I recently joined a ceili band. A good friend and brilliant musician Melissa Hayes rounded up a group of people to form a band to enter this year's Fleadh Cheoil. It has been the best thing I have done in a long time. It has brought me right back to the beginnings of my musical life and many of the conversations during our rehearsals remind of the people, places and events that were a big part of musical life back in the day! I thought it would be nice to share some of those times and the people who made it all so much fun!
Irish traditional music was around me all the time. It did so many great things to me, it's difficult to explain but you know it when you feel it! LMFM's Green Scene was an institute in our house and I remember going to mass every Sunday with the radio on in the car singing along to a Fureys or a Dubliners classic. One of my favourites was 'Sweet Sixteen' by The Fureys. There is something so incredibly beautiful when the banjo plays the intro to the song. The other great thing about Sunday mass journeys was the ice-cream on the way home from mass, listening to the music and letting it just go right through to the soul. Sweet in many ways... (see what I did there!!)
The Fureys - Sweet Sixteen
Music was everywhere ALL the time, thats just how I remember it to be. I started Irish dancing at three. In fact, I wasn't due to start that young but Mam took me to the dancing lessons with my sister Fiona and once I saw all the other children dancing, I apparently just had to do it too and Mam recalls me out on the floor in my nappy holding on to the dance teacher's hand trying to do my 'one, two threes'. I continued Irish dancing with the great Scoil Rince Ní Rodaigh until I was about 10 or 11.
Such was my love for Irish trad that Dad and Mam thought I should learn the fiddle. I really don't think I was any good at it despite the brilliant training I had from the late Rose O'Connor. She was an absolute lady and so talented. She started by teaching me the classics like 'Roddy McCorley' and 'The Boys of Bluehill'...pieces I remember nearly note for note to this day. She had the patience of a saint because I was never on time for my lessons (sorry Mam) and to be honest, I don't actually think I played the fiddle, more like 'screeched' it. I was a terrible chatterbox too and tried my best to divert her attention from my playing to talking about things but she knew better. Rose wrote the music out by hand with a lovely blue pen and rarely ever made a mistake. I remember her hands very clearly and I loved when she played for me. She encouraged me to enter the féis's for the solo fiddle events and I did enter some of them but I was fairly shocking to be honest and didn't ever make it past the first round. I did however play a duet with my friend Breda who played the piano accordian. Now I don't actually know how we did it, but one year in particular we got through the first round and made it to the 'Leinsters'. Myself and Breda laughed so much at everything that I'm not quite sure how we kept our faces straight enough to get through a set of reels and jigs and actually qualify but to be fair to us both, we had something good there when we were on form.
Whilst I didn't enjoy playing the fiddle in solo competitions or events, I absolutely loved being in the ceili bands. The man responsible for so many incredible ceili band achievements in the Dundalk area is the late Rory Kennedy. The man was a genius. He knew every tune in the book, by ear, note for note. He was a brilliant piano accordian player and teacher and he liked to smoke...a lot. He scared you into learning your tunes without shouting at you or anything mean, you just respected him to know not to come unprepared. That way, he got the very best out of us and whatever he did, worked.
Playing traditional Irish music is a gift and a blessing. It tickles my insides...it's just class. From finding yourself playing the fiddle on a bale of hay on the back of a lorry at the St.Patrick's Day parade in town to winning an All Ireland ceili band medal (must work out what year that was), there are no stories or words that will sum up all the adventure that it brings. Here's to an exciting few months being part of a ceili band again and competing in the Louth fleadh in May!!
A Personal Favourite...Mícheál O'Súilleabháin
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