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Flute Players of Roscommon - Volume 1 |
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| Biographies | |
Catherine McEvoy – Catherine was born in Birmingham in the 1950s after her Roscommon parents had moved there. Catherine played for many years with the Birmingham Ceili Band. She came to live in Ireland in 1977, and became a member of Macalla, the first all female traditional band. Catherine is also a member of the Tain Ceili Band, winning three All- Ireland titles with them. Catherine says that her flute playing influences have been John McKenna and Tom Morrisson, among others. She plays very much in the Sligo/Roscommon style, as her critically acclaimed solo CD “Flute Music in the Sligo/Roscommon Style” will testify. Catherine has recently released a superb duet album with her fiddle playing brother John, titled “ The Kilmore Fancy”. Catherine’s husband Tom McGorman and her three children are all excellent musicians also. |
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Frank Jordan – Frank, of Buckhill, Fairymount, at 81 years young, continues to play great music most nights of the week. Frank’s mother was a concertina player and his paternal grandfather was a flute player. Frank started playing the whistle at 7 years of age and moved to the flute “a few years later”. He can remember up to 20 musicians playing at country house dances in his house when he was a young lad. In 1949 he emigrated to Nottinghamshire, England, where he met and played with fiddlers from Co Mayo by the name of Mills, who were relations of the well known, recently deceased fiddler, Paddy Mills. On moving to Birmingham, Frank played with his brother-in-law, Frank Flanagan, among others, in the Birmingham Ceili Band. Frank moved back home in 1967 and has continued to play on a regular basis all over Ireland. He is presently a member of the Woodlands Ceili Band. |
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Tommy Guihan – When Tommy was growing up he says that “the hills and valleys of North Roscommon resounded with the music of Josie McDermott, Pakie Duignan, Seamus Tansey and Seamus Horan. His father, Tom Guihan, first taught him tunes on the melodeon at his home in Boderry, Keadue. Tommy learned many tunes from Josie McDermott and Patsy Hanly. Pakie Duignan once sold him a flute for £2. Seamus Tansey sourced the flute he still plays. Tommy won the Senior All- Ireland flute title in 1978. In the 1980s and 90s, he toured Britain, America and Australia with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Tommy played for many years with a local group from the North West called Shebeen. He now hopes to pass on the Arigna musical tradition of John McKenna and Pakie Duignan to his daughter, Aela Brid Ni Ghaoithin. |
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Patsy McNamara – Patsy was born and reared in the village of Croghan in North Roscommon. Patsy started on the Clarkes Whistle at the age of 10 and progressed to the flute in his late teens. He learned his first music from the fiddle playing of his late sister Maura. His paternal grandfather, John McNamara also played and made fiddles. His influences came from North Roscommon, South Sligo and Leitrim flute players. Patsy has played with many musicians all over the country at Fleadhanna Cheoil and sessions. Pakie Duignan, the late great Arigna flute player, was a huge influence on and inspiration to Patsy and he wishes to dedicate his recording on the CD to Pakie’s memory. Patsy says that he feels privileged to be contributing to this CD and we feel privileged that Patsy’s music is on this recording. |
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John Kelly – John, of Roscommon town, was born in 1973 and he started learning music at a young age, from both his father Frank, and from renowned musician and teacher, Paddy Ryan. Soon he began competing at Fleadhanna Cheoil, and he won All- Ireland titles at all under-age grades on flute and whistle. Since the mid-nineties, John has lived in Ennis, Co Clare, and he has played with Siobhan Peoples, Pat Marsh, Tola Custy and many of the great players from that area. John has played and toured with his brother Alan on piano accordion. In recent years, they released an outstanding debut CD titled “Fourmilehouse”, the townland where their musical father was reared. Both John and Alan continue to tour all over the world. John says that he was heavily influenced by and continues to be inspired by the great Roscommon flautists Patsy Hanly, John Carlos, Tommy Guihan, and of course Matt Molloy. John plays a Mike Grinter flute. |
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John Carlos – John has lived all his life in the townland of Castleplunkett, an area of the county which traditionally has been strong for music. He started on the tin whistle at the age of six. With the help of his father, John also, who was a great flute and fiddle player, John Junior moved on to the flute. John joined a well known local ceili band, The Killina, at the age of 15 and played with them for many years. John has been an All-Ireland champion in the under-age flute competitions and he has also toured Britain, USA and Europe with CCE. John is also an outstanding banjo player. He plays extensively in the local area, both in sessions and in a group called The Lancers, John is about to release his long awaited first solo recording. |
