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The Seisuin Spy went hunting mighty music in Ireland this summer and found craic galore on Erin's shores. Richard Beard, with his "Paddywhack" bandmates Vicky Beard, Claude Graves, and Elaine Graves, discovered that a session could be lurking just around the corner in any given place. Here is an overview of the best of the lot!
The unofficial "capital of Connemara", Clifden lies on the west coast with the beautiful Twelve Bens in the distance. Not a big place, Clifden still has its share of pubs. We stopped in at "Mannion's" on a monday night just as she crowd was beginning to get thick. Aside from a number of German tourists, Mannion's is THE neighborhood spot in Clifden. From the repartee at the bar, it was obvious most of the customers were regulars. The music was kicked off by all-Ireland button accordian champion John Gerard Walsh along with his daughter Maire on fiddle and an elderly, but quite adept piano player named "Mrs. Smith". This entourage plays every thursday, friday, and monday. Before long our "host", a bodhran player named Michael, insisted we go out and bring in the instruments. Shortly we were joined by a husband and wife duo from Australia. The friendly atmosphere alone is worth a trip. The three of us were mistaken for Irish, although Claude was singled out at the bar for his "Yank Shirt". Mrs. Smith never spilled a drop of Guinness from the glass atop her piano, but her playing was very tasty. Somewhere is Germany, our video images are being pointed out as that "other Irish band"! Be sure and ask John to play a slow air.
"The Schooner" is a pleasant little pub on the road out of town leading to Lake Eske. Of course, you would expect a somewhat nautical theme and this is to be found. While not large, "The Schooner" has many nooks and crannies including the musician's booth at the end of the bar. This is elevated somewhat so it helps drive the music -- but the energy level of the session members does it even better. Our musical host was uillean piper (and builder) Alan Roberts. A tin whistle player, great guitarist, and veteran button box player rounded out the ensemble. A talented fiddler I mistook for Irish was actually from Seattle "on holiday". Once the music cranked up it didn't quit. The intimate contact among the musicians in the booth seem to propel some of the reels to great heights. The participants seemed eager to encourage others to start tunes or sing. Thrusday is a good night to catch the action.
Our rare find in Northern Ireland was the "House of McDonnell" in this seacoast town, a pub that has been in the same family for several hundred years. Ballycastle boasts a summer traditional music school and the weekly friday night session has many of the faculty dropping by to play. The musical host was Dick Glasgow, tenor banjo player of the first order who also presides over the music school. This was a LARGE session, with several bodhrans, flute, whistle, numerous fiddles, a couple of guitars, and button box. It wasn't long before we were treated as family, which was fine considering the tight quarters once the music was in full swing. Many tunes not heard in other sessions were offered up that night, in particular by the mighty flute player from the adjoining county. You might want to ask Siobhan at the bar to tell you about some of the musicians. Did I mention the Bushmills Distillery is just down the road?
One of the few urban pubs we found was the "OLiver St. John Gogarty" in the Temple Bar district. A must for trad aficinadoes, the Oliver is only one of the many fine pubs in the same downtown area. An almost continuous session takes place on the first floor, fueled by the house musicians that are some kind of mysterious paid "staff" in conjunction with the Musical Pub Crawl. Many others would come and go, with very energetic reels right by the corner door on Fleet Street. Find a cozy spot to stake out, as the pub rarely empties. Evenings have concerts upstairs, but these are provided by the house musicians and not open to all. An urban feel with keyboard and snare drum. Don't leave Dublin without crossing the victorian Ha'Penny pedestrian bridge!
The Willie Clancy festival is the main summer musical event in Ireland. This picturesque town on the coast of Clare is pretty sedate during the rest of the year -- but certainly not the three weeks of the Clancy festival in late June, early July. Sessions come and go, assembling and disolving all afternnon in various pubs (and there are MANY!). The evening has concerts in the community hall, while the pub sessions gear up for another night of revelry. These have to be the most croweded pubs in Ireland. If you don't get in early, you don't get in, and very little space is allotted to musicians. The music, however, is terrific. If its variety you want, Miltown is it. A staggering number of musicians and instruments.
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