Traditional Irish Music, Doolin, Ireland.

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Brian

An Irish pub in the traditional Irish music haven Of Doolin, County Clare should be the highlight of your Trip to Ireland. You have three respectable pubs to choose from, Mcdermott’s, McCann’s, and O’Connor’s, and Doolin being the not so official birthplace of traditional Irish music, there is always a session to be had year round. There is something special about a town or region that revels in it’s traditions, and it is this reverence for the Irish music which sets Doolin apart.

O'Connor's

It’s not too late to catch the Russell Festival Memorial Weekend, February 24 to Monday February 27, 2012. The Russell brothers, Packie, Gus, and notably Micho, grew up in Doolin in a house filled with Traditional Irish music.The Russel brothers and their music are celebrated the last weekend in February since 1995, after the passing of Micho Russell in 1994.This year One of Irelands finest singers, Sean Keane, will be performing live at the Russell Cultural Centre.

Traditional Irish Music

Doolin’s a nice spot to explore the Cliffs of Moher, The Cliffs are timeless in their beauty and grandeur. In 1989 I first visited the Cliffs of Moher on a self directed tour of Ireland with my wife, they were awesome. I had the pleasure to see them again last March on a visit to Galway, they were awesome. The tour buses from Galway always stop over in Doolin before heading back.

Cliffs of Moher

As Ireland becomes more of a surf destination Doolin Has great surf on Doolin strand or, if the waves are rolling in the opposite direction, check out the waves at the Lahinch strand. If there is a golfer reading this little travel blurb, yes Lahinch Golf Links is just 7 miles away. Then there’s the Burren, and the caves, and the rock climbing, and fishing…. .

Doolin Ireland surf to Irish music

But just so you don’t think it’s all a bed of roses, what would a post be without a little personal story of Doolin. First off the Irish traditional music at O’Connors pub was great fun and high quality, the Irish music ends and my wife and I are enjoying a pint and some pleasant conversation (using proper pub etiquette ). The waitstaff was pleasant and the atmosphere was perfect, the only problem was the loud conversation two tables away. There was this older Irish fellow in his fifties lecturing to two 20 something American girls. Hey that’s fine, more power to him, but the subject of the conversation was hard to sit by and ignore. Let me say that this was a long time ago, on one of our first trips to Ireland, and the politics may have changed a little since then. This guy is convincing these two skulls of mush of the moral superiority of the eastern european block, how east germany is the only hope for humanity. O.K. fine, let it go, leave it be, but then the tearing down of the American free enterprise system starts, and the two students on the parental paid vacation are eating it up. I can stand it no more, ask the girls if the really agree with this crud and open the door to a silly political conversation with the older Irish guy. He regurgitates the same pablum, and my wife to her credit intercedes to salvage the night. After receiving the well deserved lecture on letting things go, we get ready to leave, and, this is another reason I know God exists, at the same time four large Texans enter the place. For some reason they ask me how the pub was tonight, with a smile, I tell them that the traditional Irish music was fantastic, the Guinness at the bar was great, that the people I’ve met in Doolin were among the best, except for that guy over there, he hates America, not sure how he feels about Texas. Now that’s a conversation I would have liked to overhear,

Cheers.

Ireland favorites, Irish fun, Irish road bowling

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Brian

One of my Ireland favorites is Irish road bowling, it is pure Irish fun combined with Irish skill and Irish tenacity. While traveling through the beautiful southwest of Ireland to the picturesque town of Skibbereen, our van was ask to pause for a minute on the country road. There was a mob of Cork fellows taking aim, and calculating angles for one good throw to even the match. The real competition was for the fellow taking the bets on who would end up with the best throw and who would be the eventual winner. To the novice (me and mine) it was fascinating to see the small heavy metal ball being hurled underhand down the street. the Object of the contest is to see who can cover the course in the fewest amounts of throws. We hung back and found a place to pull out of the way (not an easy task on the back roads of Ireland) and followed the game for a bit. Being careful not to intrude on the game or get in the way, another of my Ireland favorites shone forth, the stubborn confidence of competition. The arguing over the correct line and the total investment of mind and body to the task at hand. The Irish love all sport, and are mad about it. (mad-meaning crazy). We followed for a couple of throws but those Irish boys could really hurl that ball and we watched the second throw and headed back to our van. Next time you find yourself on an Irish country road, you might find yourself in an Irish road bowling match, put a fiver on the local kid you might win.