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Pat Finn – Originally of Fairymount, Pat now lives in the town of Ballaghaderreen, having spent many years away from Ireland. Pat started on the whistle in his early teens and progressed to the flute at the age of 17. Pat spent two years in County Derry after leaving home and he says that he played in many ceilis there. Pat then moved to London and played in many dance halls, particularly with a lot of Kerry musicians. On moving to Liverpool, Pat became involved with the Liverpool Ceili Band and he enjoyed great times playing with them and success in competitions, also winning the coveted Senior Band title on a couple of occasions at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Pat has played in diverse places such as The Albert Hall, London and even Libya, on a visit with CCE. He is back home for many years and although he is in his mid-eighties, he continues to play regularly. Pat considers music to be “an extension of your personality” and feels that “music was good to me”. |
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Brian Duke – Brian comes from Strokestown and presently lives in Galway. He started playing music at the age of 12. Early influences included the playing of Frank Jordan and also the commercial recordings of Matt Molloy. Brian won his first all-Ireland at the age of 15 and later toured extensively with CCE. Brian recorded two albums and also toured with the band Cian. He now plays with a group called Electric Ceili. Brian’s playing style is firmly rooted in North Roscommon. He also has the flow of Matt Molloy’s flute music as well as a leaning towards the more contemporary style of flute playing. |
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| John Wynne – John is now living in Kilteevan where his father was born and reared , having been brought up in Roscommon town and lived in Dublin for many years. Like the other younger players on this CD, John was inspired by the playing of Patsy Hanly, John Carlos, Frank Jordan and Tommy Guihan. John also has a huge interest in the South Sligo flute playing tradition, and he is a big fan of the music of Peter Horan, Seamus Tansey and James Murray, and, of course, the great Matt Molloy of Ballaghaderreen was a huge influence. John has recorded two CDs with the group Providence. He has also released a critically acclaimed solo CD “With Every Breath”. John is also the producer of this CD, and, for him, this has been a labour of love and a vital project to complete. | |
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Bernard Flaherty – Bernard, from Boyle, comes from a musical background and commenced playing at an early age. He has performed and taught music since the 1970s and presently works as a music teacher. He regularly teaches and gives master classes and presentations at local summer schools and he has done valuable work in collecting and manuscripting the music of the North West. Following award of an Arts Council bursary in 1987, Bernard wrote the critically acclaimed and reviewed “Trip to Sligo”, a book about the region’s music with topographical and biographical information. Bernard has a huge knowledge of the nuances of South Sligo music and this is reflected in his playing. His influences include his musical father and uncle, his cousins, the Grehan sisters, Kathleen Morris (fiddle), the great duet of Peter Horan and Fred Finn (flute and fiddle) and the famous McDonagh brothers of Ballinafad. |
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| John P Carty – John P grew up in a musical family from Knockroe, Ballinameen. His father, Batty, played flute and fiddle and John P had access to both instruments, but he mainly played the flute as a teenager in Fr Sharkey’s fife and drum band. On joining the army at seventeen, John P took up the bagpipes, and this unusual instrument could be heard in the locality on his visits home. In the mid 1950s, John P moved firstly to Manchester and then on to London. He married Margaret Folan (RIP) from Galway and reared their three children, Angela, John and James. In the 1960s, John P was a founder member of the Glenside Ceili Band with whom he played flute, fiddle, banjo and saxophone. John P returned to the All-Ireland Fleadh in Boyle in 1966 to win the ceili band title with the Glenside. John P passed on his music to his three children. Angela played guitar. John is a well known performer on fiddle and banjo and James is a fine flute player. John P continues to play flute and regularly visits his home place. | |
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| Patsy Hanly - Patsy is one of the best known and loved musicians in Irish music today. He has a vast knowledge and experience in the music, and is one of the most distinctive and stylistic flute players in the northwest music style. He is a former senior all-Ireland flute winner, and has guested on many albums over the years including the Bridge Céilí Band and the Boys of the Lough to name but a few. To give you an idea of the wit and humour of the man himself, here is the biography he sent to me. “Write a bit for the CD” he said. “My mind flashed immediately to musical accomplishments, recordings etc. - Not worth writing about - Instead, maybe a word of appreciation for the characters with whom I stumbled, sped, shuffled, raced, hobbled and socialised (is that the write word?) with through the chaotic world of traditional music, which runs almost, parallel with reality. I thank them all for their influence which shaped my music and my personality.” | |
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