An outbreak of goat-rustling in the Munster region has unexpectedly drawn the traditional music scene into controversy, since the stolen animals’ skin is being used in the manufacturing of bodhrans.

Banjo player Anto Warde has sent me a clipping from the Irish Independent which I initially took to be an April Fool’s gag, albeit one in questionable taste. However, a perusal of the Indo’s website revealed that the story ran on March 12, so I guess it’s legit. Apparently, the Irish Goat Producers Association (IGPA) has asked the Department of Agriculture to investigate a recent outbreak of goat rustling in Cork, Clare, Kerry and Limerick. It’s thought that the thefts are spurred by the lucrative black market in goatskins for bodhráns – I kid you not (ouch! sorry, couldn’t resist). Josephine Monks, director of the IGPA, was quoted as saying that, “There is definitely something very sinister going on. It’s mostly mature goats that have disappeared, many of them family pets. There is a huge demand for hides for making bodhráns.” So if you’re contemplating buying a bodhrán, you might make a point of asking about the source of the skin…
Speaking of thefts, a banjo belonging to Ciarán Fletcher was stolen on the night of Saturday, April 3 from outside Monroe’s pub on Dominic Street in Galway. It’s in a new green and black soft case with large pockets (“like a big tennis gear bag,” as Ciarán puts it) and is a rather unique backless Framus banjo with a Tom Cussen neck and a wrap-around black plastic Quick-Draw capo. Anyone with any idea as to its whereabouts is asked to please ring Ciarán on (086) 170 0730 or Seán McCague on (087) 985 1379…
The basement sessions at Na Píobairí Uilleann have started up again. Ceol Faoi Thalamh is a series of Saturday night traditional music recitals at NPU’s Georgian HQ on Henrietta Street (opposite Bolton Street Tech). The 2004 series kicks off on April 24 with Mick O’Brien on uilleann pipes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on fiddle. All recitals start at 8:30pm, and admission is €12. For more , ring (01) 873 0093 or visit …
Nuada are a new trad group emerging out of Cork city and featuring Daithí Kearney on banjo, mandolin, keyboards and vocals, Jeremy Spencer on fiddle and Padraig King on box. They’ll be launching their new CD, Open The Door For Three, on April 24 as part of the opening celebrations for the Carlow Fleadh at the Lord Bagenal, and it’s promised that speeches will be kept to the minimum and music to the max. Other Fleadh-related activities include competitions, concerts and a pub session trail. For more information on Nuada see ; for Fleadh info, visit .
After more than thirteen years of work on a choral adaptation of ‘Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire’, Peadar Ó Riada finally completed the piece in 2003. This late 18th century epic poem was composed by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill over the dead body of her beloved husband, Art Ó Laoghaire, who was shot dead on May 4, 1773, near Carriganima, Co. Cork; his blood-soaked horse is said to have returned to Eibhlín Dubh after the incident. It’s widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest love poems of the Irish language. A section of Ó Riada’s setting of it was staged in Cork, Dublin and London in 1989, and now the finished piece is ready to be performed by the Cór Ban Chúil Aodha (directed by Ó Riada) at St. Finbarre’s Cathedral in Cork on April 29, in collaboration with the Cork International Choral Festival. Tickets are available from Cork Opera House, tel. (021) 427 0022…
Just back from a mammoth eight-week tour of the US, Téada (Oisín Mac Diarmada on fiddle and vocals, John Blake on guitar and flute, Paul Finn on button accordion, Seán McElwain on banjo and bouzouki, and Tristan Rosenstock on bodhrán) have commenced a nationwide tour of Ireland, winding up on April 30th at the Dunamaise Theatre in Portlaoise. Their new album on Gael Linn, Lá An Dreoilin – the second recording by this youngish band – is due out shortly here and has already been given a Stateside release under the title Give Us A Penny And We Will Be Gone. For full tour dates and other info, visit …
Nashville’s Compass Records have signed the Dublin-based band Gráda, and will be releasing their album The Landing Step in Ireland sometime around the first week of May. I’m looking forward to hearing it!
It’s that time of year again – the seventh annual Carlsberg Kilkenny Rhythm ’n’ Roots Weekend takes place from April 30 through May 3. Bands appearing include Texan legend Terry Allen, Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men, the Rev. Johnnie Thompson Singers (a seven-piece gospel group that’s been performing together since 1965), alt-country pioneers Willard Grant Conspiracy and Jay Farrar, The Hot Club of Cowtown, singer/songwriter/guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, Mark Olson & The Creekdippers featuring Victoria Williams, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys (described as “America’s premier specialist rockabilly/hillbilly dance combo”), Caitlin Cary, Laura Viers, Rosie Thomas, Richmond Fontaine, Nic Roulette & The Blue Moon Boys, Wildfire Willie & The Ramblers, El Diablo, Welsh hillbillies The Rimshots, Bray Vista, Glasgow-based John Miller & His Country Casuals, the Michael Weston King Band, the Mary Stokes Band, the Martin Hutchinson Band, Ponchartrain, the Niall Toner Band, Prison Love (a young Dublin-based bluegrass group who label themselves “inmates of the Bluegrass Correctional Facility”), Irish folk legend Johnny Moynihan, Two Time Polka, the Rough Deal String Band, the Lee Valley String Band, The Lynch Mob, the Borroway Blues Band, Groove Station, the Rye River Band and Head Over Heels. Further information and tickets can be obtained from the Festival Office, 29 Parliament Street, Kilkenny, tel. (056) 779 0057, Email or visit . For accommodation information, contact the Kilkenny Tourist Board on (056) 775 1500…
Uilleann piper Emer Mayock takes a break from globetrotting with the Afrocelts to play a special gig for Lá Bealtaine, May 1, at Campbell’s Tavern in Headford, joined by her longtime musical partners Donal Siggins (guitar/bouzouki) and Robert Harris (percussion). For more info, ring (093) 35454 or visit …
Sliabh Notes are just back from a concert tour in Germany and Switzerland, where they were given a very enthusiastic reception. Since their return to Ireland, they’ve also appeared on Ardán, the TG4 chat show presented by Páidí Ó Lionáird. Forthcoming appearances by the group include the ‘Fleadh By The Feale’ in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, on May 2, the Bunting Harp Festival in Armagh on May 7, and the Fiddle Fair in Baltimore, Co. Cork, on May 13…
The Dunne Family recently launched their debut CD, Legacy, at Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick. Mickey Dunne hails from a long line of Limerick musicians; his father, Paddy Dunne, and his uncles Hanta, Mick and Christy Dunne were all great trad players. Mickey plays the pipes, as well as flute and fiddle, and has spent most of the last ten years teaching at the Pipers’ Club in Limerick. He’s also a pipe and reed maker with a long list of clients on his waiting list. His daughters, Bríd and Niamh, are both fiddlers, and Niamh is a gifted singer. The Dunnes are joined on the album by Seán Óg Graham, Shane Greene, Michelle Mulcahy, Kieran Munnelly, Thomas Johnston, Edel Fox, Stephen Markham and Paddy Dunne.

Musicians and singers with news to share can e-mail Sarah on [email protected]