Skibbereen is a lovely part of the Irish southwest, not too far from Baltimore and the old head. We stayed in the Eldon hotel which is infamous for being the place where Irish Patriot Michael Collins had his last meal. Skibbereen is also infamous for being the worst area to suffer from the Irish famine and the cruel torment of the english land owners. Such things are not forgotten. Today the town is a lively and picturesque Irish village with plenty of shops to browse and scenic venues to see.

Take the drive out to Mizen Head and walk the bridge over to the museum. On the day we visited this Irish attraction the wind was howling, a real Irish gale. The views are fantastic, pick a sunny day and be prepared for the wind. Just before you get out to the peninsula there is a touristy woolens gift shop that is great for us tourist. Do your self a favor and spend some time in the southwest of Ireland, don’t just drive through on the way to the ring of Kerry.

Mizen head, Cork Irelands favorite

Cheers

Ireland favorites, Irish road bowling, Mizen head bridge.

An Irish music tradition

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Brian

You never know when an Irish music outbreak may happen. I was visiting my Dublin cousin recently when I was asked if I wanted to attend an 80 th birthday celebration for his wife’s aunt. Now she was actually turning 85, but when she turned 80 she didn’t want a party celebrating her being old, however, since she made it to 85, she thought it would be ok to acknowledge her 80 th birthday. So we drop by the local pub off license and purchase some libations for the festivities and arrive at a house packed with relatives and fans of the birthday girl. I figure we’ll hang around for an hour or two, go back to the house and plan the next days activities. Well nothing in Ireland ever ends early, just when we thought things might be winding down, everyone grabs a chair makes a big circle in the parlor and a major sing song starts. Thirty people one after another start belting out Irish music, pop tunes, golden oldies, anything people liked, they sang. So this is where the boy scout training comes in handy, you know, be prepared. You will be asked to sing a tune, It’s good to know an American song like Johnny Cash or Neil Diamond (no really, Neil Diamond). There’s something about being proud of where you are from that rubs off on the crowd. Once the traditional Irish music and traditional irish songs start, they seem to feed on one another. Traditional Irish music is by definition an irish tradition and it was a lot of fun being included in this family sing song. I broke one of my rules and sang a Furey Brothers song “It’s a long way from Clare to here”. When I was done some chap from the other side of the room yells “I thought you said he was a yank”, Part compliment for belonging and part rank for not choosing a song from where I’m from. When the majority of the crowd ask you if you know another one, is when you know you are accepted.

You don’t have to be an expert to participate in the Irish music, just be sincere. If you flop the folks will be entertained as well, and for the most part the worst that happens is some good natured ribbing of your Irish music talent, just follow the rules for singing an Irish song,relax and have fun.

Cheers

Things to do in Ireland

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Brian

No matter the plan, no matter how perfect the itinerary, there will be the times when you’ll be looking for things to do in Ireland. When you visit Ireland especially with children, avoid the dreaded downtime boredom with some unexpected Irish gems. The first suggestion I have is to go golfing, I KNOW, KNOW, I KNOW, golfing is an elitist expensive sport played by stuck up, cranky, etiquette driven old guys…well not always. In Ireland they have what are called pitch and putt courses, most are glorified pastures, some Irish farmer mowed the grass around and stuck in flagsticks. the great things about these Irish golf spots is that they are cheap, casual, and under utilized. I was in Enniskerry for a wedding, I had 5 kids ages ,8,10,10,12,and 14, we were driving around getting antsy and bored when I saw the sign, Pitch and Putt 5 euro. Now I did a little quick math 6 people 5 euro, o.k., would I be able to control five kids and not disturb the other golfers, that worried me but what the heck I pulled in. I was going to ask the fella in charge if there would be a problem with that many kids in the group, or local rules and such, but alls there was was a tin can “Place green fees here”and “5 euro adult, 2 Euro children”. We enter the course and it’s a wide open field with 9 holes laid out, each around 100 yards long, I give each kid a club from my bag a couple of balls, and they hack away. We are the only ones out there. These courses are designed for cheap participation, and a way for some farm land to make a euro or two. The bottom line is that the kids got to hang around outdoors under the guise of playing golf and really enjoyed themselves. I got to swing a pitching wedge for an hour and a half, under the guise of watching my kids, nieces, and nephews. It was a lot of fun, the only thing I had to be careful of was me hitting one of the kids as they darted around this Irish golf pitch and putt.

