Singer/songwriter Gerry O'Beirne (vocals, guitars, ukulele) from Co. Clare and American fiddler Rosie Shipley (fiddle, vocals) have been working together for years and finally they release their first album together. O'Beirne composed six of the 13 songs and tunes, put two poems to music and they completed the program with five traditional sets.
Patrick Kavanagh is the author of the beautiful poem "Free Soul" and O'Beirne added a melancholic tune played by guitar, fiddle and Trevor Hutchinson on double bass; his tender singing is borne by Shipley's angelic background vocals. My favourite song is "Black Water", a kind of psychedelic folk song with hauntingly beautiful singing, hypnotic finger-picking, fine fiddling and Hutchinson's terrific double bass. Traditional dance sets from Ireland like "Tom Billy's" or the "Cape Breton Set", where Shipley attended a Gaelic Arts college, include intoxicating jigs. reels, hornpipes, strathspeys and slides. Another highlight is "American Tunes", a set of two Appalachian traditionals. National Steel Guitar, Fiddle and acoustic guitar produce an unbelievable bluesy groove. Shipley's fiddling is awesome and O'Beirne adds some virtuoso Bluegrass on ukulele. "Alfred Hitchcock's Polkas" is an original set by O'Beirne starting with a melancholic slow polka and accelerating to a breathtaking speed polka.
Two first class musicians hosting one of the best Irish double bass players have created an extraordinary album with innovative Arrangements and hauntingly beautiful songs.

© Adolf „gorhand“ Goriup

An old Irish air, Marbhna Luimnigh, played on my gorgeous old National Steel guitar. I don't have enough hands to bring this instrument on the road, but it's an essential part of my music at home. I bought it many years ago from a dusty old man in a dusty old shop in London. That was a very good day.

and a new ukulele piece:

Years ago I used to wander up the coast from LA to Portland to play music with Kevin Burke and Andy Irivine, and from there we would go on tour around the states. The music was sleek and jaunty and fun and the trio was never recorded, more’s the pity, though I produced an album for Kevin, Up Close, that among other things had the harmonica-playing Murphy family from Wexford with their celebrated reels, and I added some electric guitar and drum machine on one of those late night sessions. It’s a track I really love. You hear those tunes played a lot in trad sessions nowadays, but I always miss the electric guitar, though I might be the only one who does!

We used to hang out at a somewhat anarchic wine-lovers’ restaurant that proudly boasted the most brusque service in America, The Vat And Tonsure, now sadly closed forever it seems, and one of the friends we made at that time was Bronnie Griffin, a teenage fiddle student of Kevin’s who was already a good old-time and bluegrass fiddler but took to the Irish thing like a happy splashing duck to water and was immediately good enough to play with himself. Now she has made an album and kindly asked me to produce and arrange the music. I think it’s really good and upbeat and fun, reminding me a lot of the times we had back then and full of Bronnie's generous spirit. I play along a fair bit too and Kevin doubles up some fiddle lines and harmonies on a few tunes, and then there are contributions from other good friends like Elizabeth Nicholson who provides airy dexterous harp. It’s very unusual too in that there’s a running theme of cats through all the titles (Bronnie is a big animal protection and rights supporter) and Kevin chips in by reciting The Owl And The Pussycat and some other cat poems in his inimitable growl. It’s worth checking out some of the tracks here. I think they are really pleasing.

I had a memorable gig too with Béal Tuinne in Gougane Barra this summer where we stayed up quite late, and the quartet with Shaun, Rita and Eoin at the Clifden Arts Festival.

But the highlight of the season was a visit to Romania to play Shaun Davey’s “Merry Cemetery of Sapanta” suite, and this time in the Merry Cemetery itself. The journey started with an overnight train from Bucharest to the town of Sighetu. Joining us on the train was a band called Mambo Siria from Southern Romania. Around midnight they took off their shirts and started to play. They’re a terrific band and really a brass band in a train carriage is the most fun your ears can have while you’re on a train lurching from side to side drinking alcoholic beverages and trying to take a picture of them. Have a look at them on youtube too. It’s worth it, trust me.

It was hot in Sighetu, near the Ukraine border, and we knuckled down to rehearsal with the orchestra and choir, and played in the cemetery the next day. Here’s a picture of just a couple of the “merry” graves. Notice there's a poem about each person with their image, and some of these are set into song by Shaun. Notice too that it's a modern cemetery, so you'll see images of children who have been killed by cars as well as people operating machinery.

When we played the songs, each one set to a poem about the person who is buried there, I wondered why all cemeteries are not like this, and why we don’t play music all the time to celebrate people who are gone, music all about those people. It feels really good to do it.

A view from the stage at the concert that night:

A highlight too was a visit to the communist museum, the only one in the country, which was a poitical prison in the bad old days, one of many such prisons. Interesting to see photos there of the Ceausescus having a great old time with Richard Nixon on a state visit, and a not uncomfortable looking Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip enjoying their visit to the palace. That’s who these people really are, you know, no matter how cuddly they may appear to be in cute movies. You really don’t have to sup with murderers and tyrants if you don’t want to. If we achieved nothing else in Ireland, at least we got rid of that royalty nonsense. The prison yard:

Visiting Romania was a privilege and great fun again this year and no small thanks to “shadow”, our interpreter and minder Ioana Nistorescu.

