâ€
‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.’
These lines from Gray’s famous elegy could well be used to describe the fate of hundreds of musicians from the North Kerry area, who in the past two centuries, played a noble role in preserving and handing down to later generations, the traditional music of Ireland, as well as tunes and styles peculiar to the area. A few of these musicians have been rescued from obscurity thanks to the efforts of local historians and because of the fact that some emigrated, particularly to the U.S.A., where they found fame, in dance clubs and in a few cases, featured on old 78 recordings. But compared to the few lucky ones, there are hundreds of others, whose names and prowess have been swept into oblivion by the sands of time.
The pages of history will not and never can do justice to the efforts of one Capt. Francis O’Neill. Born in Tralibane, near Bantry in Co. Cork, he finished his working life in the police force in Chicago and through his contacts in that body, succeeded in gathering or one could say, rescuing over two thousand tunes, which he penned for posterity. Even more important, he sought out and noted many of the sources of these tunes and very often the names given to the tunes reflect the areas in Ireland from which the musicians came.
For the purpose of this lecture, I propose to divide North Kerry loosely into areas and to deal only with musicians who had made their name prior to the late fifties. It would be impossible to name everybody who could play a tune or two, or even those who were capable of playing a March with a Wrenboy or Biddy Group, or ‘Maureen from Gibberman’ for a polka at a house dance while they awaited the arrival of a regular musician. Most of the following musicians have long since gone to their eternal reward, but there are a few left who have fostered and promoted the music, the songs and indeed the dances formed the mainstream of the culture of North Kerry for centuries past.
I start with the Ballyduff, Lisselton, Ballybunion area, for no particular reason other than it was from Rattoo, Ballyduff, we find the oldest of the people whose deeds were recorded for posterity. From here came a famous harpist, Nicholas ‘Dall’ Pierce, whose life span extended from 1560 to 1650. Pierce is but one of many musicians who were afflicted with the disease of blindness and it is believed that because of their affliction, they were unable to earn a living as labourers, but as musicians were able to get by comfortably, either as music teachers, travelling from area to area or as resident entertainers in the great houses that flourished throughout the country up to the early part of this century. It can be assumed that Nicholas Pierce must have been popular in influential circles as it is recorded that in the late sixteenth century he fell into disfavour with the Government of the day, a dangerous thing to do in those days! Far from having his head chopped off, as usually happened in such cases, he was pardoned by non-other than Elizabeth the First in 1601, thanks to the influence exerted by his friends at court! Another harpist of the time was one Cornelius Lyons, whose address was simply given as ‘the Barony of Clanmaurice’. This man was a contemporary of the noted O’Carolan and was the resident harpist to the Earl of Antrim. His own composition, ‘Miss Hamilton’ was much favoured by other harpists then and since then. Lyons is also credited as having contributed a number of tunes to Edward Bunting for his famous collection around the year 1702. Among the tunes contributed was the well-known air ‘The Lady of the Desert’.
It is known that the Uilleann Pipes were also played extensively in North Kerry in the past three centuries, though it is believed that this beautiful but difficult instrument was not popular as the Scottish Bag Piper. Most villages in North Kerry at one time or another boasted of a Pipe Band and hence the popularity of the Bag Pipes. Easily the most famous of all North Kerry pipers was one Tom McCarthy, who was also remarkable for the fact that he lived in three centuries. Born in 1799, he lived until 1904. For 65 years, McCarthy performed for visitors on the Castle Green, Ballybunion and he was also in much demand by the Great Houses of the area. It is recorded that in 1868, a dancing ‘Professor’ named Patrick D. Reidy from the Castleisland/Cordal area, visited Wrenns’ residence in Litter, Asdee and the music for his dancing was provided by the redoubtable Tom McCarthy. Padraig O Mathuna of Caiseal Mumhan, writing in ‘Tatler’s ade’ in the Irish Independent in 1972, states that among his collection of postcards printed by Lawrence of Dublin, is one with a picture of an Irish Piper, with the verse:
I like to hear Tennhauser on a fine orchestral band,
Or listen to Padereswski when he’s playing on a grand.
But there’s something more enchanting to the heart that is Irish-born,
To hear old Tim McCarthy playing ‘The Hare among the Corn.’
You will note that in the verse he is called ‘Tim’ McCarthy, but according to local tradition there is no doubt but that his name was Tom.
From the Uilleann Pipes we move to the most favoured instrument of the time, the fiddle and to one of the most renowned fiddlers of that area, Jeremiah Breen of Ballyconry. It is recorded that he too was blind and that he earned his living by ‘teaching music to farmers’ sons’, as well as playing for dances on Saturday nights.