After you run the kids around the glorified pasture of the Irish golf p&p, take them to the local town centre and get them a 99. What’s that, you don’t know what a 99 is?(this question is in the tone of the snowman in Rudolph asking the question,what you don’t know the story of Rudolph). Well a 99 is an Irish soft serve ice cream with a cadbury flake bar inserted into it. It sounds pretty simple but with all things Irish, there is an extra creaminess to this Irish dairy wonder. The 99 got its name based on the original price when the Irish currency was the punt, it cost 99 pence (cent) good marketing. The current price would be three time that now, but still it’s a bargain. Look for the huge plastic ice cream cone in front of Irish stores that serve the 99, and look for shops that sell a high volume of cones as they tend to be better tasting.

Now that the kids have been exercised and bribed with irish ice cream, and of course happy to no end with you, grab your brother in law and get your own treat down to the pub. I hear there is some great Irish music playing tonight.

Cheers

Irish music and friends

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Brian

Irish music by it’s very nature promotes fun gregarious times. There is nothing to compare to the joy of being in an Irish pub and finding an Irish music session or performance band sprouting up. The impromptu singing session especially at the end of a long week really rejuvenates the soul and re-energizes the spirit.( a few guinness doesn’t hurt either). One of my favorite Irish pubs, O’Donoghues of Dublin, is famous for such Irish music sessions. My cousin and I stopped in around dinner time, it was off season(January) so we really had no expectations of Irish music, just having a social pint and catching up on family business. We sat next to the bar (which is impossible during the peak tourist season) ordered two creamy pints of guinness and settle in for a quiet chat.

The next thing we know a local Irish music session sets up next to us and the crowd starts to form. The fellow that ran this Irish music session was named Kieran, and he made fun of my Boston accent, and I wanted to know why his parents named him Karen. He was a howl, and led a lively mix of tunes and Irish songs and stories. The game of give and take is a lot of fun especially in Dublin, by the latter parts of the night the craic was great fun, we had several foreign contingents joining us. Nothing says an Irish holiday like the mixture of Dubliners, Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, Scots and Pakistani’s. I sometimes felt like c3po in Starwars, being the universal accent translator for each group, the Pakistani to American to Irish being the hardest. By the end of the night we were exhausted from talking, laughing, singing, and we made our way home, I’m always amazed how much work is involved in having a fun night out.

After a relaxing day around Dublin, mostly spent walking around Trinity College and a little time spent on Grafton st. I meet up with my cousin for a bite. Now you may find this hard to believe but after spending an unexpectedly long night out, we were a little weary of what we consumed. We decide to have a pint of black to see if this will settle our stomachs before dinner. We end up in a less traveled classic Dublin pub called Neary’s . It was very nice and quiet, no crowds, no Irish music, as we fight our way through the first sip, a Scottish chap steps in and orders a hot whiskey, he pauses a second, and with a hearty bellow proclaims ”Wasn’t the Craic mighty last night lads”. Which just goes to show it’s a small world and Dublin is an even smaller, comfortable city. We enjoyed re-hashing the night before, the interesting people, the tight Irish music, the good times to be enjoyed in general. The next time over I have to make time to visit Scotland, the Scotts are a lot of fun and unique. It’ll have to be during golf season though.

Cheers.

Heritage Irish Crystal, Ireland favorites

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Brian

Heritage crystal one of my Ireland favorites? What about Waterford Crystal? The dirty little secret is there are plenty of Irish crystal companies that are superior to Waterford. My favorite Irish Crystal Happens to be Heritage Irish Crystal for three reasons. The first being the people that run the company are just nice. The year before I opened my shop I was at the Dublin Showcase trade show in a sea of new vendors and products. I am grazing through the booths hoping to get a feel for the place when I find myself in the Heritage Irish Crystal booth. There are a couple of Japanese buyers putting an order together when a cheery gentleman asks me if I need any help. I explain that I am in the planning stages of maybe opening a shop and don’t really know what makes a good crystal. The fellow drops everything and proceeds to give me the ABC’s of high end, hand cut crystal. I would say he spent a good twenty minutes showing me the sharpness of the cut, the deepness of the cut, the weight of the glass, the way the cut diffuses light, the patterns and intricacies of the cuts in the Irish crystal. Then he tells me to go to the other crystal booths at the show and run my finger across the cuts of their crystal and compare it to Heritage Irish Crystal. I thank him for his time and ask him his name, he say’s it was a pleasure and his name is Joe. The next couple of hours I check out all sorts of products and any time I see A crystal booth I run my finger over the cut. That Joe was right, the sharpness of Irish Heritage Crystal really stood out. The next day I head back to the Heritage Irish Crystal booth to thank the Joe fellow for the crystal lesson. I ask if Joe was at the booth, but he wasn’t, I ask if the person in charge was around as I would like to put a good word in for their employee Joe. The salesman smiles and says ‘Oh Joe, you really don’t have to, he owns the company”. The cheerful, helpful salesman was Joe Williams, president and founder of Irish Heritage Crystal. The second Reason is the Quality and workmanship of the product. The third reason is Sonya Williams who is the best customer service person I’ve ever dealt with.

