Eoin O Neill is a musician, radio presenter and podcaster. He came to Doolin for an afternoon forty years ago and has been living and breathing traditional music in Clare ever since. As Christy Moore said "There is no better person on Irish Radio for supporting our native music and song." Ive played in many of Eoins sessions and hes always exceptionally welcoming to newcomers and usually manages to find and encourage a song or a dance out of the listeners..

Through the Eoin O Neill podcast he has also sought out the lesser known stories in the music world and in his Clare FM radio shows is always giving a leg up to those who need it.

I chat to Eoin about the ups and downs of life as a musician, the self protection that's needed, the wild sessions of Doolin in the 70s and 80s where he learnt his craft

Carrying on from my last conversation with Nuala Kennedy we chat about his experiences of playing with Kitty Hayes, the concertina player from West Clare who kicked off her music career in her 70s.

In this episode (and in the spirit of the celebration of Samhain) I talk to renowned storyteller, folklorist and author Eddie Lenihan about the stories he has been collecting for forty years on the local landscape, the otherworld and the fairy folk. He tells me in these stories, outstanding skill in music or sport was often credited as a gift from the Otherworld. Eddie describes what an encounter in playing music with the ‘good folk’ would likely entail and had some great advice to offer if you should meet them yourself.  We also talk about the fiddle player and storyteller Junior Crehan and the kind of music around Brosna, County Kerry where Eddie grew up Thank you to Creative Ireland Clare and Clare County Council for the support in making this episode.

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Photo credit Brendan Hayes

I loved chatting to internationally acclaimed singer and flute player Nuala Kennedy about the solace that she  finds in the old songs, the sense of connection she feels with fellow musicians and her recent research project on using old Irish lullabies for young babies. Nuala sings me a beautiful clip of one of these lullabies during the interview, based on an old melody called ‘A Cow’s Croon.’ We also talk about the powerful project Ag Lorg ár Líne where herself and Tara Breen researched and virtually collaborated with influential and inspiring female Clare musicians including Kitty Hayes and Nora Cleary.

It was so inspiring to talk to Sorcha about how she has overcome nerves in her musical performance. We talk about the East Clare tradition being music of the 'heart,' which she experiences as a 'warm blanket' and how she has challenged herself on so many levels through her Music Therapy training.

We also talk about the influence of her mother, concertina player Mary McNamara, her upbringing in such a musical house and how she has also forged her own path in her musical practice. 

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I really enjoyed chatting to Matthew about the elusive ‘draíocht’ or magic, the feeling that goes into music, and the otherworldly places that it can take you. Matthew tells me about his journey to India, and his process of apprenticeship in Indian Classical music and how he found his way to a deep immersion in Irish traditional music in East Clare.

Matthew also pays a lovely tribute to Tony McMahon, a man deeply in touch with the draíocht who sadly passed away shortly before this interview.

Episode 5 is with Jose Nugent, a fiddle player from East Clare who lives and breathes inclusivity in her musical practice. 

Josie was inspiring to talk to about how she has made it her life mission to use her musical abilities for the power of good. We talk about her passion for teaching music to young people with learning difficulties, therapeutic work with autistic children and older adults with dementia, as well as her cross-community work in the North. She also has a thriving solo practice as a fiddle player and is hugely influenced by the modal structures of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok. We hear a sample of a a jig 'A Cambridge Cycle' from Josies solo album 'Modal Citizen' which you can find at www.josiebrianmusic.info.

Episode 4 is with Clare Sands, the ‘fearless, feisty fiddler’ from Cork. I loved chatting about many shared many interests with Clare.

We chat about

The magic of the West of Ireland and music as a 'coming home' for Clare in her immersion in Connemara & the development of her collaborative musical project ‘Tírdreacha agus Fuaimdreacha’ 

Music as Self Development and the parallels between live music performance and surfing and the ‘head game’ that’s involved

We here a sample of a track 'Malecón Reel' from Clare's Basement sessions and you can find all Clare's music and upcoming projects on www.claresands.com

In this episode I talk to the award winning guitarist Steve Cooney about his experience of being initiated into an Aboriginal tribe and learning didgeridoo from the tribe elders, music as intuition and the communication that takes place between melody player and accompanist during the live music experience.

We also discuss his innovative Geometric Visualisation system for musical notation which he says is internally based on Aboriginal art. You can hear more about this system here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hapQc1rHPyU

We also hear a clip from the track Celia Connellan from Steve's album Clár Ársa Cláirsí: Tunes of the Irish Harpers for Solo Guitar and a track O'Farrell's Welcome from Steve's band Éiníní.

In this episode I chat to one of Ireland’s greatest bodhrán players Tommy Hayes about his experiences in music.  It was fascinating to get an insight into the powerful work Tommy has done for almost 20 years as a music therapist.  We got into the nitty gritty of how music can heal, especially in combination with guided imagery and meditation, helping people to resolve deep seated traumas. We also get how Tommy’s therapeutic work connects to his experience of improvising as a percussionist and we chat about connections between music and agriculture. Check out Tommy Hayes on bandcamp to hear is incredibly eclectic solo albums An Rás and A Room in the North.

In this episode the renowned fiddle player and singer Mairéad talked to me about music as healing in her life and the old Irish songs and tunes as portals into understanding a very different view of the world around us.

Opening music credit: Pota Óir by Kíla www.kila.ie

An Grianstad composed by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh