Scotland, Glasgow

It's almost Hogmanay as they call New Year in Scotland, one of the biggest parties on the Scottish calendar.  It's so big here that the Scots get 2 days off, so what better place to celebrate it than in Glasgow.

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland and maintains a fierce rivalry with the capital Edinburgh.  Whilst Edinburgh is generally considered the prettier city. Glasgow has a working class industrial heart as a port city.  Although ever since they were awarded the European Capital of Culture a few years back, it has moved upmarket somewhat.  I have never stopped but for a few hours in the city, so can't comment on any of that, but judging by the amount of good music coming from this city, it's alive and well.

Back in 1978 a band called Kentigern formed here named after St.Mungo who was the Scottish apostle of the kingdom of Strathclyde in the 6th century.  I don't know what happened to them subsequently, but they released a couple of albums, including a self-titled one in 1979, which is currently not available any more.  Here are 3 jigs from this album:

Before them, in 1969, the Battlefield Band formed and are still active today, although in a completely different line-up to the original set-up.  Here's a cheeky song from their 1976 debut album Farewell to Nova Scotia (which is available as a free download on Folk Yourself) called The Bonny Wee Lassie Who Never Said No:

Much more recent arrivals on the Glasgow folk scene are the trio Talisk.  Formed in 2014, they consist of Mohsen Amini on concertina, Hayley Keenan on fiddle and Graeme Armstrong on guitar and they have already earned themselves a BBC folk Band of the Year award in 2017.  This tune, The Abyss, is the title track from their 2016 debut album:

The quartet Rura burst on the scene in 2010 with their award winning performance at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow.  They consist of Jack Smedley on fiddle, Steven Blake on pipes and whistles, Adam Brown on guitar and David Foley on bodhrán and flute.  Here is a tune from their 2015 album Despite the Dark called The Dark Reel performed live at the Tradfest in Glasgow:

Burd Ellen is new folk music project featuring the haunting voice of Debbie Armour.  Have a listen to this spell-binding vocal mosaic from their fresh off the press 2019 self-released single called Chi Mi Bhuam, which according to Google Translate means you to me.

Moving away from traditional music, Admiral Fallow are a young band playing what is described as orchestral indie pop, whatever you make of that.  The songs are apparently autobiographic taken from the life of lead singer and main writer Louis Abbott.  Here's a song from their 2009 debut album Boots Met My Face entitled Squealing Pigs: 

As usual you can follow my virtual journey on this link on tripline.  Happy Hogmanay everybody!

Scotland, The South-West

From the Isle of Man we take the ferry back to Belfast and from there across to Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway in the far south-west of Scotland.

This is very much Robbie Burns country.  The Scottish bard was born in Ayrshire, but this is where he lived most of his life and worked as an excise officer.  The local accent of the area is the closest modern day equivalent to the Scots used in Burn's poetry.  Until recently I didn't know that the region also had its own dialect of Scottish Gaelic. Òran Baghraid is a colaborative project of 10 musicians from all over the UK and Ireland to recreate the only surviving song in Galloway Gaelic from the Middle Ages.  This is their story:

Then they went on to make an album out of that in 2018, which I can heartily recommend.  Here are some samples off this album:

Although originally from Edinburgh, harpist Wendy Stewart now lives in Dumfriesshire.  She often performs together with piper Gary West, who is originally from Pitlochry in Perthshire.  The two met when they were both members of legendary folk band Ceolbeg.  Here's a pair of tunes called Ian Green and Miss Proud from their 2009 album Hinterlands:

Singer and accordionist Emily Smith was born in Dumfries and Galloway and has racked up numerous awards in over a decade of performing.  This a tune from her 2005 debut album A Day Like Today with the title Riggs O' Barley:

Moving north we head for Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, where we meet Heather Heywood, who has been singing Scottish ballads since 1968.  Here is an early recording of from 1974 from a compilation album called Ayrshire Folk, which sadly is no longer available.  The song is called Land o' the Leal:

Guitarist Tony McManus from Paisley, Renfrewshire plays Celtic tunes on finger-style acoustic guitar.  He has been hailed by John Renbourn as the best Celtic guitarist in the world, which is high praise indeed.  His recorded output has been prolific.  Here's a few tunes from a live performance: 

He is pretty nimble-fingered, wouldn't you agree?

