Tunes from Doolin, County Clare

Doolin is where I first heard and fell in love with Irish traditional music almost a decade ago.  Some of the musicians that I got to hear on my visits there, including Yvonne Casey, Eoin O'Neill, Quentin Cooper, Kevin Griffin and James Cullinan, are still my favorites to this day.

Doolin Ireland

So, I was pleased to discover that a concertina player named Charles, originally from Switzerland but now living in Doolin, has created a site to share the tunes he is learning in County Clare. The site is called Irish Traditional Music from Doolin and you can find it here.

Charles

On his site Charles has posted the music and some recordings for the reels, jigs, hornpipes and other tunes common to this musically rich region of Ireland.  He's constantly adding to the list so check back often.  Heck, I even saw Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further Into the Fire on there!  It's nice that one of our tunes has infiltrated this part of the world.  Tunes from Doolin is also on Facebook.  "Like" the page and you'll stay apprised of updates.

Charles and his wife Kate run a bed and breakfast in Doolin called Kate's Place, which would probably be a good place to stay while you're there.  The above mentioned fiddler James Cullinan also runs a seafood restaurant and guest house in the village, with his wife and piano player Carol.  However, Laura and I stayed in Toomullin House both times we were there.

McGann's Pub - Doolin

If you'd like to read about the recent musical history of Doolin - a little village with 3 or 4 pubs that was arguably the hub of Irish traditional music from the 1980's to the 2000's - I encourage you to read the academic but thorough book called Turning the Tune by Adam R. Kaul; now available in paperback.  

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