[upbeat Irish music] - [Musician] Woo.

[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 Irish music] [upbeat music continues] - Woo.

- Hey.

Fantastic.

Cathy Jordan.

- Hello.

- It's great to see ya.

- Great to be seen.

- You are fresh from a big gig at the National Stadium the other night.

- That's stretchin' it a good bit now to say I'm fresh.

- [Fiachna] Go on, it's not.

[chuckling] - But yes, we had a great night in the stadium at the Temple Bar TradFest.

We had "The Great Irish Songbook" gig.

- Yeah, beautiful album.

- Thank you very much.

- Beautiful album.

- Thanks very much.

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

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

I started doin' songs from Roscommon and marryin' them with an old vintage storytellin' device called a cranky box, which was used in the, you know, a hundred years ago.

It's one of our oldest cinemas we say.

So they can be any size, and basically it's a scroll, an illustrated scroll of, it can be a story scroll, but I'm using the scrolls to tell the story of the songs.

And it started in Roscommon, as I said.

I did six or seven from Roscommon, and then I decided it would be a good idea to do one from every county.

So, I'm doin' 32 of them, plus the six from Roscommon, you know, so.

- Huge project, beautiful.

Fantastic.

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

And he followed her until the money ran out, and then he absconded and.

And she was dyin' in the end, and she wanted him to follow her into death.

But no, he wouldn't go that far.

- Right, fair enough.

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

[upbeat drumming] ♪ 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 drinkin' water ♪ ♪ The house, the cash, the land all told ♪ ♪ Left by will to Molly daughter ♪ ♪ The house, the cash, the land all told ♪ ♪ 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 growin' ♪ ♪ 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 da di da diddle diddle da ♪ ♪ Di do deedle do ♪ ♪ Di da deedle do ♪ ♪ Di da da di da diddle diddle di ♪ - Woo hoo.

[everyone applauding] - Thank you, eleventh hour there.

- The last chord, shoom.

- Yeah, very nice last chord.

- That was a great last chord.

[laughing] Muireann, you seem to know that song too.

- Well, just from listenin' to Cathy Jordan singin' 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, with Gerry O'Beirne.

- We're havin' a ball.

[laughing] - Did you, you two, you must have met in Kerry?

- We go back a hundred years.

- Do ya?

- We do.

I started playin' with Gerry when I was 19 years old.

♪ Only 19 years old ♪ And so far he hasn't been managed to, he hasn't managed to shake me off yet.

[laughing] He's fantastic.

I'm so lucky.

I mean, we live just not too far from each other.

It's a lovely scene at home, as you know, in the Dingle Peninsula.

We're trippin' over archeology and musicians basically.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I suppose you came to our attention first with Danú, but you've been working on some really extraordinary projects lately.

- It's funny, things just kind of continue to progress, and wonderful, interesting musical projects happen.

And I don't really know how it all seems to come together, but I'm really enjoying it.

- [Fiachna] Well, congratulations on the orchestral project.

- Thank you.

- I'm afraid we have no orchestra for you here today.

- He's better than any orchestra.

Half the price.

[laughing] - Gerry O'Beirne, I was just about to say, Gerry O'Beirne is a human guitar orchestra.

I mean, such a gorgeous player.

Gerry, it's great to have you here.

- Ah, great to be here.

Thank you.

- You're gonna accompany Muireann on this.

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.

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

"Sí Beag, Sí Mór," composed by Turlough O'Carolan, our probably most famous Irish composer, certainly one of our most famous.

[speaking in a foreign language] But that's okay.

[everyone laughing] He actually wrote quite a few songs as well, 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.

And Gerry adds the magical fairy sound effects.

- Go, Gerry.

- Fantastic.

- So, we'll give this a go.

- [Fiachna] Great.

- No pressure.

- None.

[mellow guitar music] [singing in Irish] [singing in Irish continues] [singing in Irish] [singing in Irish continues] [group applauding] - Oh, what a treat.

That was absolutely beautiful, beautiful.

Thank you so much.

Gerry, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Thanks so much.