This is it from the south-west of Scotland, next stop Glasgow.  As usual you can follow my virtual trip on Tripline, even if it insisted on taking me to Scotland via Liverpool.

Isle of Man

From Belfast we finally leave Ireland, taking the ferry over to Douglas on The Isle of Man. The Isle of Man is a funny old place.  It is located in the middle of the Irish Sea, between Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, yet it is not part of any of these countries.  It's not even part of the UK or even the EU, but is classed as a self-governing British Crown dependency.  It very much prides itself of its own culture, albeit heavily influenced by the surrounding countries, and has it's own language, Manx, which is closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic.  Alas Manx is no longer spoken widely, but there is a bit of a revival, including songs sung in that language.

Oddly enough I have never been to the Isle of Man, even though I can see it from the beach a mile from my house on a clear day.  It is of course also famous for its annual TT motorbike race, attracting 10's of thousands of visitors. 

I only recently stumbled across Manx music in the form of Ruth Keggin, who has released 2 Manx language albums.  This is the opening track from her 2016 album Turrys, called Irree ny greiney, meaning sunrise.  Looking at the scenes in the accompanying video and listening to the sounds, you wouldn't know you've left Ireland.

...and here is the second song on the same album, which livens up some.

Having found her I dug for some more Manx music and found that the pioneers of the Manx folk revival are a group called King Chiaullee, who were formed in the mid-90's and blend various Celtic styles.  This is a set of tunes called Continental Stomp from their 2006 album Nish!

So much for our brief sojourn to the Isle of Man, off to Scotland next.  As usual you can follow my virtual trip on this link.

Counties Derry and Antrim, Northern Ireland

We are coming to the end of our musical journey around Ireland as we re-enter Northern Ireland.  Above a picture of Castlerock Beach in county Derry, that I took last summer.  Now the politically correct name for the city these days is Derry/Londonderry so as not to offend anybody, but it's way too much of a mouthful for me and I shall stick to simply Derry.  

We will feature only one young artist from this troubled city, Soak, or Bridie Monds-Watson to give her full name.  She has a powerful voice for someone so young.  Her genre is described as indie folk or Dream Pop. Here is a performance of her for the npr Tiny Desk Concert series from when she was only 19 years old and includes 3 songs from her debut album Before We Forgot How to Dream:

County Antrim is mostly famous for it's northern coastline and the Giant's Causeway.  It gets pretty busy with tourists these days, even on a miserable New Year's Day such as this one in 2014 

But of course the western half of Belfast is also in County Antrim.  Rooted in the traditional music of County Antrim are the trio Brendan Mulholland on flute (from Glenavy near Belfast International Airport), Conor Lamb on Uilleann pipes and Deirdre Galway on Guitar.  This a tue, The Antrim Barndances, off their 2018 debut album Music in the Glen.

McPeake is a Belfast family band that is now run by the 4th generation of Francis McPeake.  During the peak (excuse the pun) of their popularity they were recorded by Pete Seegar playing their most famous song written by Francis I around 1948, The Wild Mountain Thyme:

Here are a couple of airs I recorded at a concert in Portaferry in 2015 in their present line up:

Gráinne Holland is a Gaelic singer born and bred in Belfast.  Here she is performing a haunting County Antrim song called Airde Cuain from her 2015 album Gaelré:

Joshua Burnside is from Lisburn just south of Belfast and his style of music is described as indie folk or folktronica.  His 2017 debut album Ephrata was actually written in Colombia and incorporates some influences of Cumbia.  This is a song from this album, Blood Drive:

I first met Belfast singer/songwriter Andy White about 14 years ago in a small bar in the village of Arcola near La Spezia, Italy.  He was performing in the Pegaso Bar, which was run by friends of ours at the time and just across the valley from where we lived, as part of his annual tour of Europe.  My wife being from Belfast we had an immediate connection and we chatted away after the gig.  The next few years he kept returning to the same venue until alas the bar changed ownership.  Nowadays we go and see him every year on the Belfast leg of his tour, and in fact we have tickets to see him at the end of the month (29th November 19) at the American Bar in Belfast, fancy coming along?

Andy rose to fame in the mid-80's particularly with his song about the Troubles, Religious Persuasion.

He now lives in Melbourne, Australia with his son Sebastian and has just released what I believe is his 14th studio album.

This concludes our tour of the 32 counties of Ireland, next we will head for brief sojourn to the Isle of Man, before hitting Scotland.  To follow my virtual journey check the tripline map. 

County Donegal, Ireland

I just spent 10 days in Donegal last month and it is a county of spectacular beauty with sites like the above pictured Slieve League cliffs, the highest in Ireland.  Gaelic is still widely spoken and the old traditions are still very much alive.

First stop is in Dungloe in the region of the Rosses.  Here's a photo of the nearby Crohy Head.

Here we meet Celtic rock band Goats Don't Shave.  They have been churning out their music on and off since 1990.  This song, Las Vegas (in the Hills of Donegal), features on their 1992 album The Rusty Razor:

From Dungloe we had north to Gweedore.  Now as you drive around Donegal you will be hard pressed to find a sign to Gweedore, because firstly Gweedore isn't really a place, but a collection of villages forming the district of Gweedore, and secondly it's in heart of the Gaeltacht, the Irish speaking area of Donegal and whilst in most of the Republic sings are bilingual, here signs are in Irish only.  The Gaelic spelling for Gweedore is Gaoth Dohair, which isn't immediately obvious to English speakers...  It lies between the Atlantic Ocean and Mount Errigal, Donegal's highest peak.  Here's a view from Bunbeg Beach, Gweedore towards Mount Errigal.

By far Gweedore's most famous export is Enya or Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (you can see why she shortened it...).  Here's a song called The Celts from her 2015 album Dark Sky Island:

Of course she started her career with the band Clannad who play a similar style New Age music. This song, Harry's Game, features on their 1983 album Magical Ring. (later edit: Here's a really good interview with them on the story of that song):

Going a bit more traditional the group Altan are also from Gweedore and have been doing their stuff since 1987.   Here's their love song to the region sung in Gaelic, Gleanntáin Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair, with some nice pictures of the region from their 1997 album Runaway Sunday

Moving east to Letterkeny, we encounter young folk duo Without Willow conisting of Karen Kelly and Simon McCafferty who regularly perform at the Earagaill Music Festival in their home town.  As I look out of the window at a grey November day what better song to play than their 2018 single release November Fog:

Finally we head to the northern most point on the island of Ireland, Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula.

Here we meet the Henry Girls, 3 very talented sisters who are all multi-instrumentalists and sing in beautiful harmony.  I saw them perform their own songs as well as some other roots music earlier in the year at the Portico in Portaferry.  I was blown away by their lively and energetic style and the evident fun they have performing together.  This song is more of an American Country song, but it's a lovely interpretation.  It's called Ol' Cook Pot featuring on their 2011 album December Moon:

That's it for today from the north.  We have nearly completed our round trip of Ireland.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on tripline. 

