The Great Irish Music Record

Of course Neil Hannon is Fermanagh s main man. Having defied the laws of nature on two fundamental counts (being the scion of the Church of Ireland Bishop Hannon, and eschewing the usual trappings of rock-stardom i.e.: leather trousers and loud-hailer vocal delivery), Hannon has managed to seduce a particularly eclectic bunch of punters. Not for him the monosyllabic meanderings of a Tom Jones wannabe, or the security blanket of a conventional four piece of drums, bass, guitar and vocals. But with his Scott Walker-like sensibilities, it was inevitable that his time would come.
Being possessed of a larynx melded of honey and suede, Hannon s prolific output (6 albums to date, with another due shortly), means that his laurels have yet to be rested upon. Having scored Top 5 positions with his last CD, A Secret History, both here and in the U.K., it s looking likely that Y2K will be Hannon s annus memorabilis when he finally conquers the world.
Divine Comedy fans should also take note that Hannon is test-driving material from his forthcoming album in Edinburgh and Aberdeen at this end of this month. Details can be found on the great man s website at www.thedivinecomedy.com
For those of a more electric disposition, Fermanagh bestowed the inimitable trio of Mama s Boys on the rock n roll circuit back in the early and mid 80s. The dreamchild of the McManus Brothers, Tommy, Pat and John, it was the ultimate branded leather jacket logo at a time when the notion of branding had hardly been exploited in the world of hard rock. Believe it or not, the McManus brothers started out as folkie musicians, but changed their tune (literally) once they saw Horslips live in concert. That was the epiphany that saw them jettison their tambourines and acoustic six strings in favour of the kind of hardcore power rocking sound that made their reputation.
Mama s Boys recorded their first album in 1982, with three further releases in the following five years, ending with Power And Passion in 1987. Tragically, Tommy McManus died after a prolonged battle with leukaemia, but brothers Pat and John have carried on, even reforming to do a European tour in 1990. They are particularly fondly remembered for their classic Needle In The Groove .
Since then, Pat and John have turned their hands to a veritable cacophony of other projects. Among the many artists with whom Pat has collaborated are: Tricky, Kathy Mattea, Tom Jones and Conway Twitty. Meanwhile, John was the musical director for the 1997 soundtrack release, Ziegfield Follies Of 1934.
And the McManus Brothers aren t finished yet. Their latest joint project, Celtus sees them taking an altogether more considered route. Celtus debut CD, Moonchild was released to considerable critical acclaim in the late 90s, and reflected a maturing of musical style, with Pino Palladino lending a hand of bass, and Rupert Hine on production duties.
Henry McCullough is the other giant of Fermanagh music (and much else besides). Now living in Portstewart, McCullough s CV reads like any guitarist s wet dream. He s played with Paul McCartney s Wings, and with Joe Cocker, as well as being one of the most sought-after blues guitarists this side of the Mississippi. These days, if you re lucky, you might, just might catch him doing the occasional acoustic gig, but McCullough s reputation lives on mainly through the many recordings he s made.
Fermanagh s other claim to infamy must surely be the legendary (and late, lamented) Fermanagh Blackbirds. Fronted by the notorious Seamus McCanny (the eponymous blackbird , renowned for his feather-wearing and arm-flapping antics around the town of Enniskillen and erstwhile librarian), and backed on bass by one John Kelly (who is still seeking to match those career highs with his radio show, The Mystery Train on RTE Radio 1), they were the New York Dolls transplanted to Enniskillen. Such was their reputation for performance art and general high jinks onstage, that it was supposed that John Cale would ve begged to join them, had they navigated their way to the Big Apple.
John Kelly is quick to dispel the myth though:
The Blackbirds were simply brutal, he avers, without an enviable nonchalance. We were particularly uncool, we didn t know how to play, and we certainly weren t in it so that we d be able to pick up girls because nobody would ve come near us. We did manage to get a gig supporting Mama s Boys once, though.