- And no easy feat to match the words with the melody because I've tried it myself.

They don't scan very.

- Yeah.

There was a fair bit of verbal acrobatics goin' on to make it work, but I just really wanted to try it anyway.

Yeah.

- That's beautiful.

- Thank you.

- Thanks so much for that.

It's gorgeous.

Niamh Regan.

- Hello.

- Kilrea's finest export.

- I don't know.

- I'm joking.

[laughing] - 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.

[laughing] Thank you.

- What would you like to sing, for us here today?

- I'm going to sing a song called "What to Do," which is basically just asking that question what to do again and again.

- And is this a recent song?

- It's really old actually.

I used to play it on the piano a lot and recently started playing it at gigs with the guitar.

So I said, I'll give this a whirl.

Yeah, so, it's younger me's song, but see what.

- Oh, beautiful.

- If that's okay.

- That'd be gorgeous.

- Give it a go.

- Thank you.

[gentle acoustic guitar music] ♪ Well, it's so easy just to fall in love ♪ ♪ But it's a whole different story just to stay in love ♪ ♪ Was he tall, was he handsome, was he a breath of fresh air ♪ ♪ Charming and enticing she could take you ♪ ♪ Out of here ♪ ♪ Because you're young and you're full of joy in your steps ♪ ♪ And no one's gonna tell you what's comin' next ♪ ♪ Well, it's so easy just to fall in love ♪ ♪ But it's a whole different story just to stay in love ♪ ♪ So come home and stay here, tell me what to do ♪ ♪ And come home and stay here, would you tell me what to do ♪ ♪ Oh, come home and stay here, tell me what to do ♪ ♪ Oh, come home and stay here, tell me what I should do ♪ ♪ 'Cause no one ever talks about tomorrow ♪ ♪ The rainy day, it never left ♪ ♪ You doubt he lives in America ♪ ♪ How do you feel about that ♪ ♪ And everyone just says it's so easy ♪ ♪ I only have to push on through ♪ ♪ You doubt he lives in America ♪ ♪ What does that mean for you ♪ ♪ Oh, if it's so easy ♪ ♪ I'll throw it back to you ♪ ♪ And if it was so easy ♪ ♪ I still don't know what to do ♪ ♪ It was so damn difficult to ask how you were ♪ ♪ I mean, it was so damn difficult to know who you were ♪ ♪ Are you bitter, are you fickle, look for somethin' new ♪ ♪ I was tired, I was saddened ♪ ♪ That we could not see it through ♪ ♪ Are you bitter, are you fickle, look for someone new ♪ ♪ What to do ♪ [group applauding] - What to do.

Gorgeous, Niamh.

Beautiful song, beautiful song.

Frankie Gavin, great to see ya.

And it's great to see you in the full of your health.

- Yeah, it's nice feeling, I can say that much, yeah.

- [Fiachna] I can see it is.

I can see it is.

I can see it is.

And you brought with Catherine McHugh along with you today as well.

- Yes, indeed.

- [Fiachna] Yeah.

- We've got that an album done there during the old lockdown and all that carryin' on.

Then other things happened after that, but thankfully that's all good news and positive results so.

- "Port Eireann."

- "Port Eireann," yeah.

The title of it actually, when we were doin' a festival in the Isle of Man, and there's a little pier, a lovely little village if you like and pier, and it's called Port Eireann.

And I thought to myself, God, you know, such a lovely little village or a port in Ireland called Port Eireann.

So then I called it Port Eireann or Port Eireann.

- [Fiachna] Yes, yes.

- I just like the, the sound of it, you know?

- It works in two ways.

- It does really, but most people now call it Port Eireann, which still, I suppose, a jig of Ireland or something like that, whatever.

- [Fiachna] Yes, yes, yes.

- You know, but it's, I'm very pleased with it, and Catherine did great work on it with me.

And so, yeah, I'm very happy with the results, and it's going well and we're enjoying some, playing some strange tunes that I came across here and there, you know, for the album, so.

- Fantastic.

Frankie, tell us about the tune you're about to play.