Counties Fermanagh and Tyrone, Northern Ireland

We're back over the currently invisible border into Northern Ireland.  County Fermanagh is famous for its lakes and it is where songwriter Mickey MacConnell hails from.  Born in 1947 in Bellanaleck near Enniskillen, after a career as a journalist he moved to Kerry and devoted his life to music.  He recorded only 3 CD's, 2 of them currently unavailable, but his often humorous songs are recited in sessions up and down the land.  The following song, The Ballad of Aldi & Lidl, has not made it onto any recordings, but went viral on YouTube:

In the County of Tyrone we meet The Whistlin' Donkeys, a band combining traditional Irish tunes with upbeat Celtic rock influences.  This is their song of their home town Pretty Little Girl From Omagh, off their 2013 album Kiss My Ass.

From Derrytresk in County Tyrone hails singer and guitarist Niall Hanna.   Here is a song about Lough Neagh, the largest lake on the British Isles, part of its shore is in County Tyrone.  This is a photo of me with my dog and a Colombian friend on the shores of Lough Neagh. 

The song appears on the 2017 album Autumn Leaves. 

From Dungannon hails uilleann piper Jarlath Henderson, who was the youngest ever BBC folk musician of the year in 2003.  Here he is playing a rousing live set with long time collaborator Scottish piper Ross Ainslie:

Finally I can't go to Dungannon without visiting my friend singer-songwriter Wendy Jack, although she actually lives on Rathlin Island these days.  She once played in my yurt in Portaferry back in May 2015.

My favourite song by her is called Fairies, which is on her recently released album Sunsets available on bandcamp.  

That's it for today.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on Tripline.  See you next time in Donegal.

Counties Mayo, Sligo & Leitrim, Ireland

County Mayo is a wild and untamed land in the west of Ireland.  I haven't been there for some years, so I should make another trip there soon.  

Gráinne Hambly is a gifted Irish harp player born in Knockrickard.  She also plays a multitude of other instruments such as the flute and the concertina and she won All Ireland competitions for both the concertina and the harp.  This is a tune from her 2007 album The Thorn Tree, The Geese in the bog:  

Next we're heading to Westport for a pint in Matt Molloy's Pub (pictured above).   Matt Molloy himself was actually born in the county of Roscommon and he has played the flute with some of the greats, such as the Bothy Band, Planxty and the Chieftains.  He now runs this popular pub, where he can still be seen joining in the sessions at the age of 72.  Here is a jig called The Gold Ring from his 2008 self-titled album:

We move on to the town of Sligo in the county of the same name.  Here the band Dervish was formed in 1989 and they have been recording and touring the world ever since.  This is a set if tunes, the Donegal Set from their 1990 album The Boys of Sligo:

Eleanor Shanley is a singer from Keshcarrigan, County Leitrim.  In her long and illustrious career she has performed with De Danann, Ronnie Drew (of Dubliners fame), Christy Moore and Sharon Shannon as well as performing solo.  This is her singing live Still I Love Him from her 2001 album Eleanor Shanley & Friends:

That's it for today folks, next stop Fermanagh and Tyrone.  As ususal, you can follow my virtual journey on tripline.

County Galway, Ireland

County Galway again is full of good musicians.  I took the above picture on my last visit a couple of years ago near Loughrea.  We start our journey through the county in Corofin, where banjo player Enda Scahill hails from. This pair of jigs, The black Frog & The Sanctuary, are from his 2016 album Pick It Up: 

Singer Séan Keane, known for his sean-nós style singing was born in Caherlistrane near Tuam.  This is one such song, Moorlough Shore from his 2018 album Gratitude:

From the village of Sylane near Tuam hails Irish female vocal legend Dolores Keane (no relation to the above as far as I know).  She was amongst the founding members of the band De Dannan (of which more below).  She has also had a long and distinguished solo career.  Here's a song, The Wind That Shakes the Barley from her 1997 album night Owl:

In 1975 a group of session musicians got together in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal a bit west of Galway City to form De Danann, which later got renamed De Dannan and later got split into 2 groups, one of each spelling, just to confuse everyone.  The below set of tunes is from their time when they used the original spelling from their 1991 album The Star Spangled Molly:

