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by Joe Corscadden This was our second singing session of 2008 and once again we had a very enjoyable evening of songs and stories. Joe Corscadden was Fear a' Tí for the night and as well as doing that job he sang a few songs also. The Spoons Murder, which was written by Con Fada O'Driscoill from Cork and the song The Wind that Shakes The Barley. Breege McDermott sang Raglan Road while Robert Kelly sang about England's Motorway. Martin Forde recited a monologue about Knock Airport ( or is that Ireland West Airport Knock?). Marie Murray sang the lambs on the Green Hills, while Fergal Spain sang a song called Your Place or Mine about proposed mining works at Croagh Patrick. Noel Mullaney sang a song called Two Loves, while Michael Davitt sang Snowy Breasted Pearl. Seosaimh O'Luana sang a song in Irish called "Óro sé do bheath amhaile". Vince Hearns sang about that very unlucky singer who met Pensioner Magee and also a song about the Singers Club in Enniscorthy. We were delighted to welcome Bríd Duffy and Ann O'Meara from the Boyle singers. Bríd sang the Farmers Boy and Ann sang a song about the Travelling People. Annette Henry sang the Bright Blue Rose. Tony Wilkinson sang I'll hang my harp on a willow tree. And Michael Davitt got the bones!!!!! All the singers and storytellers sang more than once and this report gives only a brief flavour of some of the great songs and stories given on the night. Thanks to all who attended. As always, thanks to Gerry, Kathleen and Nigel for their kind hospitality on the night.
by Frank Finn As our singing sessions go from strength too strength,
once again we had a marvellous and unforgettable night of singing in
Durkin's of Ballinacarrow on Wed 12th December. The night was
kicked off by Padraig Corcoran as he sang
"The Auctioneer". We were honoured to welcome John
O'Regan, who was a visitor on the night.
John writes for Irish
Music Magazine and other
publications also. John told us that he thoroughly enjoyed the evening
and also that there is an article concerning our singing activity in the
latest edition of Irish Music Magazine. Joseph
O'Luana gave us a song in Irish and this
was followed by Storyteller and Author Joe
McGowan with a very amusing story
concerning a hackney car. As the night came to a close, the only regret was that most singers got to sing only one song. In all, there were about 23 songs from 19 singers. A special word of thanks to Gerry, Kathleen and Nigel Durkin for their hospitality on the night. Until the next time.............
Durkin's Wed 14th November 2007 By Vince Hearns There was a great session in Durkin's of Ballinacarrow on Wednesday 14th November with the following singers present and in fine voice. From Castlebar came John
Hegary who gave a great rendition of "The
Lovely Banks of Blane" and "The
Shamrock Shore". His friend Moya
Ní Cholm from
Gweedore and fresh from her great performance at An tOireachtas sang "An tSean Bhean Bhoct". Let us hope that they will be regular visitors to our
session. Seosaimh
O'Luana sang "The Ballad of Joe Hill" and
Deirdre Cox sang that great
favourite "The Lakes of Pontchartrain "
Our own Michael Davitt
sitting as usual in the cosy corner sang "Off to Philadelphia". Fear a' Tí for the night Vince Hearns drew attention to the finishing time by singing George Curtin's (Miceál Ó Tuama) Mick Sullivan's Clock. All in all there were 24 singers and about 26 songs sung on the night and as usual Gerry, Kathleen and Nigel surpassed themselves with their generosity.
Durkin's Wed 10th October 2007 from Joe Corscadden At our October singing session in Durkin's on Wednesday last ,10th October, we were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the Boyle singing club members, five of whom sang of their best adding greatly to the nights entertainment. We also had a nice gathering of our own members, including Mike Davitt and Mai Hernon, who gave us some delightful songs. There were a number of recitations by Martin Forde and Joe Corscadden. Noel Mullaney gave us "The Hills of Sweet Mayo" while our host Gerry Durkin closed the night with a couple of songs including "The Long Distance Kid. Kathleen provided a lovely supper of spare ribs vol-a-vents and cocktail sausages. This was a lovely night, which was greatly enjoyed by the many listeners who attended the session ______________________________________________________________
Festival Launch and Session Durkin's , Ballinacarrow 5th September 07
In a packed Durkin's Bar, Sligo Traditional Singers Circle launched their Festival weekend. This was followed by a fantastic night of singing from over 25 singers. Special guest on the night was Rosie Stewart, one of the special guest singers who will be attending our weekend from 28th to 30th September in Sligo. You can read all about the singing weekend by clicking here. View a pictures of the session by clicking here. After the formalities it was straight down to the singing. To open proceedings, we had a song from Tommy Kearns. Tommy and Kathleen will be heading back to Western Australia in early September so we wished them a safe journey and good health until we meet again in 2008. This was followed by a song from our own
Breda McDermott
and then a song from Pat Cabry from
Bonniconlon. Marie Murray
sang that great song The Banks of the Nile and this was followed by
Vince Hearns who
sang The Green Linnett. Vince will be delivering a lecture at our
singing weekend. Our own Joe Corscadden
was next with some fine songs and recitations, including a recitation