- Yeah, well, I wrote this tune during a sound check as what some people do on occasion, you know, but it just came about.

And I was playing in this lovely pub in Somerville, in Massachusetts, well just outside of Boston, owned by a very dear friend of mine, Tommy McCarthy and his wife Louise.

And I was doin' a gig there one evening and kind of like three or four o'clock in the afternoon sound check.

And I came up with this tune.

It just kind of, it just came about.

I don't know, it was no, it wasn't intended, but it took, came about, and I decided to call it "The Burren Barndance" after the burren in County Clare and the burren in Boston.

[tuning fiddle] It was in tune when I bought it.

[people chuckling] [upbeat fiddle and piano music] [upbeat fiddle and piano music continues] - It's gorgeous, Frankie.

[group applauding] - Fantastic, fantastic.

How long have you and Catherine been working together?

- About a year, about a year and a bit.

A year and 20 minutes.

- [Fiachna] A year and 20 minutes?

Fantastic, yeah, yeah.

It's great to see ya, great to see ya.

- Thanks very much.

- Muireann, what have yourself and Gerry got for us now?

- This is a song I learned in school.

I went to the most beautiful school.

It's called Holhein.

When I was there we had a múinteoir called [speaking in Irish], and he really focused on the arts, songs, stories, music, and then history, nature.

We learned all the fields and all the birds, all the names, all the flowers, all every cove and every inlet in the peninsula.

We learned all that.

Didn't do a whole lot of songs, but that's fine.

- That stuff is the important stuff.

- Yes, and and your phone can do that for you now anyway.

- Yeah, exactly.

[laughing] - So, this song I learned from him.

It's called "The Bay of Biscay."

And it's sung all over Ireland and England and Scotland, but I love it because there's a conversation happens in it.

I love conversation songs so.

I'll give it a go for you.

- Beautiful.

[gentle acoustic guitar music] ♪ My William sailed ♪ ♪ On the Salty Diamond ♪ ♪ And where he is ♪ ♪ I do not know ♪ ♪ For seven long years ♪ ♪ I've constantly waited ♪ ♪ Since he sailed the Bay of Biscay-o ♪ ♪ One night she heard ♪ ♪ As she lay sleeping ♪ ♪ A knock that came ♪ ♪ To the bedroom door ♪ ♪ Cry rise oh rise ♪ ♪ My dearest Mary ♪ ♪ For to gain a glimpse ♪ ♪ Of your William-o ♪ ♪ Oh, Mary rose ♪ ♪ Pulled on her clothing ♪ ♪ And made her way ♪ ♪ To the bedroom door ♪ ♪ And as she saw ♪ ♪ Her William standing ♪ ♪ His face as pale ♪ ♪ And white as snow ♪ ♪ Oh, Willy dear ♪ ♪ Where are those blushes ♪ ♪ I used to know ♪ ♪ Long years ago ♪ ♪ Oh, Mary dear ♪ ♪ The wild waves dashed them ♪ ♪ I'm only the ghost ♪ ♪ Of your William-o ♪ [gentle acoustic guitar music] ♪ And Mary dear ♪ ♪ The dawn's breaking ♪ ♪ I fear it's time ♪ ♪ For me to go ♪ ♪ I am leaving you ♪ ♪ Most brokenhearted ♪ ♪ For to sail the Bay of Biscay-o ♪ ♪ If I had all ♪ ♪ The gold in China ♪ ♪ And all the silver ♪ ♪ In Mexico ♪ ♪ I would give it all ♪ ♪ To the King of Erin ♪ ♪ For to bring me back ♪ ♪ My William-o ♪ ♪ My William sailed ♪ ♪ On the Salty Diamond ♪ - [Cathy] Beautiful, Muireann.

- [Muireann] You're welcome.

[group applauding] - [speaking in a foreign language] We're very grateful for the [speaking in a foreign language].

That's gorgeous.

Beautiful, Gerry, beautiful playin' as well.

- Thank you.

- Really, really fantastic.

- Thank you.

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

Is it your 25th album?

- Somethin' like that, yeah, yeah.