Born in Inishbarra in Connemara, Johnny Connolly is one of Ireland's foremost melodeon players.  The melodeon is a diatonic button accordion.  Here's a pair of tunes called Boys of the Blue Hill and Peacock's Feather from his 2008 album An Mileoidean Scaoilte:

Finally Seán McKiernan of Carna plays the uilleann pipes and flute.  He was actually born in Boston to an Irish speaking family, but has lived in Ireland since 1965.  Here's an air, Nóirín mo Mhian, and a hornpipe, Caisleán a Óir from the 2012 compilation album Masters of Tradition:

That's it from County Galway.  As usual you can follow my virtual trip on Tripline.   See you next time in County Mayo.

Counties Offaly, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon, Ireland

County Offaly's most famous feature is probably the Tullamore Dew whiskey distillery.  I went on a wee weekend trip a few years ago with my trusted companion Eddie the Beagle who wrote a little entry on his blog about the trip, which you can see on this link.  

From Tullamore hails guitar and bouzouki player Dónal Lunny, who in his long distinguished career has played with Planxty, the Bothy Band and most recently Usher's Island.  He only recorded 3 albums under his own name, but collaborating with a number of different musicians.  This set of tunes, The Glentown Medley is from his 1998 album Coolfin:

Moving on to County Westmeath we meet button accordionist Paul Brock from Athlone right in the geographical centre of Ireland.  Here's a set of tunes from his 2010 album Mo Chardín, The Hut in the Bog / Rolling in the Ryegrass / Monasteraden Fancy:

Here's a song called Town of Athlone , which actually talks about an ambush in Co. Kilkenny, performed by Karan Casey from Cork off the Album Rough Guide to Irish Music:

Now County Longford seems to be something of a heartland for Irish country music, and I really... REALLY hate Irish country music.  And since I can't find anything else decent from this county, I shall reluctantly skip over it.  If anyone out there can find something decent, let me know and I will add it at a later point.  I can't even find any nice songs about County Longford.

Multi-instrumentalist John Carty was born in London, but has since moved to Boyle, County Roscommon.  He was taught banjo, fiddle and flute by his father and passed his skills on to his daughter Maggie.  Here they are playing a set of tunes called The Turn / Carrigkerry / Con Cassidy's from their 2016 album Settle Out of Court:

That's concludes our whistlestop tour through the Irish Midlands.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on this link.  Next stop is Galway.

County Clare, Ireland

County Clare in the west of Ireland is famous for the spectacular Cliffs of Moher and the desolate rockscape of the Burren, but above all it is covered from top to bottom in music.  This picture is of a sunset above the Cliffs of Moher on New Year's Eve 1988/9.  Unbelievably it was a beautifully balmy day.

That winter a group of us stayed in a cottage near the village of Doolin, which on my first visit in 1983 was described to me as Ireland's best kept secret.  This then tiny village boasted about 5 pubs, which had live traditional music in them every night.  Alas, it no longer is a secret and has sprouted many B&B's, hostels, hotels, attracting many tourists, but the music and 3 of its pubs still remain.  This is what it looked like in 1988.

East County Clare has its own distinctive style of traditional music. It's marked by sparse use of ornamentation such as crans, rolls and triplets, instead using a less technical ornamentation of double octave playing and the transmission of rhythm through foot tapping.  The concertina is popular here, forcing tunes to be played in C or F rather than the otherwise more popular D tunings.  Foremost amongst the concertina players of East Clare is Mary MacNamara of Clondanagh.  Here's a couple of reels she is performing with Martin Hayes, who also supported her on her 1993 album Traditional Music of East Clare:

Fiddler Martin Hayes was born in 1962 (good vintage, that!) in the parish of Killanena, East Clare to a musical family.  He emigrated to Chicago in 1984, where he became involved in the local Irish trad scene and became a member of the Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming.  He also recorded a couple of solo albums entitled Martin Hayes and Under The Moon.  Here he is playing a set with guitarist Dennis cahill, who was born in Chicago of Kerry parents:

