(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - On this episode of "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions," we're very happy to be joined by Cathy Jordan, Frankie Gavin and Catherine McHugh, Niamh Regan and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh with Gerry O'Beirne.

(upbeat music continues) Fantastic.

(laughing) Cathy Jordan.

- Hello.

- It's great to see ya.

- Great to be seen.

- You have a new, very interesting, intriguing project.

- It all started in Roscommon where I'm from, like all good things start there.

I started doing songs from Roscommon and marrying them with an old vintage storytelling device called a cranky box to tell the story of the songs.

And then I decided it would be a good idea to do one from every county.

So, I'm doing 32 of them.

I think I'll do maybe one from Tipperary this time about a bit of a scoundrel called Johnny Carey, who followed this lassie called Molly O'Leary because she had money.

(upbeat music) - [Fiachna] "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - And he followed her until the money ran out, and then he absconded, and she was dying in the end, and she wanted him to follow her into death.

But no, he wouldn't go that far.

- Right.

- Fair enough.

- Yeah, so we'll see does this old thing work.

(upbeat drumming music) ♪ Johnny Carey loved a beauty lady cutie Molly O'Leary ♪ ♪ But her father wanted thee ♪ The girl not to give to Johnny Carey ♪ ♪ Away we'll run, away with the fun ♪ ♪ For my father was too contrary ♪ ♪ Won't you follow me, won't you follow me ♪ ♪ Yes, I will, said Johnny Carey ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Molly's father died one day ♪ His age was not from drinking water ♪ ♪ The house, the cash, the land all sold ♪ ♪ Left by will to Molly daughter ♪ ♪ The house, the cash, the land all sold ♪ ♪ Away we'll run so light and cheery ♪ ♪ Won't ya follow me, won't ya follow me ♪ ♪ "Yes, I will", said Johnny Carey ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Then Molly herself was taken bad ♪ ♪ The fever worse each day was growing ♪ ♪ Johnny, dear, 'tis half as sad ♪ ♪ To the other world I think I'm goin' ♪ ♪ You won't survive, my lass, you know ♪ ♪ No longer avail in Tipperary ♪ Won't ya follow me, won't ya follow me ♪ ♪ "This I will not", said Johnny Carey ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle di ♪ - Woo hoo.

(group laughing) (group applauding) - Well done.

- Thank you, eleventh hour there.

(Muireann, laughing) - The last chord.

- Yeah.

Very nice last chord.

- That was a great last chord.

(group laughing) Muireann, you seem to know that song too.

- Well, just from listening to Cathy Jordan singing earlier.

She just brings the songs to life so much.

She's just put really personality in them.

- Oh, thank you so much.

- Yeah, it was brilliant, wasn't it?

- Ah, gorgeous, really gorgeous.

Thanks, Cathy.

Muireann, it's great to have you here.

- Thanks, it's great to be here.

- And you're here with Gerry O'Beirne.

- We're having a ball.

(laughing) - Muireann, what are you gonna share with us?

- Well, I absolutely love singing to the 12-string guitar actually.

And this song, I think it really suits Gerry's playing and that particular guitar.

It's a song we, as musicians, would all know very well as a tune.

"Si Beag, Si Mor," composed by Turlough O'Carolan, our probably most famous Irish composer, and he's from my particular favorite century, the 1600s where most of my songs seem to come from.

All the hits back in those days.

So, this is a song, it sounds really beautiful in Irish, but it's actually about two fighting fairy factions.

So, there's a bit of violence there.

(soft music) (Muireann singing in Irish) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann singing in Irish continues) (soft music continues) (Muireann speaking in Irish) (group applauding) (Muireann speaking in Irish) - Thank you.

(Muireann laughing) - Oh, what a treat.

That was absolutely beautiful, beautiful.

Thank you so much.

Gerry, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Thanks so much.

Frankie Gavin and Catherine McHugh, you have a new album.

Is it your 25th album?

- Something like that, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Your 25th.

- A few were hanging around still, yeah.

- Great, great, and are you gonna give us something from that album now?

Tell us a little bit about it.

- There was a cassette that somebody gave me in London many years ago, and it had all sorts of great fiddle players who were immigrant fiddle players, Irish.