A few were hangin' around still, yeah.

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

Tell us a little bit about it.

- There was a, 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.

Livin' 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.

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 in the, 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.

- Are you gonna do something from that for us?

- Yeah, these are a couple of tunes now, which would, might have been, the versions of them, at least, if not the actual tunes themselves, might have been lost only for the sacrificing of the cassette from the old ghetto blaster again.

So, these are tune that I learned from Paddy Cronin, the great Kerry fiddle player.

- Tell me about the cassette.

Who was actually on this cassette?

- 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 at Heathrow Airport, and he was playing this cassette in the car.

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

It was rough enough recordings, but the music was fantastic.

So it's, you know, and I've got a couple of suitcases of cassettes at home now.

There's no CD players in the cars anymore, let alone forget about cassettes.

So, no, it's great to have it, and I have all these cassettes to go through yet.

I'm gonna be working on a flute album next and hopefully find some nice gems in all those collections as well.

- Fantastic.

- Yeah so.

- There's treasure there to be found.

- Yeah, so go through all your old cassettes.

There's a lot of people are watchin' this now, the younger people won't even know what we're talkin' about.

[everyone laughing] In about 20 minutes time, they won't even know what CDs are.

- Yes.

[laughing] - By all accounts.

- So, so these tunes?

- I might give these tunes a bit of a rattle and see what you think.

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.

So, the moral of the story is don't do the sleeve notes for your album when you're in treatment, any kind of treatment.

- Okay.

[group chuckling] - So, sorry about that, George.

- George, we're thinkin' of ya.

[everyone laughing] - In Santa Cruz.

All right so.

[tuning fiddle] [upbeat fiddle and piano music] [upbeat fiddle and piano music continues] [upbeat fiddle and piano music continues] - Hoo ha.

- Woo.

- Woo.

[group applauding] - Woo hoo.

- A bit on the slow side if you ask me.

[everyone laughing] - Could you not have played it any faster?

That's great, Frankie, great.

And Catherine, thanks so much.

- Thank you very much.

- Really, really uplifting, magical music comin' out of ya.

- Thanks so very much.

- Beautiful, thank you.

- Great to be with you all.

Niahm, I want to come to you.

Your songs, there's somethin' 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 this 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.

[laughing] But actually, I guess the only time I don't overthink things is when I'm writin' songs.

So, I guess that's one thing.

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

And so I guess things spill into it, but, you know, like I grew up singin' 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's 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 thinkin'.

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 doin' it so, and I'm very lucky to be doin' it.

- And what are you gonna do for us now?

Do something?

- Yeah, I'm gonna sing a song called "Late Nights," and it was like, I think all musicians had a project to work on during lockdown.

So there were just like a few songs that I just used the lockdown to inspire, just being stuck at home and like small surroundings and just very reflective kind of stuff, but I didn't want to write material for the second album during lockdown 'cause it was just like, oh, not the right head space.

- Okay, interesting, yeah, yeah.

- So, yeah, a look at the world, I suppose.

- Great.

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

[group laughing] Oh, God.

[mellow acoustic guitar music] ♪ Late nights takin' its toll on your body ♪ ♪ Late nights thinkin' 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 tryin' to make you feel better ♪ ♪ I was holdin' your hand, holdin' family together ♪ ♪ I mean, if you don't go ♪ ♪ But I don't want to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is ♪ ♪ Late nights takin' its toll on your body ♪ ♪ And late nights thinkin' 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 tryin' to make you feel better ♪ ♪ I was holdin' your hand, holdin' family together ♪ ♪ I mean, if you don't wanna go ♪ ♪ But I don't have to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is ♪ ♪ Mmm mmm mmm ♪ ♪ Oh, the lovers, they'll figure it out someway ♪ ♪ Oh, my lover, I'll figure you out someway ♪ ♪ 'Cause you're constantly tryin' to make me feel better ♪ ♪ I was holdin' your hand, holdin' family together ♪ ♪ I mean, if you don't go ♪ ♪ But I don't want to stay here ♪ ♪ But it's what it is ♪ [group applauding] - Beautiful.