This begs the question, why farmers‘ sons? What about the other sons and what about the daughters? It is not recorded what the clergy of the times thought of the Saturday night dances, but we can well imagine. Jeremiah played regularly with Tom McCarthy and is credited with being an excellent teacher. One of his pupils named Michael Kissane, later became a big businessman in Chicago. His most noted pupil however was Maurice Carmody of Dromlought in Listowel, who was born in 1862. Dromlought is a little townland on the back road from Listowel to Ballyconry and up to half a century ago boasted of a little dance hall that attracted patrons from far and near. From here Maruice Carmody’s fame and music spread and his tunes were carried to foreign shores by his neighbour, Paddy Stack from Ballyconry and later by his son Tom. As we turn into the twentieth century, we reach the recording age and we are fortunate to have an old 78 recording made by Paddy Stack in Chicago, joined by an uillleann piper named Edward Mullaney, who was born in Chicago, but was reared in Co. Mayo. Here Stack’s style of playing is reminiscent of the Sligo style that was so popular in America at that time.
Tom Carmody, son of Maurice was born in Dromlought in 1893. He learned the fiddle from his father and played for the dances in the old Temperance Hall in Dromlought for some years. He also played a bit on the melodeon but did not mature as an accordion player until like many another musician of this day, he emigrated to New York in 1925. He was not long in the Big Apple until a chance meeting with the noted Sligo fiddler, Jimmy Morrison, fashioned his future as a musician. Morrison was attracted to Carmody’s music and style and persuaded him to take the accordion more seriously. Having purchased an accordion in Morrison’s music store, he accepted his advice and for many years afterwards played with the master fiddler on his engagements as a fully-fledged member of the James Morrison Quartet. Tom Carmody must have figured high in the list of accordion players of that era as he was in competition with such notables as: Peter J. Conlon; Jerry O’Brien; John Kimmel; Joe Derrane and Newcastle-west born Billy McElligott. He made a number of 78’s with the Morrison Quartet but here we have a recording of him playing a solo hornpipe. An example of the teamwork in the Quartet can be gleamed from the recording of Peter Street Reel. No doubt but that Tom learned many tunes from the great musicians in New York in his time but he in turn, gave them some of the tunes he learned as a boy in his old home in Dromlought. One example was a jig which was known in North Kerry as ‘The Stick across the Fire’ and was re-christened by Jimmy Morrison as ‘Maurice Carmody’s Favourite’. A final example is a recording of two polkas that were very popular in North Kerry at the time. As was customary, the tunes had no official titles but the first tune was played in dance halls all over the area in the thirties, forties and fifties by Jerry ‘Canty’ Connell of Knockbrane.
In an article such as this, it would be impossible to do full justice to the many musicians who flourished in North Kerry in the past century and a half and all one can do is to ‘skim the surface’. Towards the end of the last century, a fiddler named George Whelan from Rattoo in Ballyduff (who incidentally is also reputed to have been blind) crossed the Shannon to Co. Clare and taught the fiddle in many houses. One of his pupils was the renowned Patrick Kelly of Cree in West Clare who was in his nineties when he died not so many years ago. Recordings of Patrick Kelly’s playing are stored in the Comhaltas Library in Monkstown and anybody who has heard them could not but note the similarity in styles between him and the great Sliabh Luachra fiddlers, Denis ‘The Weaver’ Murphy and Padraig Keeffe. Two noted concert flute players of this era were the Long brothers, John Patrick and Tom from Guhard, Lisselton. They were familiar figures at fairs in Listowel and played in such Great Houses as Hickeys of Carrigafoyle. Their flutes supposedly had gold mountings and are today lying somewhere in the U.S.A. The Long brothers were great grand uncles of Timmy Carr of Kilgarvan, whose son Micheal is keeping up the tradition. ‘Briseann an duchas’ …… mar a dearfha. In the thirties and forties, a man named Tim Carr was a frequent visitor to the Lixnaw area, teaching the fiddle to such as Mary Silles of Ballinvoher. He was supposed to have hailed from Ballyduff but old timers in Ballyduff state categorically that while he often ‘lodged’ at Healys in Ballyduff, he was not a native of the parish. Neither was he related to Paddy Carr (Carroll) of 1891 Kerry fame, nor indeed to another well-known fiddler from Ardoughter, Simon ‘Ninety’ Carroll, whose son John - recently deceased - kept up the family tradition. Where ever he came from Tim was a fine fiddle player, who called his favourite reel, ‘The Royal Star of Munster’. Others know it as simply ‘The Star of Munster’.
