Carry The Tunes

100 years of music making and sharing.

June to December 2021

About the Artist(s)

Liam Kelly grew up in Sligo Town and is a founding member of the band Dervish. He began playing traditional Irish music at the young age of 8 starting on the tin whistle at school and a couple of years later was taught by Carmel Gunning.He also played the accordion and was taught by the great Alfie Dineen. He then began to play flute at the age of 16 and went on to play in a group called Poitin who appeared on the Late Late Show after winning a talent competition where the Late Late appearance was the prize. Dervish then formed at the All Ireland Fleadh in 1989 after which they have gone on to produce 14 albums along with touring all over the world celebrating 32 years in the music business. He also has a solo cd called Sweetwood released in 2010 and a new John McKenna tribute album coming out this year playing one of the flutes that John McKenna used back in the 1920's.

Sean Gilrane is from Ballinaglera, Co Leitrim, a mountainous region on the north eastern shores of Lough Allen. The area has a long and proud tradition of flute playing, although circumstances have dented that tradition in the last fifty years. Even though player numbers have largely decreased, the love of the instrument is still very much in the DNA of the local people. I did not start seriously playing the flute until I was 21 but was always absolutely captivated by the sound of the timber flute ever since I first heard it played by my neighbour Swithin Mc Partlin RIP, when I was in the cradle. I am strongly influenced by the local flute style and the commercial recordings of John Mc Kenna. Roger Sherlock, Josie Mc Dermott, Matt Molloy and Seamus Tansey.

John McCartin, from Newtowngore in County Leitrim is both a guitar and fiddle player. He holds an MA in Traditional Music Performance from the University of Limerick. John is a member of the band Garadice and performs as part of the trio, Carlos Sweeney McCartin. He has recorded and performed with the likes of Eleanor Shanley, Donal Lunny, Lunasa, Dervish, Back West and Vinnie Kilduff.

Dylan Carlos comes from a very musical family in Co Roscommon. Having grown up in the home of flute playing, Dylan took the road less travelled for a Rossie and took up the fiddle, but is still heavily influenced by the music in his local area. He is 1/3 of the group "Carlos Sweeney McCartin" who brought out their debut album in 2019 to great acclaim and also performs with the group "Gatehouse" from time to time. Dylan has also worked outside the tradition, having performed recently with Co. Tipperary singer-songwriter Cormac Looby. He is a past All-Ireland winner on fiddle and teaches regularly at workshops and festivals around Ireland and abroad.

Daithi Gormley. With an extensive and much respected repertoire steeped in the rich musical heritage of his native county Sligo, Daithí Gormley is widely regarded as one of the foremost button accordion players of his generation. He has researched, published and lectured on Irish traditional music and is in high demand as an accomplished performer, tutor and lecturer. In 2017 Daithí and fiddler Oisín MacDiarmada published the ‘Fiddlers of Sligo Tunebook’ and in 2018 Daithí released his debut solo album ‘Fiddling without a Bow’ to wide critical acclaim. Daithí is also one of Irelands foremost button accordion tutors teaching extensively both nationally and internationally.

Clare Bohan is a fiddle player from Kilnagross, County Leitrim. She has been playing music since she took up the fiddle in a small community hall just outside Drumsna village when she was 7 years old, under the tutelage of Conor Ward. Throughout her teenage years, Clare played with the Ceolus Ceilí band in Gortlettragh, where she was exposed to the Stephen Grier collection of music- tunes she returns to time and time again. She has performed at Fleadh Cheoil’s with successes at Connacht and all-Ireland level. Clare has tutored the fiddle locally and at national summer schools such as the Joe Mooney Summer School and the O’Carolan Harp festival. She also plays regularly in Cryan’s Teach Ceoil in Carrick on Shannon.

Fionnuala Maxwell is a well-known voice within the Irish traditional singing fraternity. Her years of partaking in various singing gatherings, festivals, Fleadhanna and workshops have seen her acquire a broad range of songs, being influenced by people such as Rosie Stewart, Paddy Berry, Niamh Parsons and the late Paddy Tunney. Her pride in being Leitrim born and bred is most evident in her repertoire and it is from the experiences of this rural upbringing that she draws inspiration for many of her self-penned ballads.

Lorraine Sweeney is from a large musical family who hail from Ballinamore in County Leitrim. In her younger years the family lived in Manchester where the Irish music scene in the 80’s and early 90’s was vibrant & sparked a lifelong interest. Here she began learning the whistle with Angela Usher and later the flute.
She studied Traditional Music Performance in Dublin’s BCFE under guidance of Paul McGratten and has since established herself as a regular on the session and summer school circuit both performing and teaching. Lorraine is a founding member of the Moylurg Ceili and was a part of their All-Ireland win in 2013.