Having served his apprenticeship with the distinctively 70s-monikered Tangent, (whose lead singer, incidentally, went on to become a priest), Kelly s career as a bassist with The Fermanagh Blackbirds was always doomed, as was that of the entire band. With a listening repertoire that revolved almost solely around Thin Lizzy, Horslips and Rory Gallagher, Kelly makes no bones about their singleminded fixation on replicating what was already being done eminently better by the originals.
The Blackbirds did manage to commit a few chords to vinyl (amid their free jazz renderings of Whiskey In The Jar , and suchlike), and even travelled as far afield as the Clifden Blues Festival. But with no set and no songs , they were content to let nature take its course and soon went to that great grazing patch where all disreputable bands finally draw breath.
All in all, Fermanagh isn t a county with a rake of rock n roll bands to its credit. For sure, there have been some outfits whose influence has been felt beyond the shores of Lough Erin. For example, Into The Exit and The New Brvntes, the members of which have graduated to take up some prime session positions in television house bands in recent times.
Original rock bands for the 3rd millennium are hard to come by in Fermanagh. Loaded are the only outfit we managed to unearth here in The Great Record. A quintet who ve been together for just over a year (formerly known as Crisis), they ve got two Enniskillen brothers at the helm. Darren and Colin Timoney ply a trade in acoustic pop, and despite their relative youth as a band, they ve already managed to record a demo in no less a location than Abbey Road Studios. The band have recently re-located to London where they re intent on doing as many showcase gigs as possible, touting for a record deal. The story of their Abbey Road sojourn is particularly worth retelling.
A major dilemma in mid November arose from one phone call. This was a call that would change the history of loaded forever!, Darren avers. En route for an organised tour of Germany, Mirreck, an engineer in Abbey Road studios, rang to say we could have the run of studio 3 for a day. Autobahns or Abbey Road? A tough decision indeed. In the two seconds it took to turn the van around our minds were made up.
Our excitement was matched only by the Japanese tourists at the gate as we drove in. The engineer showed us the all the latest effects and equipment in the studio which was very impressive. However using the same toilet as the Spice Girls was a bigger thrill for some of us! To come to terms with all this technology at our disposal we had to go straight to the studio bar. During our creative drinking time, to our amazement legendary producer Mutt Lange walked in. As it turned out he was a very civil fellow, so after a few pints of creative juices we got down to business. Due to the all too easy accessibility of the bar the day ended all too quickly, but the guitar track was finished. Finally all that was left to do was mimic that famous Beatles album cover, so following Dan s lead, the picture was taken as we walked forward but with trousers round our ankles (it had to be done!).
Probably the best kept secret and at the same time the canniest business operation in Fermanagh is Enniskillen s Mid Atlantic Digital Studios, whose maitre d is one Robyn Robins. A native of Detroit, Robins was a founder member of Bob Seeger s Silver Bullet Band, with whom he toured for eight years before meeting an Irish woman who later became his wife. Three years ago, the Robins clan decided to move back here. Robyn kept his hand in with the occasional gig with Rob Strong and Philip Donnelly, (as well as doing some film scoring) and then, three years ago, he decided to set up his own studios in Enniskillen.
Three years ago, we did a fundraising single for peace with Ron Wood, Robins explains, and after we mixed it, I realised there was a need for mastering in Ireland so I got my brother-in-law to help me build the first purpose-built mastering studio in the country. It s been three years now, and we ve had over 900 releases, including Mary Black, Van Morrison, Donal Lunny, and just about everyone you can imagine.
Currently, Robins is working on the soundtrack to a new Jeff Daniels movie with the sax player from the Silver Bullet Band. With a mix of tracks to be recorded in Enniskillen and in Detroit, the eventual soundtrack will include The Eagles, The Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty and Dublin musician, Dave Downs (formerly of Riverdance). Robins is rightly proud of the phenomenal success which Mid Atlantic Digital Studios has already chalked up.