I feel very fortunate to be sittin' beside you.

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

[group 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 listenin' to your beautiful music.

So, thanks so much for that.

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

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

Yeah, for sure.

Frankie Gavin.

But I went, and I did trad down in U.S.

So like we had everyone from all angles coming, but yeah, for sure.

Big fan, Frankie.

- Well, thank you.

I'm a big fan of yours now.

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

I know I went to see The Police when I was about 12 in Leixlip, and that was closely followed by De Dannan in The Gaiety Theatre.

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

And I play, I often come out of the weather on the radio with, and what a perfect tune to come outta the weather forecast with "The Mist Covered Mountain."

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.

- It was so valuable.

- But it was lovely because Tom Pháidín Tom and Seán Ó Conaire from Rosmuc, and they're just sang really serious shadows singing.

And we kind of put a little, a hint of the compliment around it, you know, around ourselves, you know?

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 bigger companies and Americans, stuff like that, they thought we were daft, you know?

But what do they know?

- I'll never forget that.

- Nothing, it turns out.

That song will live for a long time.

I mean, that album, it's brilliant, isn't it?

- Thank you, Gerry.

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

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

So, grateful for that.

[laughing] - Thank you very much, yes.

Thank you very much.

- Muireann, I can't wait to hear what you've got to share with us now.

What are you?

- You speakin' to Frankie there, that was your first gig.

Guess what my first gig was?

- Go on.

- Fiachna, you and the Hot House Flowers and the Christian Brothers in Dingle.

- No way.

- Circa 1989.

I remember I wore.

I remember what I wore 'cause I picked out the outfit especially for the concert.

And it was pastel checked culottes.

Remember culottes?

- Oh, yeah.

- And a matching waist coat and a ruffly blouse, and I thought I was the bees knees, and I was up the front, and you guys were amazing.

Oh, there you go now.

- Wow.

I was probably wearing pastel culottes myself.

[laughing] - There was definitely a lot of flowy shirts going on, a lot of paisley shirts, like that.

- There was definitely, yeah.

I had ruffles, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, lots of tie dye.

- Yeah, you rocked the place.

- Ah, that's great.

Well, we, yeah, I remember that tour.

It was a great, great time.

It's such a, I mean, where you come from is some of the places that I've seen some of the best music ever, including our dear departed friend Shamus Dudley, whom I first saw playing in the Dunmore Hotel when I was 15 years old, and people levitating in that dancing.

- Well that's, he did defy gravity with that voice of his and that music.

- And that music.

- There's no doubt about it, defied the laws of nature, and we miss him dearly.

- [Fiachna] We do.

- And I was so lucky because he gave me so much.

So now I'm trying to pass that on now, you know?

I feel like the responsibility of what he gave me, it's important that we share that on now.

And I was singing with his daughter Mave last night, and she said, I feel him in every note I sing.

He's still there.

So, I'll sing a song for you now.

The lyrics are old.

They come from the great Blasket Island, and they were composed by a poet called Shana Be le.

It's a song called "Muirisin Deas agus Nora," but it used to have a different melody.

It still does, but the version I'm going to sing for you, Gerry, who's also, as you know, a very fine singer/songwriter, Gerry put new music to this song.

So it's old lyrics, new music, and it's a happy love song 'cause I'm trying.

And in this song, [laughing] Muirisin is in love with Nora, especially her ankles.

They're amazing, apparently.

And when you think about it, long ago, that's probably all you could see of a woman, you know?

The shawls and the skirts and the fog, rain.

The ankles were of great interest.

[laughing] So this is "Muirisin Deas agus Nora."

[singing in Irish] [singing in Irish continues] [gentle acoustic guitar music] ♪ Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪ ♪ Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪ [singing in Irish] [group applauding] [speaking in Irish] - Cathy, you're gonna take us to another county, I think.

- I am, yeah.

Well, I might take you back to the same one, but, because we're talkin' about first gigs, and I, like you, first gig ever, De Dannan in Peju.

So we're all, it's coming back to us.

Common because it was at the O'Carolan Festival.