The Vases and Bowls are just breath taking. When I finally closed my shop 15 years after meeting Joe, their quality was still tops. I had a big pedestal bowl that I discounted and secretly hoped wouldn’t sell, when an old customer scoop up every piece I had. There will be a time I open again, and when that day comes I hope that Irish Heritage Crystal will still be around.

Irish heritage crystal - Ireland Favorites

Irish Heritage Crystal

Cheers from Ireland favorites.

Ireland favorites, The gift of irish music.

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Brian

These days we are bombarded with technological wonders that are great fun, the huge flat screen, the video guitar heros, Madden 2012, the list goes on and on. I sometimes think that Dr. Seuss was so far ahead of his time, as the who’s blew their who hoovers and slang their slew slunkers, but my favorite gift came in the form of Irish music. What better way to pass the time than a compilation of diverse Irish tunes, songs, and music.

Here’s a track list;

The Auld Triangle-Ronnie Drew
Kennedy’s Set-The Ivy Leaf
Wild Mountain Thyme-The Border Collies
Pound a Week Raise-Liz Carroll and John Doyle
Pat’s Set-The Ivy Leaf
Reels- Liz Carroll and John Doyle
Boys of Barr na sraide-Niamh Parsons
Whiskey in the Jar- Thin Lizzy
Fairytale of New York-The Pogues
The Lonesome Boatman-The Fureys

If you’re in the mood for classic folk music try the Ronnie Drew road to Irish music, it’ll take you down the Dubliners way past Luke Kelly boulevard, it’s a gravelly well travelled road.

If you’re in the mood for classic trad music put together by young American Irish musicians, then look for the Ivy Leaf, rumor has it their debut cd is to be released in January.

The more established award winning Irish music duo of Liz Caroll and John Doyle fills the air with traditional Irish music, jigs and reels played flawlessly.

Niamh Parsons, pure emotion.

The classic Rock band of the eighties Thin Lizzy, Irelands best rock band ever pays tribute to their Irish lineage with the classic Irish folk music song Whiskey in the jar. I had a discussion with an Irish fella at Paddy Barry’s bar in Quincy, Ma. about rock music not being Irish music. He’s thinking U2, I tell him to check out folk classics by the “boys are back in town” guys-Thin Lizzy. Phil Lynott always awesome, (why can’t rock guys manage to keep themselves alive, ie. don’t overdose on heroin.)

Ireland’s modern day Irish rock/folk/trad fusion band the Pogues, with the European Christmas song, The Fairytale of New York.

Finbar Furey plays the classic Irish air after the narrative, The Lonesome Boatman,most airs are soft and almost mystical, Finbar’s air pushes the seams and just, lets loose.I was listening to the local radio station in Boston one friday when the DJ. leaves with a tease. He says “I can’t tell you who, but some one special will be at Mr.Dooley’s Bar tonight.” he goes on to say that he can’t say who, but you will want to be there. Now the night before, U2 finished their last concert in Boston, soooo putting 1 and 1 together I conclude that Bono is going to be at Dooleys. We head into Dooleys, ask the waitress what time Bonos playing, and am pleasantly surprised when instead, Finbar Furey shows up and plays a few irish music classics. The same night Dooleys poured their millionth pint and some one received a free trip to Ireland. A side note, never take friends with you who drink rum and coke when a Guinness might get you a free trip,….. NO I’M NOT BITTER.

Irish Christmas music

Image

The classic Irish Christmas music tunes or carols would have to start with the Wexford carol. Like most current Christmas songs the tune is very old, tracing back to the 13th century (around 1220A.D.). In the town of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, the director of music at St. Aidan’s Cathedral, William Ford (1859-1928), wrote down the words of a local singer and published this Irish Christmas music classic. There are many versions but if it’s Irish Christmas carols you are after, the Irish music on Tony Kenny’s Christmas Time in Ireland is a good choice.