The townland of Kilbaha, Moyvane was always a nursery for performers on the concert flute. From here came Frank Thornton who emigrated to Chicago some sixty one years ago and without any exaggeration taught hundreds of children, including his son Jimmy, to play traditional music in the Windy City. Is it any wonder then that for years Frank was National President of the Irish Musicians Association in North America and so on the birth of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, he played a leading role in introducing the organisation to his adopted land. Back home in Kilbaha, his cousin, Jimmy Kennelly, kept the flag flying and won the Concert Flute competition at the very first Kerry Fleadh Cheoil in Ballyheigue in 1960. Other well-known flute players from that area were the Hanrahans and McAuliffes.
In Ballylongford, the late Tice O’Sullivan was a top class fiddle player, as well as having been chairman of the Kerry Co. Board of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann in the early sixties. In Ballybunion, Jimmy Fitzgerald still plays his fiddle and this unassuming gentleman must be given credit for the time he has spent down through the years, teaching the children of the area. From Ballybunion too, came that wonderful character, the late Jack Lyons, who was probably best known as a champion dancer and singer in his day, but was no mean performer on the old style two-row concertina. His favourite reel was ‘The Eel in the Sink’. In Lisselton, Patrick Nolan’s house was always a mecca for musicians, and Patrick himself was a great one to play for dancers on his music box, as was his son Bobby. Another fiddler from the Ballybunion area was Robert Johnson, who regularly played with Jimmy Fitzgerald. The late Liam Lynch, a native of Lacca Lisselton, was a top class concert flute player. Another top class flute player was and is Jack Leahy and his namesake Timmy Leahy - from the same town, was a genius on the old concertina. The hinterland of Listowel also had its quota of musicians such as the Mangans of Knockanes, who were well known as concertina players; the Sheehys of Clounmacon; fiddle players, Dan ‘Lew’ Sweeney, Mickey Burke of Ballygologue and Mick Regan of Church Street who was chairman of the Co. Board of Comhaltas for three years. In passing we cannot forget the accordion players of the area: the late Jack Larkin of Ballygrennan, Timmy Brosnan always in demand for playing for dancers and for parties, and the popular Bunny Dalton. Playing the commercial circuit, Bunny had to broaden his repertoire to include modern music, but he always insisted on the Reel, Set and Hornpipe as part of his programme at any dance hall availing of his services. One recalls a night in the old hall in Lixnaw when he announced that the next dance would be the Reel, Set and Hornpipe. One young fellow, not long out of short pants shouted, “We don’t want the Reel.†Bunny retorted, “I’m going to play the Reel and you can please yourself whether or not you are going to dance it.†– And play it he did!
Out in Finuge, Pat Sullivan and Tom Kelly kept the flag flying, as did the O’Mahonys of Ennismore. O’Mahonys was a great house for raffles and for Wren dances; patrons came from far away to such nights. The Mountcoal and Banemore areas were also hot beds of culture, as in these areas could be found some great step dancers, and where ever you have dancers you invariably have musicians also. Paudeen Kelliher of Banemore was in great demand as an accompanist for the dancers. Jerry and Willie ‘Fox’ Mulvihill were other very good accordion players and they and Timmy Greaney of Tournageehy were favourites at the ball nights and Wren dances. Curiously enough both Timmy and Willie ‘Fox’ favoured the two row style, but played the outside row and used the inside row for ‘flats’.
Jimey ‘Canty’ Connell lived in Knockbrane and played his accordion in the surrounding dance halls, including ‘The Hut’ at Mountcoal, Crotta Hall and the old Coursing Club hall in Lixnaw. This was in the days prior to p.a. systems and these musicians certainly earned the few bob they got for their labours. Mercifully in those day the polkas were played at a reasonable speed unlike today, and the dancers, often wearing hob nailed boots after the labours of the day, tipped out every note, be it the flagged floor of the country cottage or the paraffin oil soaked deal floor in the village hall. Fiddler, Jack Sheehy of Glenoe, was in much demand and later came Tim Joe Lyons and John Moore. In Lixnaw, the favoured instrument was the fiddle, with the concertina (two row versions) and the melodeon also in vogue. Opinions varied as to whether Paddy Prendeville of the Green or 24 stone weight Jose Connor of Dysert were the better fiddlers, but it does appear that both were good. In Dysert, one found other fiddle players such as John and Jimey Connell, Paddy Maher and Paddy Sheehy, and Sean Prendeville of the Green – a brother of Paddy was no mean exponent. With their passing, the fiddle tradition would have died were it not for the ongoing efforts of that much loved fiddler, Jerry O’Connell of Ballyhennessy and later of Glenderry. The melodeons were the favoured instruments at the ‘gambles’ and house dances in the Lixnaw area, where they were in the capable hands of ones such as: Jeremiah Sullivan of the Village; Jimmy Power, Ballinageragh; Catherine Whelan of Ballyrehan; Mick Foley, Deerpark; Maurisheen Twomey of Ballrehan; Brian Keane, Kiltomey and ‘Maneen Owen’ Mahoney of the Deal Road.