We’ll be performing the Merry Cemetery of Sapanta suite and other music in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin on the 27th November, along with the novice priests’ choir from Sibiu (they’re not allowed to become priests in the Romanian Orthodox Church until they’re married), and the RTE Concert Orchestra conducted by the redoubtable David Brophy, with Rita Connolly, Noel Eccles  and Liam O’Floinn. We hope Shadow will come along too with the Romanian contingent to look after us all.

Some of the proceeds from the book will go to keep Art Of The Song: Creativity Radio on the air. Well worth supporting.

It's been a typical spring with much road, some of which is displayed above thanks to the magic of griangrafadoireacht. There was an appearance at Celtic Connections in Glasgow with Andy M Stewart and on the same blll was Shona Donaldson, a lovely Scots singer. I did some filming for a piece on the bog bodies for Irish TV. Valerie Waters put it together for Nationwide and was pleased with the result. Well, look what you had to work with I said, and she said, yes, a couple of old guys who didn't give me any guff. Some recording followed with Rosie Shipley for our album together (out in August, I think) in Handsome Trevor Hutchinson's studio in Dublin. There will be some new songs on it from me and some rather good fiddle from Rosie and even vocalizing from herself. I recorded too with Trevor's band Lunasa for their new album, and then I set sail for America. A week followed in a recording studio in New Orleans with my good friend and ace engineer Misha Kachkachishvilli for Danny O'Flaherty (thank you Dr Ruary and Michelle) and then the serious traveling started - Washington DC, out to West Virginia and then down to Texas. We had a great time with the Gillette brothers on their ranch in Crockett TX and playing at their club the Camp Street Cafe, where Lightnin' Hopkins used to perform. I picked up an album/book combined of old time music/new songs based on local East Texas history called Settlers of the Western Woods and it's a good find. Fascinating stories about pioneers, native americans, paddleboat disasters and escaped slaves with historical pictures and wonderful music. It's the work of Steve Hartz and you'll find it at www.mysteryridge.com. Then over to Shreveport Louisiana and Monroe Louisiana where we had a great time with Doyle Jeter of Enoch's Pub and Tom McCandlish (a great story from Doyle about Truman Capote and a cream puff - Doyle was hungover one morning in New York City.  He was stumbling across the street to get coffee when he bumped into a man eating a cream puff.  The cream puff went right into the man's face.  In the middle of apologizing, Doyle realized that the man was Truman Capote.  Delighted and surprised, Doyle cried: "Truman Capote!"  Covered in cream-puff, Truman replied, "Fuck you!") and also in Monroe discovered the worst Mexican restaurant in the world, seriously. It's good to know these things. Older and wiser we drove down Highway 61 to New Orleans, magical as ever at the head of the shimmering mighty Mississippi. We were at a loss for what to do on St Patrick's Day - my default is to hide out for the day - but in the event we played for our friend and great chef Susan Spicer at her restaurant Bayona and found another restaurant, our new favourite place, Adolfo's on Frenchmens Street. We heard some fine brass street music in the city this time but had to leave all too soon for the Northeast again up to New Hampshire, and one of the loveliest towns in America, Rosendale New York, and a gem of a place, the Rosendale Cafe. By now Rosie was well into her new role as backing singer. Still can't get her to sing a song though. We pressed on to play in Phoenix Arizona(thank you Terry and Michelle for coming), back east for a show near Asheville North Carolina and a reunion and a few tunes with our dear old friend E.J. Jones, then to Bett Padgett's famed concert series in Raleigh NC, and on to Savannah Georgia just before the summer heat came. I scooted up to Massachusetts to teach at a school called Tabor Academy and then managed to fly home through the unpronounceable ash cloud by way of London and Shannon and a bus to Dublin. Phew. That was a a good time. I think. Now to finish writing some music that will be on the new album, a weekend soon in Scotland with Andy M Stewart and a visit to Brittany and then maybe all will be quiet and peaceful for the rest of the summer in old Dingle town. Maybe not though. I just got an email from Andy Irvine. I played with Andy for a couple of years many years ago and many and various were our adventures. We may have a glass or three some time soon.

UPDATE: So far we've raised about two thirds of the cost of the repair so big big thanks to the Friends of the Elephant!:

Kate Christmas and friends, Fred Knight, Clifton English, Valeri Keogh, Deborah Rogers, Claire, Michael, Sinead, Gerard Dunn, Bett & Bill Padgett, Aaron Karmelk, Anne & Keith Willoughby, Phoebe O'Brien, Teresa Mecca, Burke Walker, Jennifer Karlsson, Jamie O'Brien, Robbie White, Nora Jeannier, Terry Murphy, Abbie Bernstein, Kate Akers, Dawn McBride and Tonya Baumhardt.