Going old school,The Bing Crosby Christmas album includes Christmas in Killarney, and of course White Christmas. It also includes an Hawaiian Christmas carol and American classics

Available from Irish Records International, The late Noel Henry’s Christmas at home cd is a good mix of Religious music and kid’s tunes. The Henry’s mother was the reason the original record was produced with the Irish Tunes on one side and Kids tunes on the other. Noel was famous for his devotion to God and love of his fellow man

I hope You Have A Joyous Christmas, Nollaig Shona.

I will put a candle in the window ,and welcome any stranded Irish music travelers shelter and comfort

Irish food, The Full Irish Breakfast

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Brian

Irish food favorites have to include the full Irish breakfast sometimes referred to as a fry. It’s an Irish staple and can take some getting use to, but if you have a busy day the full Irish can hold you over till dinner. Two eggs, rashers (breakfast sausage), black and white pudding (blood sausage), cooked tomato, baked beans, toast (either brown bread, sometimes soda bread), pot of Barry’s tea, now that will stay with you.

The best thing about the full Irish breakfast is it ability to bring you back from a long night out. In 2001, I happened to be in Dublin during the play off run of the New England Patriots, and my cousin ordered the Sky sports package so we could watch the game. The time differences being what they are, we enjoyed a good night out at Johnnie Foxes and got home to watch the game at around 1:00 am. I will have to say I was totally disgusted when I went to bed around 3:00 am, having the game ending in the snow with a fumble.

The next morning I awake to the smells of the full Irish fry on the stove, I was more in the mood for a 20 oz. Pepsi and a lot of ice, the lack of sleep, the taste of guinness and defeat still fresh in my mind, the full Irish seemed a little intimidating. That just goes to show you how wrong you can be. The full Irish breakfast helped revive this tired soul, and it only took me about an hour to believe that the game didn’t end when I disgustedly went to bed. There was something about the combination of greasy sausages, really well baked bread washed down with good Irish tea, and the tuck rule that just made for a beautiful day.

Whenever you stay in a bed and breakfast take advantage of the full Irish, it will sustain you through the day. On the days you don’t feel like such a meal to start off the day, most B&Bs will offer cereal or just a good pot of Irish tea and toast. Take advantage of these included perks, the conversations around the breakfast table can be interesting and informative.

Ireland favorites, Irish food,The full Irish breakfast.

Cheers

favorite Irish songs

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Brian

My favorite Irish songs have two characteristics, the first being Irish songs I enjoy and second being Irish songs I can handle. If you have a particular attachment to a song, such as it being from your hometown in Ireland or maybe it’s your deceased mother’s favorite Irish song, then sing it. There will be an emotion to come through that will be appreciated. Even if it isn’t appreciated, Irish music is about being true, so if it’s sung earnestly you have sung it correctly. Most of us will probably have a bunch of songs we like to listen to, really enjoy, but can’t quite pull off, cull the herd and find the ones you have a chance on. Find the songs your musical range and ability can handle. Find the version of the Irish song that you like, as lyrics to Irish songs morph over the years. It’s amazing when you listen to an Irish song on a Dubliners cd and then look up lyrics to see how different the words can be.

My being very average, the Irish songs I sing can’t range too high, no Four Green Fields being sung by this Irish music hack, but try The Bold Fenian Men, or The Water Is Wide, both are examples of beautiful Irish tunes that can be sung. So I put together a few singable Irish songs below, pick one out learn the words listen to how they should be sung. Irish music is learned by listening so listen to your favorite Irish music personality. If you have a song you absolutely love but have a spot where you cannot reach, try going down an octave, instead of over reaching

Irish songs you can sing;

Hills of Connermara
Water is Wide
Whiskey on a Sunday
A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday
Clare to here (don’t over reach)
Molly Malone
Finnegan’s wake
Cliffs of Doneen
Wild Rover
The parting Glass

Ok now you have your homework assignment, learn three of the Irish songs above. Pick an Irish music artist you like and listen to how the Irish music is sung, adapt the Irish song to your abilities and personality, and most of all enjoy singing it.

The first time you sing your Irish song you will be nervous, expect to be nervous, don’t go on and on about being nervous, just try to sing. If you stumble, the odds are several people in the crowd will know the song and help you through the rough spots. I was at the Irish Cultural Centre listening to a singing session when one of the main singers lost the words to a song I knew, knowing he stumbled, I sang the next chorus, he got back on track and finished it. It actually was kind of nice having a voice out of nowhere sing a bit of the song.

The point being don’t worry, you are not being paid, you’re there to participate in singing some Irish music.

Cheers.

Lindsay Straw of the Ivy Leaf.