The Ardfert area had possibly the greatest number of musicians of any parish in Ireland. In this area the fiddle predominated. The late and great Paddy Sullivan of the West Commons often related that in his youth at the beginning of this century as many as thirteen fiddlers assembled on a Saturday night at Barrow Cross for a session. Little wonder then that this cross was often called ‘The Fiddlers’ Cross’. This Paddy Sullivan was one of the truly great fiddlers, whose brilliance was known only to the locals, as he always shunned the limelight. Here was a typical case of an artist ‘wasting his sweetest on a desert air’. He loved to play near the fireside at home and was still learning new tunes, particularly from the Comhaltas magazine – TREOIR, up to his death some years ago when he was in his nineties. Well known performer, Paddy ‘Bawn’ Sullivan from Ballygarron, who has lived in Brooklyn, New York for many years, speaks highly of Paddy’s ability, and is grateful to him for his advice and his tunes, as does Paddy Bawn’s brother Sean, long domiciled in San Jose, California and another brother, the late Jimmy who died in Limerick some years ago. Another great fiddle player who idolised Paddy was the late Paddy Scanlon of Listrim, The Spa, whose late brother Tom emigrated to the U.S.A. in the twenties, where he rubbed shoulders with the immortals, Coleman, Killoran, Morrison, all from Sligo and John McGrath, from Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Paddy Sullivan’s spirit lives on in his son, also called Paddy, who not alone is a fine fiddle player, but is also a historian, a poet and a respected authority on traditional music. Paddy (Jnr) and Paddy Scanlon were recorded by Ciaran MacMathuna for the popular Radio Eireann programme ‘Job of Journeywork’ at Fleadh Cheoil na h-Eireann in Ennis in 1956.
Probably the best known fiddler in the North West Kerry area in the early part of the century was John Slattery, who came from Tiduff, Ballyheigue and travelled many miles teaching music to the young and the not so young. Paddy Sullivan (Sr.) considered him to be one of the greats and he was some judge! From the same area as Slattery came another competent fiddle player, Stephen O’Mahony, who loved to play, but did not teach. Talking of Ballyheigue, one has to remember the great hearted Andrew Sheehy of The Castle Arms. Next to his family the fiddle was his pride and joy and even a sojourn in Spain when he fought in the Spanish Civil War, did not dampen his enthusiasm. Any musician who happened to call to the Castle Arms was made doubly welcome, and in no time at all the fiddle was unrobed and there followed a swapping of tunes. Andrew will be forever remembered in Comhaltas circles as the man who called a meeting on December 21st 1959, at the Castle Arms, at which the first County Board was formed. We cannot forget in passing the late Tom Stack of Sandford, Causeway. During a long life, Tom travelled long distances teaching his art to younger players and by any standard must be counted a very good performer. In the Lerrig area everybody knew Jerry Hanafin. His house was a venue for regular dances, and he himself was a familiar figure at matches on a Sunday, when he entertained the attendance with his fiddle (whether they liked it or not). He did this on a commercial basis and as he took the cap around making his collection, his favourite exhortation was ‘come on min. Ballyduff had a long tradition in the music world and none better than Dr. Mick Sweeney, a founder member and first treasurer of the Kerry Co. Board of Comhaltas Ceoloiri Eireann, and his brother Rory. They were two fine fiddlers. Also from Ballyduff came Liam and Harry Power from The Cashen and Willie McCarthy, who was better known as a step dancer, but also played the accordion. While no doubt Kerry musicians travelling to other counties brought with them the music of Kerry, this also worked in reverse and some of the travelling musicians brought strange tunes with them. A familiar sight in the early part of the century was a fiddler named ‘Old Gnaw’, whose proper name was of course McKenna. Born without proper legs, he travelled the roads of North Kerry on a donkey’s back. The donkey was trained to take his rider into the house and ‘park’ near the kitchen table to allow him to slide on to the table. McKenna was a native of Lixnaw and is reputed to have been a great fiddle player. He is also reputed to have been a lady charmer, despite his handicap. The story is told how one of his favoured ladies carted him into a bog inside