Living in London at the time was Martin Byrnes, and Bobby Casey, and Paddy Cronin, and people like that, you know?

And I knew there was some great tunes on it, and I couldn't find the cassette anywhere, you know?

And as my father used to say, I searched high up and low down, and I still couldn't find the cassette.

But one day I was gonna bring this ghetto blaster to the recycling center in the Galway County Council out the June Road there.

And by the grace of God, I happened to press the old eject button, and there was the cassette, you know.

So, we came across some nice tunes on that.

- Yeah, there is.

Who was actually on this cassette?

- Oh there was all this amazing fiddle playing, you know, from different immigrant fiddle players that this man whom I never met before, he actually picked it up, myself and another lad, one of the lads at the airport of Heathrow Airport, and he was playing this cassette in the car.

And I said, "Oh, this is extraordinary music, you know, and great."

It was rough recordings, but the music was fantastic, you know?

And I should mention that on that album, on this album, "Port Eireann," we have a wonderful bouzouki player from Santa Cruz in California playing on it, a man called George Grasso, whom I forgot to mention in the sleeve notes.

- George, we're thinking of you.

(group laughing) - In Santa Cruz.

All right so.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Ooh.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (group applauding and cheering) A bit on the slow side if you ask me.

(group laughing) - Could you not have played it any faster?

(laughing) That's great, Frankie, great.

And Catherine, thanks so much.

- Thank you very much.

- It's really, really uplifting, magical music coming out of ya.

- Thanks so very much.

- Beautiful, thank you.

- Great to be with you all.

Niamh Regan.

- Hello.

- Kilrea's finest export.

(laughing) - I don't know.

- I'm joking.

- Pretty small village.

- It's great to meet you.

We haven't met until today.

- I know.

- And I have been such a huge admirer of your music since I first heard it.

- I don't know what to say.

I'm just here, big head swelling.

(group laughing) Thank you.

- Your songs, there's something in your songs.

I remember when I heard your first record, I just, I spent the entire day with it, and I found it really moving.

You know, there's heartache, there's sadness, there's loss, and yet there's this feeling that all of it works to sort of deal with all of that kind of thing.

Is that, do you think that, is that part of what makes you a songwriter?

You're very cheerful by nature.

- It's a nervous thing, I think.

I just, it's just a lucky trait that I smile when I'm nervous.

(group laughing) But actually, I guess the only time I don't overthink things is when I'm writing songs.

So, I guess that's one thing.

I don't know what I'm doing until it's done.

And so I guess things spill into it, but, you know, like I grew up singing ballads, and trad was my essential background.

Essential background?

My background.

And like I, you know, "Bay of Biscay," like night visiting songs, drinking songs, working songs, all that are just stories and, like, I guess that's just what was the basis, and then learned three chords on the guitar, and said, "Oh sure, I'll tell my story."

But then I realized I had no story, that I have a very steady life, so I had to get creative and start thinking.

And like you pull things from just, you know, looking around the world and what other people are goin' through.

- Observing people.

- Yeah.

So there might be one or two lines that are very much like personal maybe, but then had to dress it up or put it into a format.

So, yeah.

So it's, yeah.

- It's beautifully and artistically done.

I mean, it really is.

- Huh.

I just really enjoy doing it so, and I'm very lucky to be doing it.

- And what are you gonna do for us now?

Do something?

- Yeah, I'm gonna sing a song called "Late Nights."

Yeah, a look at the world, I suppose.

- Great.

- Yep.

It's very hard to follow Frankie Gavin with this.

(group laughing) Oh, God.

(soft guitar music) ♪ Late nights takin' its toll on your body ♪ ♪ Late nights thinking what I should've said ♪ ♪ Hindsight just gets better and better ♪ ♪ Hindsight's no good now ♪ It's said, and it's done ♪ I mean, I'm constantly trying to make you feel better ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I was holding your hand, holding family together ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I mean, if you don't go ♪ But I don't want to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is (soft guitar music continues) (soft guitar music continues) ♪ Late nights taking its toll on your body ♪ ♪ And late nights thinking what I should have said ♪ ♪ Hindsight just gets better and better ♪ ♪ Hindsight's no good now ♪ It's said, and it's done ♪ I mean, I'm constantly trying to make you feel better ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I was holding your hand, holding family together ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I mean, if you don't wanna go ♪ ♪ But I don't have to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is (soft guitar music continues) ♪ Mmm, mmm, mmm (soft guitar music continues) ♪ Oh, the lovers, they'll figure it out someway ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ Oh, my lover, I'll figure you out someway ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ 'Cause you're constantly trying to make me feel better ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I was holding your hand, holding family together ♪ (soft guitar music continues) ♪ I mean, if you don't go ♪ But I don't want to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is Hm.

