described German tourists as the “ivasinDoolins.” The
legacy of Miko Russell and other musicians is a large
tourist centre close to Ireland’s second most popular
visitor attraction, the Cliffs of Moher.
ENNIS: The Glór musical heritage centre is the artistic
hub for the most musical of Irish counties, with regular
concerts and impromptu gatherings that spill over to
more informal local venues.
GURTEEN: A visitor centre celebrates South Sligo’s
musical style, best exemplified by Michael Coleman who
was one of the first Irish musicians to be recorded and
widely distributed in the 1920s.
GWEEDORE: Leo Brennan’s Tavern in Gweedore where
Clannad and Enya spread Irish language trance music to
the world is a starting point from which to explore a very
musical county.
LISTOWEL: John B Keane’s bar, owned for decades by
one of Ireland’s greatest comic writers, is a natural home
of the comic song and one of its greatest exponents,
Mickey MacConnell, whose Only Our Rivers Run Free
became a balladeer’s anthem of the 1970s. Ask him to
sing the Lidl and Aldi song.
MILTOWN MALBAY: The home of gentle piper Willie
Clancy hosts a summer school every July. Over 1,000
musicians gather to share tunes and other things.
Curiously, one of the most famous hostelries where they
gather, Maisie Friel’s pub, always had the name Lynch’s
over the door. A small visitor centre pays tribute to the
Music Makers of West Clare and is well worth a visit.
WESTPORT: Matt Molloy’s pub, owned by a member of
the iconic ensemble the Chieftains, is the epicentre for
local musical heritage.
When you find your session, don’t just sit and listen.
Ask for the names of the tunes. Some are amazing. A
personal favourite is I Buried My Wife And Danced On
Her Grave, apparently because of the peculiar lively
metre rather than the homicidal tendencies of the author.
Merrily Kissed The Quaker also falls into this category.
If they ask for requests, here are a few: Shave The
Monkey, Tell Her I Will, Jerry’s Beaver Hat, Contentment
Is Wealth, When You Are Sick Is It Tea You Want, and The
Rambling Pitch Fork.
Then you will have a session.
But, then, you should have been here last night.
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