Eleanor Smith is from Carrick on Shannon currently studying in National University of Ireland Galway. She started singing lessons with Fionnuala Maxwell a number of years ago upstairs in Cryans Teach Ceoil and shortly after joined Carrick Trad where she began lessons on concertina. Since then, she has competed in multiple Fleadh Cheoils as a singer and concertina player and also takes part in Carrick Trad Ceilí Band and Grupa Cheoil.

Michael O'Brien is without doubt one of the most influential musicians from County Leitrim. He started to play the box at the age of 14 after his sister came home from London with a Honor accordion. As a young man he spent many years playing at house gatherings and ceilis as well as sessions in the local pubs. Much of his music was spent in the company of Joe "Lackey" Gallagher, Seamus Horan, Felix Gallagher, Michael Patrick Carroll, Kevin O'Brien and Kevin McTiernan. He is a fountain of knowledge about Leitrim music and musicians and is extremely generous with his time and music particularly when it comes to younger players. His son Damian is a well known fiddle player and along with Oliver Loughlin they have spent years playing in Cryans on Saturday nights.

Oliver Loughlin was born and raised in Drumkeerin in Co. Leitrim and started playing accordion at age 10 when attending classes with flute player Bernie Flaherty one evening per week in the local school. He was encouraged a lot by both his parents who each had relatives who played music and in particular by his paternal grandmother Cecelia Loughlin who’s father Peter McTernan was a fiddle player.He later attended classes with fiddle player Paddy Ryan. Oliver started playing a lot around this time with fiddle player Damian O’Brien and his father Michael along with well known deceased Creevelea fiddle player Seamus Horan.

Breda Shannon was born and raised in Ballinameen in north Roscommon in a house where there was a huge interest in Irish Traditional music. Breda’s Grandfather Paddy Shannon played the fiddle and her brother Aidan and sister Celine also play music. From a very early age, Breda and her siblings played in sessions with all the local musicians in Roscommon and surrounding counties. Breda is also a member of the Moylurg Ceili Band.

Aisling Ni Choisdealbha hails from Roscrea, Co Tipperary where she is from an extremely musical family. She plays both fiddle and piano and has numerous All Ireland titles to her name on both instruments - including Senior Fiddle, Under 18 fiddle, Senior Duet and Trio and a number of All Irelands on the piano. She is also a proficient classical musician on both instruments.

About Carry The Tunes

Carry The Tunes is a collection of specially recorded concerts that trace the tradition across 100 years of music-making and sharing. The first part of the series was recorded in the legendary Cryan's Teach Ceoil in the heart of Carrick on Shannon with the second phase of recordings taking place here in The Dock. We are delighted to share it with you. The title of the series is a reference to the tradition of picking up, carrying, and passing on the music.

It is more than just a series of concerts, however. Each performance explores not only the music through its playing but through conversation and insight also peels back the layers of history that accompany each piece. Using composers and styles as points of departure Carry The Tune embarks on a remarkable journey of discovery and rediscovery of the origins of the tunes and songs, how they have travelled across time and place to remain firmly rooted in the tradition.

This series was in part inspired by James Fraher and Gregory Daly’s 2020 publication 'In Nearly Every House' which contains biographies along with black and white photographs featuring over one hundred traditional musicians from counties Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Mayo.

As part of the Carry the Tune series you can listen to an exclusive interview on with those authors recorded at The Dock by broadcaster by Vincent Woods.

The Carry The Tunes series will continue with the recording of four additional concerts in The Dock during September and October 2021. These will be released online in November and December 2021.

About the concerts

June to August

“The McKenna Influence” Featuring Sean Gilrane (flute), Lorraine Sweeney (flute), Liam Kelly (flute), John McCartin (guitar) and Liam Cryan (Bodhrán)

The concert referenced tunes & archive recordings of McKenna, whose recording career spanned from 1921 to 1937 during which time he recorded with New Republic, O'Byrne De Witt, Columbia and Decca Records, amongst others. John McKenna was responsible for reintroducing Leitrim tunes such as "Lucky in Love", "The Sailor and the Rock" and the "Happy Days of Youth".
His legacy of recordings made him one of the most influential flute players in Irish traditional music and that influence has been felt throughout subsequent generations of Leitrim flute players right up to the current generation of players including Packie Duignan and Mick Woods.