(group applauding) - Beautiful.

Niamh, I feel very fortunate to be sitting beside you.

It's like you're sitting in my sitting room.

(laughing) Like singing- - Nice sitting room.

Just got it done.

- I mean, that song, I know you had that song on an EP recently.

I've played that song "Late Nights" late at night on the radio many, many times.

- Well, thank you.

- And you've accompanied me when I'm in there on my own listening to your beautiful music.

So, thanks so much for that.

Did you listen much to Frankie Gavin when you were growin' up?

- Yeah, it would've been in the car.

Yeah.

Big fan, Frankie.

- Well, thank you.

I'm a big fan of yours now.

(both laughing) - Frankie, De Dannan was actually one of the first gigs I ever went to as a kid, I think.

And it was around about the time of "The Mist Covered Mountain" album.

It's such a classic record.

- Thank you very much indeed.

At that particular time as well, we decided to bring on two really elderly channel singers.

You know, which the record company thought we were a bit daft, you know?

- It was so valuable.

- But it was lovely because Tom Phaidin Tom from Spideal and Sean O Conaire from Rosmuc, but they proved to be very successful, and that proved to be a very successful album against what the record companies were thinking.

They're quite well known on the other hand here in Ireland.

They were all for it all right.

Of course, of course.

But- - It was my dad took us, and the gig was nearly sold out.

Actually, I'll never forget we were up in the gobbs, myself and my father, and it's an abiding memory.

So, grateful for that.

(laughing) - Thank you very much, yes.

Thank you very much.

- I like you, first gig ever, De Dannan in Peju.

So we're all, it's coming back through (indistinct) because it was at the O'Carolan Festival.

- Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

- And it's called "Be With Me."

Sister Marie brought myself and my other sister.

And Dolores Keen was singing, wasn't she?

- Yeah.

- And we had a tape recorder.

Sorry about that.

(group laughing) - Can I get a copy of it please?

- [Fiachna] Yeah, exactly.

(laughing) Add it to his collection.

- I taped all the sounds.

And years later I met Alan Kelly, an accordion player from West Galway.

And he was at the same gig, and he taped all the tunes.

And between the two of us, we had the whole gig.

- Fabulous.

(laughing) - Yeah.

It was great.

- We can't possibly finish this evening without playing something from Dave Allen.

Frankie.

- Okay, what about a reel?

What about, uh.

(strings plucking) What about, uh?

(upbeat fiddle music) - Beautiful.

- Is that okay?

- [Fiachna] Yeah.

- Can we play with ya?

- Oh, please do, please do.

- What are the chords, Frankie?

(laughing) - Mostly D. - [Fiachna] Mostly D. - Or E flat, yeah.

- Or E flat.

- Why don't we just do it twice, the first one twice and the second one?

The second one.

(upbeat fiddle music) Or we can just do the first one.

Cathy?

- Yeah.

- Yup.

Thanks very much, Fiachna.

It's great to be here.

- Yeah.

- Ah, it's been great to have you.

- Thank you, Fiachna.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - Ah.

Thanks so much.

- Woo.

- Frankie, what was that from?

What was that album?

- That might be from the, come to think of it, I think it might be on "The Mist Covered Mountain" album, that one, yeah.

- Yeah.

- I think the Caledonian and the Dune reels.

- That's it, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I knew I'd heard them somewhere before.

- Yeah, yeah, honest to God, yeah.

- Brilliant.

Well thanks so much.

- My pleasure.

- Well, (speaking in Irish) for watching "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions" coming to you from the Great Hall here in Malahide Castle with Cathy Jordan, Frankie Gavin and Catherine McHugh, Niamh Regan, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, and Gerry O'Beirne.

We'll see you soon.

(speaking in Irish) (upbeat music) "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) "TradFest: the Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

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