that he composed himself about Durkin's Bar. . From Sligo came
Frank Carter, who
sang that great song about Mullingar Next up was our own Padraic Corcoran who sang a local Sligo song. Mae Hernon sang a great song containing the names of scores of reels. It was brilliant. All the way from Derry came John Keyes , a great singer. Frank Finn from Sligo sang next and then it was another Sligo native Nace O'Dowd. Next
to sing was Ransboro resident Fergal
Spain. Local lady Annette
Fallon sang that lovely song Caledonia
which was made famous by Dolores Keane,
Early's Bar Bridge St. Sligo Wed 8th August 2007 Yet again the Sligo Traditional Singers held a great night of singing. This time the venue was in Early’s Bar, Bridge St. Sligo. We had 22 singers on the night and it was a pleasure to welcome many students from abroad, who were attending the Yeats International Summer School. The night kicked off with our good friend Tom Kerins, who sang a song about Leitrim. Then we had songs from some of our visitors to the Yeats Summer School, Rose Kane, Caroline Graham, (snappy little number!!) and Chris O’Donoghue. “W.B. can sleep soundly under bare Benbulben’s head !!”. It was lovely to welcome back Bríd Duffy, Helen Grehan and Anne O’Meara from Boyle. Bríd and Helen sang some lovely songs as usual. They told us that they would welcome support for their singing night in Boyle, which takes place on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Assumpta Kelly sang the most appropriate song for the night “Down by the Salley Gardens”. Michael O’Rourke from Carrick-on-Shannon sang a few songs also, as did Frank Finn. Our own Mary O’Donnell sang a song in Irish “Buachaill ón Éirne”, which was most beautiful as usual. Is suppose we should not call John Moulden, Chris Miles or Rose Marie Doherty visitors any more. They are regular attendees at our singing sessions and they sing great songs. Last night was no different. Always a joy to see and meet them. Our own Seosaimh Ó Luana,
Martin Enright and Vince Hearns sang some fine songs also.
Breda McDermott
was in fine form as usual and sang a few songs before we ran out of
time. It was delightful to welcome many foreign visitors who, no doubt, carried away some very fond memories of the night. Two in particular sang songs in their own language. Sukhbir Singh from India sang a beautiful song in Hindi , while Mariko Nishitani from Japan sang a most beautiful song in her own language also.. The last song of the night was sung by Dublin man Tom Stafford and very nice it was. Some pictures were taken by a visitor from Greece and if she emails them as promised, then we will put them on this site All in all, we had a most wonderful evening of songs. We look forward already to the next one.
Durkin's Ballinacarrow Wednesday 11th July 2007 (Report by Vince Hearns) Have a look at some pics from the session Our latest session was held in our usual venue in Durkin’s of
Ballinacarrow. A total of 20 singers sang 38 songs during the night.
Durkin's Ballinacarrow Wednesday 27th June 2007 It seems that it just gets better and better at our sing sessions. A great night again in Durkin's with in excess of 15 singers, with many new faces this time. Tom Kerins kicked off the session with that great Donegal song "Deep Sheephaven Bay". Tom sang a great version of that local song Commandant Marren later in the night. Seosaimh O'Luana sang a couple of lovely songs in Irish, one of which was "Eamon an Cnoic" Gerry Stewart sang some great songs, including "The Chapel gates at Corraclare" . A new face at our session was Martin Forde who recited a few pieces , one of which was "There is only the two of us here". John Moulden sang two great songs in the Norther tradition, one of which was "Peace in Erin" The clear perfect singing of James Leonard was also heard with great choices of songs, including "Where the green shamrock grows". Frank Finn sang a composition of his own called the "Coolavin Lament" Joe Corscadden was at his very best with some great songs, including "The Man that shot my Dog" Sally ? from Ennis, with her sister Breege ? from Ballymote were first time visitors to our session and sang very well. Songs they sang included "Lilly Marlene" and "Will you go lassie go". Hope Sally and Breege are regular visitors now. Even though he was evicted from his usual corner, the one and only Michael Davitt was in his usual great form with some great songs, sung to perfection, including a rarely heard song called "Irishtown" To other new faces representing the Boyle singing session were Breege Duffy and Ann O'Mara. Boyle singing session meets every 3rd Saturday in Wynns of Boyle. Breege sang that great Josie McDermott composition "Lasairs Holy Well" and also "The Ploughboy" (one of my favourites). Ann sang "Peggy Gordon" plus others. Assumpta Kelly, sang that great favourite, "The Nightingale", which was featured on her latest album. A special feature of the night was our good friend Miguel from Granada , in Spain who played a slow air and a few reels on the fiddle. Miguel departs shortly for home after spending over nine months in Sligo IT. We will be very sorry to see him go and we will miss his brilliant fiddle playing. But hopefully he will come and see us soon again. Frank Finn sang a new composition called The Coolavin Lament. This correspondent departed early, but no doubt we had many more songs to finish off the night. Thanks to Gerry, Kathleen and Nigel for their hospitality Thanks to all who attended and we hope to meet again next month, or perhaps earlier.