a ‘cliabh’ which she carried on her back. Another travelling musician of the late teens and early twenties was Jamesy O’Brien. His favourite haunts were Abbeydorney, Ardfert and Lixnaw, and back in the forties, Professor Val Rice wrote a very interesting article on him. His mother was a native of Clandouglas, Lixnaw, he was reared in England and served some time in the British Army. He trained as a classical violinist and is reputed to have played for high society. Being short tempered, he did not prove to be as good a teacher as he was a performer. Thanks to the efforts of Paddy O’Sullivan of West Commons, one manuscript, penned by O’Brien still remains. One of his favourite reels was ‘the Colliers’, and he also had a lovely version of the March which he called ‘Napoleon’s Farewell to the Arabs’, which differs greatly from the version now played by The Chieftains and others. Mine host at the Railway Bar, Lixnaw, Jack McCarthy remembers O’Brien as he was a frequent visitor to his mother’s premises. He remembers him wearing a long top coat, inside was a gigantic pocket in which he carried his fiddle. Jack remembers one night in particular at a time when O’Brien lodged at McCarthy’s (later Brosnans) in Liscullane. As usual, he had taken ‘one too many’ and as was the custom walked the railway line when going home. Somewhere around the gates leading from the railway to Jim Connell’s, he stumbled and evidently fell. This was a bitterly cold, frosty night, but overcome by drink and fatigue, he failed to rise and fell asleep at the side of the railway. Next morning, the men in the ‘buggy’ car, which was used to check the lines, found him still asleep and by now frozen stiff, placed him on the buggy, returned him to the comfort of the Railway Bar. Mrs McCarthy succeeded in thawing him out with one of his favourite drinks, a mug of piping hot tea with two spoonfuls of ginger! O’Brien died in the Workhouse, Tralee, in the early twenties following a short illness and is buried in Bully’s Acre, Tralee. In the late forties and early fifties, another travelling musician and his family encamped in the Lixnaw and Ballyduff areas. This man was Paddy Dunn and despite what was published elsewhere in recent times, he was not related to Pecker Dunn and much less was his father. Paddy was a brilliant but modest fiddler and banjo player who played at matches and at race meetings, as well as at concerts. Tuning the fiddle seldom provided a problem, as when he met with some accordion player playing a minor key; he just adjusted the positioning of his fingers, and dropped the open note. In later years, he and his family found a settled home in Limerick, where he died some years ago.
In the past fifty years, the accordion has undoubtedly become the favourite instrument in North Kerry. Bigger crowds attending the dance halls created a need for a stronger instrument than the fiddle, especially in the days prior to amplification. In addition to Jerry ‘Canty’ Connell already mentioned, John Ferris played for some years in Lixnaw; Tomasheen Grady played the piano accordion in Ballyduff hall and a popular outfit at the time were Johnny Sweeney, Ballyheigue and Jerry Flaherty, Ballinorig on the accordions and the late Timmy Sweeney played the drums. Jerry Flaherty’s Brother, Johnny, was also a well-known accordion player, who in later years with Paddy Sullivan, Johnny Dore and a Killorglin fiddler formed part of the cast in the popular film, ‘Ryan’s Daughter’. Incidentally, the Killorglin fiddler was the late Johnny Cahillane. Two very well-known accordion players of the forties and fifties were the Cooke brothers from Kilmoyley, Tom Joe and Harry. Opinions varied as to which of the two was the better, but the consensus of opinion was that they were equally good. They played in Causeway, Ballheighue, Ardfert and Abbeydorney and in addition to being fine exponents of the jigs, reels and hornpipes, they were masterly waltz players. In Causeway, Bob Kearney was in much demand, while in Ballyheigue, Philly Lucid carried on the family addiction to traditional music. Philly’s father played the fiddle, but Philly opted for the accordion as did his son John, who won the All-Ireland junior and senior accordion championships some years ago. In the Lixnaw area, some young accordion players came to light. These included Pats Keane, Kiltomey, who unfortunately was heard all too seldom, and his cousins, Sonny and the late Joe Keane, both of whom spent many a hard day hunting the wren and many a hard night playing at Wren dances and ‘gambles’.