Seán Gilrane is an authority on McKenna, leading out on extensive research on John McKenna,
resulting in an important publication in recent years on the music and life of McKenna, with the John
McKenna Society in Leitrim. The connection from this concert back to McKenna himself is made all the stronger as Liam Kelly from the band Dervish is playing one of John McKenna’s flutes in the recorded performance and releasing a CD of McKenna tunes played on this flute.
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"The North Connacht Influence” Featuring : Dylan Carlos (fiddle), Daithi Gormley (accordion), Clare Bohan (fiddle) John McCartin (guitar)

This concert featured four of the finest musicians available to explore how the music of Michael Coleman and James Morrison has endured and continues to influence newer generations of musicians. The selection of tunes that we were treated to was made up of many session tunes taken from Michael Coleman’s archive 78rpm recordings from the 1920’s. These recordings have had a strong influence on fiddle players. Daithi Gormley explored the connection with the other celebrated Sligo fiddle player James Morrison, who also emigrated to New York and in addition to Coleman, is well-known for his 78rpm recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. These recordings have hugely influenced many musicians, including Daithi. The players also referenced their different interpretations of a tune from Stephen Grier’s manuscripts and Dylan played homage to the Roscommon flute tradition, which has also influenced him as a fiddle player through his father John Carlos.
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“The Generational Influence” Featuring Oliver Loughlin (accordion), Breda Shannon (flute/concertina), Aisling Ní Choisdhealbha (fiddle) and special guest Michael O' Brien (accordion)

The significance of “The Generational Influence” underpinned this highly enjoyable performance celebrating the importance of people like Michael O’ Brien to the tradition and music in his area and in the county of Leitrim. Michael is not only a rich source of tunes, he is also a passionate advocate of traditional music who inspires and enthuses all who have had the pleasure of playing in his company, generously sharing, encouraging and influencing so many younger musicians. Hearing Oliver Loughlin, and many others, reference Michael’s influence in his musical development is testament to Michael’s importance to the music in Leitrim over many years. Michael’s deep knowledge of Leitrim music and musicians also makes him an important keeper of stories so fundamental to our understanding of the broader context of how the tradition has survived. Hearing names such as Seamus Horan and Joe Burke recalled ensures that their legacy remains intact.

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"The Leitrim Influence” Featuring Fionnuala Maxwell (vocal), Eleanor Smith (vocal/concertina), Clare Bohan (fiddle), John McCartin (guitar) and Liam Cryan (Bodhrán)

The last in the summer series of concerts, this concert focused on the song tradition and how this is
passed on. Cryan’s Teach Ceoil presented the perfect place for this exploration as it is a location renowned for traditional singing and known as a place where young singers learn songs. Indeed, in her performance Fionnuala was accompanied by a younger singer, whom Fionnuala has influenced through her teaching. The songs in this wonderful concert have been handed down and learned over generations and are to be found in community archives, the Dúchas collection and other online collections.

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November and December

The Ward Sisters: Women in Irish Traditional Music Featuring Niamh Ward, Sarah Ward, Lisa Ward, Orla Ward.

The Wards sisters are from Ballinagleara Co. Leitrim and are rooted in Irish traditional music. Thismulti-instrumental family have been awarded many All-Ireland Fleadh titles over their years. Lisa, the eldest, released her debut album Black Swan in 2015. Their performance is inspired by female artistswithin the Irish traditional music scene and will celebrate female artists from Leitrim, the surroundingareas and female artists from further afield.

Turlough O’Carolan Influence – Harp trio. Featuring Fiachra Guihen, Emma Benson, Niamh McGloin

Turlough O’Carolan has contributed greatly to Irish traditional music and has a special connection with this area. His legacy is celebrated each year in Keadue, as part of the O’Carolan Festival and Summer School. Fiachra and Emma are both from Keadue and play a major role in setting up the festival and summer school each year. Niamh McGloin, from Grange, Co. Sligo has studied the harp for many years including immersing herself in learning O’Carolan’s repertoire.

Teachers and Students from the Region Featuring Brian Mostyn – Button Accordion, Emily Keane – Flute, Catherine Cullen – vocal/tinwhistle/dance

Music teachers and tutors play an important role in passing the tradition onto up-and-coming musicians, so we are proposing to have a session featuring local teachers and students of Irish traditional music who have influenced young people to start playing.

Irish World Academy of Music and Dance Featuring Niall Keegan – Flute – Alan Reid – Banjo/ Bouzuki, JohnCarty – Fiddle/ Banjo, Sandra Joyce -sean nos song/ bohrán

For the final session in the series, we are proposing an academic approach. Featuring musicians who have connections with the region and have been influenced by the music tradition from Roscommon/Leitrim and surrounding areas, Dr. Niall Keegan, Dr. Sandra Joyce, John Carty and Alan Reid. All coming from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in the University of Limerick, these musicians have all completed research on the tradition here and have a wealth of knowledge in Irish traditional music.