I am often too fond of the hours after midnight. The stillness and peace it brings helps my creative side open up more, sometimes playing fiddle until the early hours of the morning.
I walk through the Glen in Ennistymon, immersing myself in nature, surrounded by dancing bluebells in the wind everywhere. As this experience lights me up I am filled with inspiration to write music.
Éanna is my nephew and godchild and I wrote this tune for him. We always have a fun time when he comes to visit, and sometimes we dance together in the kitchen. I grew up dancing in the kitchen with my siblings, and my mother grew up dancing with her mother in her kitchen.
This tune keeps the tradition alive with the next generation through Éannaʼs Dance
I first met Frank Kelly, the actor who played Father Jack in the hit comedy series Father Ted, many years ago in Lisdoonvarna.
I was playing at a session in the Roadside Tavern and we ended up chatting outside during a break. I gifted him my CD that night and he found my
phone number on the CD and rang me. That led to many joyful phone conversations. When I was looking for a name for this tune the sad news came of the passing of my friend, Frank Kelly.
My fathers name was Kieran and he bought me my first fiddle in London.
That fiddle spent many years on top of my parents wardrobe in their bedroom before I reached the age where I could go for fiddle lessons to Frank Custy In Toonagh near Ennis, Co. Clare. Sometimes my parents took it down from the wardrobe to show it to me and I was always fascinated by it. My father also played the piano and created some nice sounds in the house when playing it, as well as influences of old records of traditional music. He sadly passed away suddenly when I was 19 years old, so this tune is dedicated to the memory of keeping his spirit alive through the music.
I dedicated this tune on my album Croí to all music lovers. At the time of writing it I was involved in co-creating a benefit concert called The Gift of Music in aid of the building of an ashram in India. I asked my musician friends to take part and they all said yes!
We had a great afternoon in the Cliffs of Moher hotel in Liscannor, where the concert was held, and it was a huge success.
I see this tune as an Irish style mantra slip jig in honour of the gift of music.
Yvonne Casey is one of Co. Clareʼs most distinctive fiddle players. She grew up surrounded by the richness of Clare music and plays in a unique soulful style.. In the 1990ʼs Yvonne recorded two albums with The Ceili Bandits and they toured Europe and the USA. She also recorded her first solo CD in 2004. Since then, she has created her own music school in Clare and teaches and performs at various festivals at home, abroad and online.
Her recently released CD entitled “Croí” (Heart) includes many of her own new beautiful compositions as well as performances by Dermot Byrne, Eoin OʼNeill and Jon OʼConnell.