I have deliberatively left until last, the man who is generally regarded as the greatest character of them all, the late Christy O Connell from Banna Road, Ardfert. In his short life span of thirty-four years, he lived life to the full, and unfortunately paid the ultimate penalty. In the thirties and forties he travelled the roads of North Kerry, with his accordion and overcoat strapped to the carrier of his bicycle. He played the dance hall scene everywhere from the Six Crosses to Ballyheigue, and his brilliance on the accordion allied to his charisma and personal charm made him a great favourite where ever he went. As a musician he is regarded as being thirty years ahead of his time. He was certainly the first man in the area to master the two rows of keys, while others considered the second row - in the words of the great Joe Burke – a SPARE row, to be used only when the other one failed. The travelling, the wettings and a tendency to drink more than was wise took its toll and he fell victim to the ten dreaded disease – T.B.!
His luck was in however at the time, when few if any recovered and after a two year sojourn in Edenburn Sanatorium he was again pronounced fit. He was discharged with a solemn warning to mind himself, no late nights, no excessive drinking etc. etc. All the pleadings fell on deaf ears and within two years, Christy was back in Edenburn for the second and last time. As his strength evaporated, he found the accordion too heavy to play and for some time prior to his death, he played the fiddle to the surprise of most! As the end drew near he had more time for pondering over what might have been and though well aware of the fact that this time there would be no reprieve, he faced death as he had faced life, with a smile and a kind word for all. In these last weeks his prowess as a poet suddenly blossomed forth and The Kerryman carried a poem, entitled ‘Ardfert by the Sea’, followed by yet another titled ‘Short and Sweet’. When these poems appeared, there was scarcely a dry eye in North Kerry where he was known to old and young. Part of the poems reflected his thoughts as he looked back on life, e.g.
No more on the roadway the passerby lingers
To list to the music that once used to be
So cheerily played by my young active fingers
In my old cottage home in Ardfert by the sea…
And night after night amidst music and song
With my old music box as my treasure
No task seemed too heavy, no journey too long
I squandered my life for such pleasure
My parents oft told me I’d someday regret
My wild and foolish careering;
But I scoffed at their warning – I think of it yet
I continued and gave them no hearing
And so I have earned my lingering lot
Now I lie on my bed sick and sore
I’m feeble and sore from the pleasures I sought
Though my age it is scarce thirty four
And so to the end of my life and my song
I have come with contentment and glee
For I’m just as happy as the days they are long
And I want you to weep not for me
Ah! Soon I must be with the grass growing o’er me
So silent and cold and asleep peacefully
With my friends who have gone to their graves long before me
In that ancient old ruin in Ardfert by the sea
The dying words of a true genius! Like the famous words from ‘Riders to the Sea’ – they’re all gone now; the travelling musicians and ballad singers who often lightened the gloom on a fair day or at the annual Pattern.
In these few pages we have tried to list as many as possible of the known musicians who were proud bearers of a noble tradition and it is thanks to their efforts that our traditional music is in the happy state we find it today. As stated at the outset, we just skimmed the surface. There were hundreds of others who played their part, but neither space nor time permits inclusion.
I am indebted to many people for the foregoing information, including Nicholas McAuliffe, Castleisland – a veritable mine of information where traditional music or any aspect of Irish culture is concerned; Paddy O’Sullivan, Ardfert, mentioned already in this article; Harry Bradshaw of R.T.E. who in recent years has done tremendous work in the field of research; Maureen Carr of Lisselton and Jack McCarthy of Lixnaw. Their assistance is greatly appreciated as is the Management and staff of Kerry Co. Library, who originally planted the idea.
DIARMUID O CATHAIN
BAILE AN CHLOCHAIR
LEAC SNA
TRA-LI
OMISSION
THE FOLLOWING MUSICIANS WERE INADVERTENTLY OMITTED FROM THIS DOCUMENT:
SEAMUS HUSSEY, CAUSEWAY; A top class accordion player and a founder member of Coiste Cho. Chiarrai. He was founder and leader of the Shannonvale Ceili Band.
WILLIE FITZGERALD, FENIT: A well-known fiddler, who specialised in Slow Airs. He spent many years in Birmingham.
NED NOLAN, ARDRAHAN, ARDFERT: A first class fiddler, who played many a session with Paddy O’Sullivan. He often played a viola instead of a violin.
PAT BROWN, BALLYDUFF: Another fiddler of the old school. He was a founder member of the Kerry Co. Board in 1959.