On the streets of Fermanagh these days, though, covers bands dominate the local music scene. Venues are hard to come by, and those that are there, rely on covers bands to bring in the crowd. Frog In The Ditch are one of Enniskillen s more discerning covers outfits, fronted by Bryan Gallagher. His brother, Garvin, plays bass alongside Peter Watson on drums, and the band tread a fine line between popular covers (Robbie Williams, Radiohead, Fatboy Slim, etc) and gradually introducing their own original material. According to Garvin, they re a trio who thrives on the gross and the bizarre. Take their name for starters. Christened following a colourful expedition back from the world surfing championships in Bundoran when they came upon a Frenchman a bit worse for wear collapsed in the ditch they ve vowed to whup it up for as long as it s fun.
The pre-eminent venue for live music in the county is The Crowe s Nest in Enniskillen. With live music 7 nights a week, it s a venue that caters for all musical tastes, from C n W to pop, rock, folk and trad. Another eclectic venue is the Ardhowen Theatre, which hosts a range of live music events ranging from trad to pop.
But if it s the musical pulse of the county you re after, you ll simply have to sample the traditional music of both north and south Fermanagh. A wellspring of talent is to be found right across the county, with fiddlers, box players, flautists and singers abounding.
Ciaran Curran is Fermanagh s most successful trad musician. As a member of Altan, he s brought the music across continents, and he s grateful for the grounding that his home county gave him with its formidable musical repertoire.
My uncle played fiddle and flute, he recalls, and one of my earliest memories is when I was 8 or 9, listening to local musicians playing at parties for dancers. I started playing at them when I was 12 or 13.
Curran s alternative incarnation is as a member of a traditional quartet (along with Seamus Quinn, Gabriel McArdle and Ben Lennon) who released the memorably titled album, Dog Big Dog Little. Named after a pair of local mountains (Sliabh Dz Chon), their repertoire spans the Fermanagh style, as well as encompassing tunes from the surrounding areas of Sligo and Leitrim.
Fiddler, Mick Hoy is a key influence on Curran and most other fiddlers from the area. Hoy is now in his 80 s, but his fiddle style has been long imitated and rarely surpassed. Other players of note include Eddie Duffy, John Joe Maguire, and Tommy Maguire.
Brian McGrath is another local player whose style has travelled well past the borders of the county. A sometime member of De Danann, McGrath now lives in Galway.
Seamus Quinn, Curran s co-conspirator, and Derrygonnelly native, is a fiddler whose encyclopedic knowledge of the local music is matchless. Now a priest and living in Monaghan, Fr. Quinn speaks lovingly of the music of his homeplace and of the sense of belonging it bestowed on him as he grew up in the midst of sessions and dances. It s a music that denies political and geographical boundaries, he avers.
The county boundaries idea doesn t really work when it comes to traditional music, he asserts. Derrygonnelly s natural musical hinterland would span Ballyshannon to Kilticlogher. The style you d hear in Fermanagh, I d describe as simple and direct . It s a northern style, with the influence from Leitrim.
Quinn is wary of the shorthand that can ghettoise local styles rather than describing them.
Fermanagh was the Clare of the 60s, he suggests, because people came into the county in the 70s and they found people who were unspoiled by the media, real people; they then picked out the oddities in the local tunes, and decided that these were quintessentially Fermanagh. But to be honest with you, I couldn t identify with this. Yes, I grew up with hornpipes and highlands, but I grew up with jigs and reels too. And I remember so much dancing in the area. There would have been dances which were indigenous to the area. For example, there was The Clap Dance, which was a showpiece dance, danced by 2 men. I can remember Packie McKeaney dancing that.
Seamus Quinn rates Teeny McTaggart among his earliest and most formative influences. A box player and a great character, McTaggart was a great filterer of the music , a man who could absorb and critique the music like few others.
Sean Nugent and his Pride of Erin Ceilm Band bring the spotlight northwards, towards Fintona, near Lack. Sean was a very committed music teacher, and his son Larry went on to emigrate to Chicago where he released an album of whistle music. Seamus Quinn recalls The Pride of Erin Ceili Band being the life and soul of every fleadh, and they took part in the All Ireland Ceili Band competition 20 years on the trot.
