The Celtic Folk – Danny O’Flaherty

Live at O’Flaherty’s Vol 4 – The Celtic Folk

Joe — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 22:16:45 +0000

Here’s a collection of songs, stories, and good humor in one of the rarest recordings in the ballad room at O’Flaherty’s in New Orleans.

Special thanks to Brendan Scott, Erin Seidiman, and Misha Kashkashkishivili for making this special night memorable and for you the audience–this wouldn’t be the same.

For almost sixteen years you’ve made every night in the ballad room very special–thank you for the memories.

Danny

Track List

Darby Day in Ireland
Traveling Man
Old Dun Cow
Loch Ness Monster
Erin
Dunne Song
Angus
Dear Boss
O’Hooligan’s Ball
Irish, They Drink Water
Steve O’Donnell’s Wake
October Roses
Jigs
Pub with no Beer
Bleann an Bo
The Keeper

Ride the Waves

Joe — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:33:07 +0000

The Celtic Folk first appeared on the western shore of the Atlantic a decade ago. Since then, of course, Ireland’s premier balladeers have become a fixture on the American circuit. Small wonder. These remarkable musicians, reared in a Gaelic-speaking area alongside Galway Bay serve as ambassadors from an ancient folk tradition. Unlike some urban Irish groups, who cross the ocean only to fee American audiences a make-believe diet of Shamrock-and Leprechaun music, The Celtic Folk always bring a taste of the real Ireland with them.

They often receive (deserved) praise for the loving care with which they play centuries-old music, but those of us who hear them in concert happily discover that the Irish tradition in which The Celtic Folk sing is a living one. When inspired by what they see, like generations of fol-poets and musicians before them, the irrepressible Irishmen simply sit down and compose a lay so they can share their inspiration.

This album, unlike their five previous, is a collection of their own ballads and airs. Some are from the folk memory of Celtic long Ago (Grace O’Malley, Fin n MacCumhal): some from the Gaeltacht of their boyhood(Mo Baile Baag,Achill Island, Sean agus Maire, The Cliffs of Aran); and some from the stories they have collected on their travels (Dowling’s Victory, The Road to Jaffa, Emerald of the West, Kibbuts Real, THe 8th of September and After, Asgard II).

Finally, then, an album if The Celtic Folk’s own songs. Listen to the airs. They have a way of bringing life to Old Story and Ancient Legend. Listen to the lyrics. The distinctly Gaelic turn of phrase will help you understand why, the world over, The Celtic Folk are perhaps the most warmly welcomed of any of Eire’s ambassadors.

Track List

Asgard II
(Poem) Fionn Mac Cumbal
Mo Baol Beag
Grace O’Malley
Cliffs of Aran
Sean Seagull
Emeralds of the West
Dowling’s Victory
The 8th of September and After
Sean Agus Maire
Road to Jaffa, Kibbutz Reel
Achill Island

The Celtic Folk – Live

Joe — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:10:14 +0000

Track List (Volume I)

Belfast Strike
Crazy Man Michael
Selection of Hornpipes
Nessie
Streets of London
Molly McGuires
Mountains of Mourne
James Larkin
Cill Aodain
The Consumption of Queen Victoria
Only Our Rivers Run Free

Track List (Volume II)

Love is Pleasing
Banks of Roses
Steve O’Donnell’s Wake
Star of the County Down
The Ballad of Yellow Ribbons
The Leaving of Liverpool
The Queen of Connemara
Lass of Fifeo
Jimmy Walen
Bound Down for Newfoundland
Poirtin Seatin an tSioda

Rainbow Flight

Joe — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:10:12 +0000

IT IS NOT SURPRISING that the Irish Echo’s entertainment critic reported that “this remarkable folk band’s calendar of special appearances (in America) is unprecedented for Irish musicians.”

The Celtic Folk’s special concert performances, coupled with their numerous American television appearances, led The Kerryman/Corkman to note approvingly last month that they are “one of the most consistently popular Irish groups on the US scene.”

The Irish Advocate had gone even further, noting last spring that “these men of the Gaelic West have been heard live by as many people as any Irish group that has ever crossed the Atlantic.”

Listen. It is all here: the melody and magic of their instruments, the tears and laughter of their lyrics, the care and respect for the music of the men themselves. If you can hear the Celtic Folk over the bellow of your own voice singing, you are listening to folk music at its very best.

Turlough Faolain

Track List

When Margaret was Eleven
Skim the High Waters
Lady from Bendigo
Love is a Game
Scorn Not His Simplicity
The St. Brendan Song
Daddy’s Castle
The Waiting Game
The Night Ferry
The Fureyman

The Spirit of Freedom

Joe — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:10:12 +0000

From time immemorial, the balladeer has been the purveyor of words and song to relate the drama of human experience. Today, Danny O’Flaherty is the consummate balladeer, and that has never been better evidenced than in this series of songs that reveal the hardships and struggle of “…ordinary people just like you and me…” in the fight to establish American independence and the creation of the United States of America. We have all seen in our history textbooks in school the words that stood out in bold dark print such as Lexington and Concord, Paul Revere, Bunker Hill, George Washington, Saratoga, Valley Forge, King’s Mountain and Yorktown but the names and places can mean nothing to us unless they are given real meaning, real life, and real evidence of why they should be remembered. True to the balladeer, Danny brings to us that meaning, as well as the spirit, the pathos, and the inspiration of that generation of Americans at the moment of our nation’s founding. Here will we hear the names of Peter Francisco, James Forten, and Molly Pitcher who were among the scores of “…ordinary people just like you and me…” who fought for freedom and liberty, but whose names have never appeared in bold print.

The lyrical line of the music, the imagery of the words, and congruent manner in which the two come together have always been a hallmark of Danny O’Flaherty’s work. Most of these songs are written by Danny and his co-writers, and he uses his talents to express his love of this country, and to share that love and those talents with the rest of us. Some of the songs are contemporary with the period of the American Revolution. In some of the songs, children’s voices appear in the chorus but, make no mistake about it; this is a collection of music worthy of the attention of all ages.

Those who serve in the military today, and their families, will know what this music is about. But for the rest of us, it is right and proper to be reminded that there have been and still are those in this country who have been willing to subject themselves to personal sacrifice, hardship, and uncertainty for those principles that are greater than life itself.

Listen to the songs. let them become a part of your repertoire. Sing them while working and playing and you will have made these songs what they were meant to be – stories about how this counry came to be – by and for “…ordinary people-just like you and me…”

John Douglas Hall

Track List

Spirit of Freedom
Boston Tea Party
Peter Francisco
James Forten
Lexington and Concord (Interlude: The White Cockade)
We Whipped the British at Lexington
Bunker Hill
Crossing the Deleware
Valley Forge
Molly Pitcher
King’s Mountain
Yorktown
Yankee Doodle
Saratoga
The Constitution Song
Miracle of Philadelphia