- 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.

[everyone laughing] - Can I get a copy of it please?

- [Fiachna] Yeah, exactly.

[laughing] Add it to his collection.

- I taped all the songs.

And years later I met Alan Kelly, accordian 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.

And you probably might have played the tune version of this because ballroom was, I think this was on Ballroom.

So this is, uh, when I was a kid, I used to go on holidays to Clooney Quinn El Finn to my aunt who happened to live next door to the birthplace of Percy French.

And I smoked my first cigarette in, you know, the ruins of his house, but been singin' his songs for years and years and years.

So I thought I'd do this.

It's an unrequited love song.

Everybody loved the beautiful Eileen, but they were, and they were trippin' across themselves to get her attention, you know, and braggin' that they had chickens and hens and road frontage and, you know, good land and all of that.

And you know, things women dream of, Frankie, you know.

And then.

[everyone laughing] But she was havin' none of it, and she went off with a cattle jobber called McGrath.

♪ Eileen Óg and that the darling's name is ♪ ♪ And through the Barony her features they were famous ♪ ♪ If we loved her who was there to blame us ♪ ♪ For wasn't she the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ But her beauty made us all look so shy ♪ ♪ Not a man among us could look her in the eye ♪ ♪ Boys, oh boys, sure that's the reason why ♪ ♪ We're in mourning for the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, me heart is growin' gray ♪ ♪ Ever since the day you wandered far away ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, there's good fish in the sea ♪ ♪ But there's none of them like the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Friday at the fair in Ballintubber ♪ ♪ Eileen met McGrath, the cattle jobber ♪ ♪ I'd like to set me mark upon the robber ♪ ♪ For he stole away the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ He never seemed to see the girl at all ♪ ♪ Even when she ogled him from underneath her shawl ♪ ♪ Lookin' big and masterful when she was lookin' small ♪ ♪ Most provokin' for the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, me heart is growin' gray ♪ ♪ Ever since the day you wandered far away ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, there's good fish in the sea ♪ ♪ But there's none of them like the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ And so it went as it was in the beginnning ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg was bent upon the winnin' ♪ ♪ Big McGrath contented he was grinnin' ♪ ♪ Being courted by the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Says he, I know a girl that could knock you into fits ♪ ♪ At that Eileen nearly lost her wits ♪ ♪ Then the upshot of the ruction ♪ ♪ Was that now the robber sits ♪ ♪ With his arm around the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, me heart is growin' gray ♪ ♪ Ever since the day you wandered far away ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, there's good fish in the sea ♪ ♪ But there's none of them like the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Boys, oh boys ♪ ♪ With faith is hard to grapple ♪ ♪ Of my eye 'tis Eileen was the apple ♪ ♪ And now to see her walkin' to the chapel ♪ ♪ With the hardest featured man in Petravore ♪ ♪ And now, boys, this is all I have to say ♪ ♪ When you do your courtin' you make no display ♪ ♪ If you want them to run after you then look the other way ♪ ♪ For they're mostly like the pride of Petravore ♪ Come on now.

♪ Eileen Óg, me heart is growin' gray ♪ ♪ Ever since the day you wandered far away ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, there are good fish in the sea ♪ ♪ But there's none of them like the pride of Petravore ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg, me heart is growin' gray ♪ ♪ Ever since the day you wandered far away ♪ ♪ Eileen Óg ♪ ♪ There are good fish in the sea ♪ ♪ But there's none of them like the pride of Petravore ♪ - Woo.

[group applauding] - Lovely.

- Cathy, Cathy.

- There you go.

- Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

- Brilliant, Cathy, thank you.

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

Frankie.

- Okay, what about a reel?

What about, uh?

[plucking fiddle strings] 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.

- Thanks very much, Fiachna.

It's great to be here.

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

[upbeat fiddle and piano music] [bones clicking] [upbeat flute and guitar music joins in] [upbeat drum music joins in] Ah, thanks so much.

Frankie, what was that from?

What was that album?

- It might be from the, come to think of it.

I think it might be on "The Mist Covered Mountain" album, 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]