Durkins Ballinacarrow 13th June 2007 Because I was not there myself and I am still waiting for a full report, I can only rely on the comments I received. A am told that it was a great night of singing with about 13 singers. It is a pleasure to welcome Tommy Keirns back fro Australia again. Tommy will be a regular at our Summer sessions now until he departs for home again in the Autumn. Other singers were Joe Corscadden, Padraic Corcoran, James Leonard, Michael Davitt, Nollaig McAndrew, John Moulden, Seosaimh O'Luana, Gerry Stewart, Fergal Spain, Breda McDermott, Gerry Durkin and for the first time to our session and hopefully not the last, Ann Ruane Hopefully I have mentioned everyone.
Durkins Ballinacarrow 9th May 2007 Blood , Guts and War seems to have been the theme of the singing at our monthly session. Not forgetting about the castrated dog of course!!!!!!. More blood and gore!! This month it was back to Durkin's of Ballinacarrow for our usual monthly session. Although less well attended than previous sessions this year, it nevertheless , proved to be quite enjoyable. First off we had Padraic Corcoran who sang some very nice songs, including a lovely rendition of "The Lament for Bagenal Harvey", that great song from the South East. Seosaimh O'Luana sang a couple of nice songs in Irish, which was nice to hear. Back to see us again was Nollaig McAndrew and her parents from Castlebar. I suppose it is a vote of confidence in our session when singers of the calibre of Nollaig should choose to travel and sing at our sessions. Nollaig sang some fine songs of course , including a lovely version of "The Lowlands of Holland". We wish Nollaig well in her competitions at the Mayo Fleadh in Westport on the 11th to 13th May. Frank Finn sang a few songs, and put everyone to sleep with that marathon "Laurel Hill" Joe Corscadden was at his very best with some great songs, including "The Man that shot my Dog" Vince Hearns was in his usual good form, of course and song some nice songs, including that very amusing song written by Con Fada Ó Drisceóil about the dog who lost his "spheres". Told in graphic detail The one and only Michael Davitt was back in the usual corner with some great songs, sung to perfection, including a rarely heard version of "The Jackets Green" As usual the evening was rounded off by the man of the house Gerry Durkin, who as far as I can recall sang "The Old Bog Road" Thanks to Gerry, Kathleen and Nigel for their hospitality Thanks to all who attended and we hope to meet again next month, or perhaps earlier.
Durkin's, Ballinacarrow, April 11th 2007 This month it was back to the home bar and the welcoming hospitality of Kathleen, Gerry and Nigel Durkin. As is usual for Durkins, the night proved to be a fantastic success with many of our regular local singers, regular visitors and some new singers. It was nice to welcome back Nollaig McAndrew and her parents from Castlebar. Nollaig, of course, is a champion singer and sang some beautiful songs. Our own Fergal Spain, Breda McDermott, Vince Hearns, James Leonard, Frank Finn and Seosaimh O'Luana did not disappoint of course and sang some lovely songsl. Of course we had the one and only Michael Davitt. Great character, great voice and great songs as usual It's always a pleasure to welcome back and listen to the singing of Chris Miles. On holiday from her native Scotland, Chris has a beautiful clear strong voice. A welcome suprise also to have our good friends and great singers from Fermanagh, Rosie Steward, her sister Peggy McGovern and Carol Corrigan. They were accompanied by Bernie McNulty also. Of course they did not disappoint and sang some fine songs in their own inimitable style. John Moulden, the authority on Ulster songs and singing gave some fine renditions also. Always a pleasure to welcome John to our sessions. It's alway nice to welcome and hear younger singers and on Wednesday we heard a lovely singer called Mairead Kane. So hopefully she will get the singing bug and we will hear her again soon. As usual the evening was rounded off by the man of the house Gerry Durkin, who also claimed the inaugural bucket singing award. We hope to make this a regular event at our sessions Thanks to all who attended and we hope to meet again next month.
Early's, Sligo 14th March 2007 We had a great night of singing in Early's of Bridge St. Sligo on 14th March. On the night, we had 14 singers, including Yuyutsiu from Tibet, reading poetry in Tibetan!!! Others present on the night were Padraic Corcoran, John Moulden, Deirdre Cox, Kevin McGloin and Jo Lynch, two newcomers and fine singers . Rose Doherty , Gerry Stewart, Vince Hearns, Breda McDermott, Joseph O'Luana, Frank Finn, Martin Enright and Assumpta Kelly.
Between us all, we sung about 26 songs which was marvellous. We look forward to the next session
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