Multi-instrumentalist Sharon Shannon, who was born in Ruan, Co. Clare, already had a couple of mentions on this blog. This tune, Mouth of  the Tobique is from her 1997 album Each Little Thing:

Jimmy Ward was a famous banjo player and composer who was born in Kilfenora and died in 1987 in Milltown Malbay in Co. Clare.  He was part of the Kilfenora Céilí Band.  He became most famous for his tune Jimmy Wards Jig.  This is another of his tunes performed by the Kilfenora Céilí Band Ward's Marches from their 2009 album Century:

Finally we're taking the ferry from Doolin over to Insheer, the smallest of the Arran Islands.  When I went there on a wet and windy November day back in 2002, we stepped off the boat and the rain came down horizontally.  In search for shelter we found that all the pubs on the island were shut.  So we walked into the grocery shop and asked if there was anywhere open where we could find cover from the rain.  So the lady behind the counter shouted out to the back: "Séamus, SÉAMUS!  Could you go and open the pub for these people, please?"  

Later, after a few hot whiskeys the weather cleared and we explored the island some.  When we passed the souvenir shop, it was closed too, but as we idly looked at the wares through the window a lady came rushing across the road and opened the shop for us.  While we were browsing, she put on some music.  It was a beautiful female voice singing in Irish, so we asked who it was, and she proudly proclaimed it was her very own daughter.

That's how I first came across Lasairfhíona and I bought her debut album An Raicín Álainn, which had only just been released, there and then.  This is a song from that album about her home island, Inis Oirr, In Innis Oirr, with some pictures I shot on that memorable trip.

This is it for today from County Clare.  The next few counties, I think we are going to speed up a bit.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on tripline.

County Limerick, Ireland

There once was a man called Rick

He came from the town of Limerick

He wanted to write

Poems of shite

But instead played some nice music

So much for my poetry...  I'll stick to music will I?  It's in fact not entirely certain that Limericks came from Limerick. Moving on, 6-member, all female band Líadan describe their origins as from Limerick and Galway.  They formed in 2004 and churn out beautifully crafted traditional tunes and songs in both Irish and English.  Here is a set of polkas by them (in my opinion there aren't enough polkas around) that are collectively known as Limerick Polkas and can be found on their album Casadh na Taoide / Turning the Tide:

And talking about polkas they are particularly popular in the Sliabh Luachra (Anglicised Slieve Logher), which is an upland area bordering counties Limerick, Kerry and Cork.  The members of the trio Sliabh Notes hail one each from these 3 counties and here is a set of polkas by them, which can be found on their 2005 album Gleanntan:

Four Men and a Dog were founded in Limerick in 1990, but the band members hail from Tyrone, Tipperary, Donegal and Dónal Murphy who was born in Birmingham, but grew up in Limerick.  They play traditional Irish music, but often combined with rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, swing, salsa and even rap.   There's a bit of rap and bluegrass on this number, Wrap It Up from their 1991 album Barking Mad:

As usual you can follow my virtual journey on this link.  Next stop County Clare.

County Kerry, Ireland

We arrive in the very southwest of Ireland in the spectacularly beautiful county of Kerry, famed for the Ring of Kerry, the Skellig Rocks and the Dingle Peninsula.  I spent a couple of weeks down there a couple of years ago.  This was the view from our accommodation:

Whilst the members of the band Beoga hail from Antrim, Derry and Limerick, they did form up as a group at the All-Ireland Fleadh in County Kerry in 2002. Their influences combine traditional with more contemporary sounds with unorthodox instrumentation (piano and 2 accordions) , and in fact they recently sold out to pop as they combined with the abominable Ed Sheeran.    However they do churn out some pleasant and lively tunes such as this one, Eochaid, which apparently means escaped from their 2016 album Before We Change Our Mind:

We move on to the beautiful Dingle Peninsula, where Irish is still spoken as the first language.  Here a shot of Dingle harbour:

Here we meet Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, who used to be the lead singer of Danú, whom we met in County Waterford.  She was born near the tip of Dingle and grew up between here and County Clare speaking Irish. Here is a song from her 2017 album Foxglove & Fuschia entitled Bean Dubh A' Ghleanna, which roughly translates as black woman of the glen I believe.

