Thrush In The Storm

Description

The latest release from Sligo's finest. Dedicated to Mary Marrow, Carrigallen, Co. Lietrim and Kevin Byrne, Magheroaty, Co. Donegal.

1. "The Green Gowned Lass (The Man In The Bog, Drummond Castle, Milky Way)"
A jig composed by Brendan Tonra while Tom picked up the jig Drummond Castle from the playing of fiddle player James Cullinane. "The Milky Way" reel is another tune we learned during the Co. Leitrim band and-in-residence trips and is a composition of the Galway flute-player Vincent Broderick. We finish the set off with the Green Gowned Lass, a tune suggested by Michael. It's a reel that's popular in the Clare region. Matt Molloy's recording back in the 1970s brought it to wider attention.

2. "Baba Chonraoí"
Cathy first heard her great friend Peter Crann sing this song and loved it. Peter got it from Antaine O'Faracháin from Co. Dublin. It tells the story of a young girl farmed out to another family who treated her badly and left her with no choice but to run off with the English soldiers - "The Sappers" down in Tralee - a decision that wouldn't have been taken lightly.

3. "Maggie's Lilt (Maggie's Lilt, Jimmy Batty's, The Rookery)"
Maggie's Lilt is a barn dance also known by a couple of other names, Hanley's Delight and Kerry Mills' barn dance. The next two reels are recent compositions, Jimmy Batty's is a new reel composed by fiddler John Carty and the last tune, the Rookery is another of Vincent Broderick's.

4. "The Lover's Token"
Originally I heard this song sung by the late Frank Harte from Co. Dublin, and heard it also sung by the mighty Rosie Stewart from Fermanagh. The story is a familiar one of the lover returning home from the war in disguise to test the fidelity of his beloved. She passes the test with flying colours and they lived happily ever after.

5. "The Rolling Wave (The Sheep in the Boat, The Rolling Wave)"
'The Sheep in the Boat' is a tune which Michael brought to our attention. Junior Crehan adapted the air of the old song 'Anach Cuain' to make this beautiful jig. The original song tells the story of a group of people who were travelling by boat bringing sheep. One of the animals put its foot through the bottom causing a tragic drowning of some twenty people. We coupled this with another tune which relates to water - 'The Rolling Wave'. This is one of the nicest tunes played in Irish music today, and one we have all known and loved for years.

6. "Shanagolden"
This song was penned by the late great Sean McCarthy from Co. Kerry, who also gave us songs such as The Kerry Hills and Red Haired Mary. The song was written in a Manhattan high-rise apartment, and was a story heard in a Limerick field 25 years earlier. You may recognize the melody as that of "The Twelfth of Never" sung by everybody from Johnny Mathis to Elvis Presley.

7. "The Corner House (The Mooncoin Reel, Unknown, The Corner House Reel)"
The first tune we learned during our Co. Leitrim band-in-residence as is the case for a couple more of the tunes on this CD. The second tune Liam heard at a concert in Miltown Malbay a couple of years ago and the last one, the Corner House is a tune we have been playing in sessions for years in our native Sligo.

8. "The Banks of the Clyde"
This beautiful song I heard from Gabriel McArdle , a traditional singer with a formidable reputation from Co. Fermanagh in the North of Ireland. His singing can be heard on recordings by a band called Dog Big,Dog Little.

9. "Handsome Polly-O"
We were honoured to be Leitrim band-in-residence in 2011/2012, an experience that enriched us both personally and musically, and one that will stay with us for a long time. Along the way we met some fantastic musicians and singers and Cathy picked up this song from one of Leitrim's finest singers Fionnuala Maxwell. The song belonged to the repertoire of the mighty Leitrim balladeer, Thomas Moran of Drumrahill, and was collected by Seamus Ennis in the 1950's.

10. "The Harp and Shamrock (Josie Begley's Fancy,The Harp and Shamrock)"
The first tune we found on an old tape sent by a great band friend and bodhran maker, Seamus O'Kane. The recording was of a music tour by Frankie Gavin and Máirtín O'Connor back in the late 1980s. On checking with Frankie we discovered this tune was one of his own compositions. Michael heard the second tune from the Sligo concertina player, Mairead Hurley. Accordionist, Pat Crowley, composed it and named it after his parents' pub in Kinsale, Co. Cork.

11. "Snoring Biddy"
This is another wee song Cathy picked up on her travels through Leitrim. Tom Mulvey from Jamestown, suggested she sing it, and that she'd make a great job of it. He only had two verses so she went in search of a few more and made up the rest. She exercised her poetic licence by making the husband murder his wife in the end for her laziness. Thanks to John Moulden for his help in tracking down extra verses.

12. "The Thrush in the Storm (Unknown, Paddy O'Brien's, The Thrush in the Storm)"
The first tune is one Liam heard played in reel time, it is played in a slower hornpipe tempo here. The second tune we learned from the great Paddy O'Brien now living in Minneapolis and the Thrush in the Storm was taught to us by Tom. It was also played by his brother Andy on his duet album with Tony O'Connell.