“Johnny Leary’s Polka” is a tune I learned from Terry Bingham at a workshop during the Russell Memorial Weekend back in 2013.
“The Green Gowned Lass” is a reel I learned from Mary MacNamara and her brother Andrew MacNamara. Their album “Open Hearth” is one of my favourite albums ever. This particular tune is the second of a set I have enjoyed playing with my friend Stéphane for many years. The first reel in that set is “Joe Bane’s”.
“Imelda Roland’s” is without a doubt one of my favourite reels. I learned if from the playing of concertina player Claire Keville, who recorded it on the album “An Trí is a Rian” with John Weir and Eithne Ní Dhonaile. In the sleeve notes of the album, Claire explains that she was told by Imelda Roland’s daughter that her mother used to lilt this tune while boiling potatoes for the pigs. The tune was picked up and made popular later by Joe Cooley and her brother Raymond Roland.
“The Banks of the Shannon” is a composition Paddy Taylor, flute player from Limerick. It is also know simply as “Paddy Taylor’s Jig” by many. I associate this tune with Noel O’Donoghue who recorded it with his band Moher.