Also from Dingle is Pauline Scanlon who has been collaborating extensively with Sharon Shannon of Co. Clare.  She also blends contemporary sounds with traditional Irish music.  This song is from her 2004 solo debut album Red Colour Sun and is entitled What Put The Blood, a story of a tragic infanticide.

Pauline Scanlon is also part of the duo Lumiere together with Éllís Kennedy, also from Dingle.  This haunting song is from their self-titled 2010 debut album, entitled Ca Rabhais Ar Feadh an Lae Uaim.  Not sure what the song is about.

That's it for today.  Remember you can follow my virtual trip on tripline.  Next stop Limerick.

County Cork, Ireland

From County Tipperary we head west to County Cork with Cork city the second largest city in Ireland.  Here we meet retired teacher and comical song writer Con O'Drisceoil, who has got himself into a bit of an argument during a music session in a pub...  This song, The Spoons Murder, is off a compilation album, The Rough Guide to Irish Music.

Born in Newmarket, Co. Cork, we meet the Jimi Hendricks of the accordion, Liam O'Connor,  He apparently holds the Guinness world record for fastest fingers on an accordion.  He mixes traditional music with modern influences.having toured some time with pseudo-Irish act Riverdance.  This track is from his 2010 album Tico Mystico and is entitled Morning Dew:

Singer Karan Casey should really have had a mention when we visited Co. Waterford as that was where she was born, but as she now lives in Cork, we make up now for that omission.  This song, The King's Shilling, can be found on her 2006 album The Winds Begin to Sing.

Harpist Máire Ní Chathasaigh was raised in a musical family in West Cork somewhere.  She frequently collaborates with English virtuoso guitarist Chris Newman.  The following lively air is from her 1997 album The Carolan Albums and is entitled Lord Inchiquin.

Finally guitarist Jim Murray has accompanied many great traditional acts, most notably Co. Clare's Sharon Shannon.  Here he plays on a set, The Cat's Miaow, from Sharon Shannon's 2005 album Tunes.

That's it from Cork, next stop Kerry.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on Tripline.

County Tipperary, Ireland

It's a long way to Tipperary... and all that sort of thing.  Well I suppose it depends where you start off from.  It's not so far from Waterford, our last stop, but if you are walking say from Outer Mongolia, it'll take you a while.  Well, this an English army song anyway, so we'll skip this.

The Clancy Brothers, whom we have met in County Armagh with Tommy Makem, hailed from Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary.  They also thought Tipperary was so Far Away, but then they were active mostly in the USA.  This can be found on their album The Absolutely Essential Collection.

Shane MacGowan of the Pogues was born in London, but spent part of his childhood in County Tipperary.  This song is called Boys from The County Hell, which may or not be near County Tipperary...  It's from their album Red Roses For Me.  

Now for something a bit quieter.  Harpist Áine Minnogue hails from Borrisokane in County Tipperary.  This song, The Gathering, is from her album Celtic Pilgrimage:

Paddy O'Brien from Newton in County Tipperary was a great button accordion player and composer, who died in 1991.  Here are some historic recordings of him back in 1972.  I love the old photos in this clip!

Gerry O'Connor from Nenagh is considered one of the best Irish tenor banjo players, replacing Barney McKenna of the Dubliners after the latters sudden death.  Here he is in action at the Fleadh Cheoil 2017.

As usual you can follow my virtual journey on this map.  See you soon in County Cork.