Aside from fiddles, boxes and flutes, Fermanagh has a healthier supply of fine singers than most counties. Gabriel McArdle (already mentioned as a member of Dog Big Dog Little) came from Kinawley, near Ciaran Curran s homeplace. Now a resident of Enniskillen, he took up singing in his mid 20 s and started playing the concertina at the age of 30. His is a vast repertoire, but two local songs, which are worthy of mention, are Willie Rambler and Edward of Lough Erin s Shore .
Fermanagh has a lot of love songs, McArdle offers, and a lot of long songs! You d be hard pressed to fit too many of them onto a CD, with their 15 and 16 verses!
The art of song collecting is one that doesn t come easily or readily, according to McArdle.
People are very generous in sharing songs, he avers, But there s a way of collecting songs. You have to be diplomatic and patient, and not everybody will let you tape them. There used to be a singing festival in Beleek and that was a great place to pick up songs, but now, any festival is where you ll hear songs.
McArdle plays regular sessions these days with Charlie Woods on fiddle and Jim McGrath on accordion.
Rosie McGrath is another fine singer, from Rogagh, near Belcoo. Coming from a family of 10 (all of whom sang), Rosie knows a lot of local songs, many of them satirical. Contrary to some opinion, songs travelled freely around the country, and Rosie recalls hearing songs that her grandfather would have heard from as far afield as Limerick.
The songs used to be passed on at fair days, she explains, and back in the 20 s and 30 s penny ballad sheets would ve been sold at local fairs. It was an ideal way to pass songs on. Now, you can pick up songs at singing festivals.
McGrath is optimistic about the future of traditional song in the area.
There are 3 or 4 writers writing songs today, she says, many of them humourous and/or satirical. Most people who sing, sing for the love of it, and I have to say I ve always found people to be so generous in sharing songs around. Singing s something that many people leave when they re in their teens, but they tend to return to it as they get older. So I m not too concerned about the future. I think the songs will always be there. And at the end of the day, it s a great thing to be able to go to a party and sing a song.
Of course no consideration of the traditional scene in Fermanagh would be complete without mention of the McConnell tribe of Ballinaleck. Sean, Cathal. Cormac, Mickey and Maura are all well-known musicians and writers. Mickey in particular has written some songs which have already entered the canon as standards: Only Our Rivers Run Free , and Peter Pan and Me .
Cathal McConnell played in a number of ceili bands, and is a founder member of the Boys of the Lough with Robin Morton and Tommy Gunn. Small wonder that the family bask in the glory of the music, coming as they do from a long line of fine musicians. Their father, Sandy McConnell played whistle and accordion, and was a fine singer, while their grandfather and great-grandfathers were fine flute players.
Apart from traditional singing there are a number of choral groups in the county. Cantari are just one, run by Evelyn Hassard, in Enniskillen. It s an all-female group, which was formed in 1985. Their repertoire is a broad church, encompassing everything from acapella to folk and popular songs. Cantari (meaning to sing in Latin) have travelled widely, and Hassard cites winning the Cork Choral Festival in 1995 as one of the highlights of the choir s achievements to date. They ve also travelled to Switzerland and Germany, and have an itinerary that belies the fact that they all work outside of the choir, and can only devote their free time to it.
The Fermanagh Concert Band is the only cross-community brass and wind band in the county. Pam Scrayfield co-ordinates their rehearsal and enthusiastically recounts their activities to date.
We rehearse in the Ardhowen Theatre, and are part funded by the Fermanagh District Council, she offers. At the moment we have about 30 members, and our repertoire covers big band, classics, marches, film themes, Latin American, pop and rock tunes. We re always seeking engagements, because that s really the key to keeping everyone motivated and interested in keeping it up.
Fermanagh. A county of many different hues, many different traditions. It may not display its musical wares on its sleeve, but scratch beneath the surface and you ll be amazed at what you might find.