This slip jig is the second of a pair of tunes I composed for a wonderful friend and Riverdance colleague, Eithne Walls, who was tragically killed in the Air France disaster off the coast of Brazil, in 2009. A beautiful dancer, she is hugely missed by all who knew her.
The full set can be heard on my second album “Súgach Sámh / Happy Out”
In 1928, at 23 years of age, Terry “Cuz” Teahan, concertina player, single-row accordion player and budding composer, emigrated from his home in Cordal, Glountane, Co. Kerry to Chicago. He spent the following six decades becoming one of the most loved and respected musicians of the very strong Irish music community there, playing right up until his death in 1989 at the age of 84. While he spent three quarters of his life in America, it was the music of Sliabh Luachra, the music he grew up with and was taught by the illustrious Pádraig O’ Keeffe, among others, that he played and was associated with most.
In 1986, three years prior to his death, he visited Kerry relations on what was probably his last visit to Ireland. While there, his niece took him to see a local seisiún group performing for the tourists in Killarney, and there he saw a local girl, still in primary school, playing concertina and fiddle. Very taken with this girl, at the concert’s end he approached her and her father and chatted with them both for a couple of minutes, during which time he made two predictions: firstly, that she would win an All-Ireland and secondly that music would form a huge part of her life. I was that girl in question, and it took no less than two months for the first prediction to come to pass, when I won my first All Ireland for the U-12 concertina. I am happy to report that Cuz’s second prediction has also come to pass!
This ten-minute conversation was not the last of the interest Cuz showed in my younger self, however. On his return to Chicago, he sat down in his kitchen and recorded an hour-long tape of tunes, some of which he learnt from the aforementioned Pádraig O’ Keeffe, and some of which were his own compositions. He also talked to me throughout the recording, giving advice and information on the music, and occasionally singing the odd verse of song that went with a tune. It is over 35 years since that tape was recorded and it is still a prized possession. It seems that I was not the only recipient of such generosity, but it also seems that other such tapes are all either in private collections or have been lost.
I therefore decided that the best way to thank Cuz for his generosity was to pay tribute to him through an album. I wanted to introduce Cuz to those that may not be familiar with him and give a glimpse into the roguish character of this man and legend who has lent his name to so many tunes played by musicians all over the Irish Music World, a man whom I met for a mere ten minutes but who took such careful interest in me all those years ago and who continues to talk to me and give advice, years after his passing. I felt the best way to do this was to include a mixture of his own compositions, many of which are played regularly without the true identity of their composer being known, along with a selection of tunes associated with Cuz which he passed on and in doing so helped preserve.
Cuz was always encouraging others to compose tunes themselves, including Liz Carroll and Jimmy Keane who both guested on my album. For this reason I also included two of my own compositions. This tune is one of those which I named after all the wonderful, guest musicians on the album, and in particular Cuz himself. A right bunch of rogues the lot of us, and proud of it!
“Cuz – a tribute to Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan”, my third album was released in 2013. I donated a copy of the tape Cuz made for me to ITMA in the same year.
In 2014, The Risen People, a play by James Plunkett, was showing on the Abbey Stage, Ireland’s National Theatre. It was set in the shadow of the 1913 Lockout, a major industrial dispute between 20,000 workers and 300 employees in Ireland’s capital city, which lasted months and caused huge hardship. After every performance of the play, a special guest was invited to give their response in what became known as The Noble Call. I was very honoured to be one such Noble Caller and chose to honour all the women in the struggle, in particular Rosie Hackett. Rosie helped organise 3,000 women from Jacob’s Biscuit factory to strike in support of their male colleagues, was a founding member of the Irish Women Workers’ Union and fought in the 1916 Easter Rising, a precursor to Ireland’s War of Independence. In 2013 a bridge traversing the river Liffey in Dublin was named in her honour.
It can be found on my latest album “Donnelly’s Arm”. My speech and performance as a Noble Caller can be heard here.
Cúil Uí Chorrbuí (Corboy’s Corner) is named after my mother’s side of the family and was one of the first reels I tried my hand at writing. It’s great fun for practicing single note triplets on the concertina!
It can be found on my debut album “Ón Dá Thaobh / From Both Sides”.
I wrote this tune after reading about the many Irish young men who fought in the American civil war. For some of those who fought, it was a way to become accepted in their new homeland, for others it was a place to train and garner support for the struggle back home in Ireland. The ferocity and length of the war was seriously underestimated, and since the Irish were frequently used on the front lines of both armies, they faced the prospect of fighting fellow Irishmen in a war that was not theirs. Some tried to leave and return to Ireland, but were caught and charged with desertion. In America the punishment was to have the letter D branded on the soldier’s forehead. For American deserters this meant lifelong shame, but for the Irish it meant instant and permanent exile from Ireland – if they had returned to Ireland, they would have been arrested immediately and charged with treason; a capital offence.
It can be found on my debut album “Ón Dá Thaobh / From Both Sides”.
I wrote this slide in honour of my father’s hard work installing a new bathroom in the family home, and to commemorate the first successful “flush” after the plumbing was turned back on! More than any other tune type, slides are the type I have composed the most of. I guess growing up playing for set dancers, slides are in my bones! A simple type of tune on the surface, it can be deceptively difficult to get the swing right, and they are often heard played as fast jigs instead.
It can be found on my latest album “Donnelly’s Arm”.
This slip jig is named after my Gran Olive’s wonderful homemade jam, which I adore!
It can be found on my debut album “Ón Dá Thaobh / From Both Sides”.
A tune I composed and named after the earliest known copper mines in North Western Europe. They can be found on Ross Island, in the Killarney National Park, and date back over 4,500 years ago to the Bronze age. Closed down in the 19th century, they were initially believed to be only several hundred years old, until a ten year archaeological project run by a team from the National University of Ireland, Galway discovered the truth.
It can be found on my latest album “Donnelly’s Arm”.
The Devil’s Ladder is named after a particularly hairy part of the climb up Carrauntoohill (Ireland’s highest mountain). I grew up looking at this mountain, but thought it was easier to compose a tune in its honour rather than attempt the climb! It’s still on my bucket list though! I was very honoured to hear Órlaith McAuliffe perform it when she won the Gradam for Young Musician of the Year in 2016.
It can be found on my second album “Súgach Sámh / Happy Out”
Niamh Ní Charra hails from Killarney, County Kerry in the south west of Ireland. Strongly influenced by a wealth of local Sliabh Luachra musicians, she started playing music at the early age of 4.. A multiple award winner on both fiddle and concertina, she toured from 1998 to 2006 as a soloist with Riverdance, before returning to Ireland where she is now based. Her recently released 5th album “Donnelly’s Arm”, recorded under challenging circumstance during the Covid_19 pandemic and several lockdowns, has none-the-less received much critical and public acclaim. It was crowned Number 1 Trad Album of 2021 by Alex Monaghan, reviewer for several publications including Irish Music Magazine, Living Tradition and FolkWorld.
She is the recipient of several awards including “Instrumental Album of the Year” in 2014 in the Chicago Irish American News’ TIR awards for her previous album “Cuz”, “Female Musician of the Year” in 2012 and 2014, in the Live Ireland Music Awards, “Best Trad Music Act 2008” from UK publication The Irish World, and “Best Fiddle/Violin 2008” from the American based Irish Music Association. Her music also featured on the programme “Ireland in Song” which aired on Aer Lingus transatlantic
flights.
Along with touring extensively as a solo artist and with her own band, Niamh has also performed and recorded with Galician piper and Sony artist Carlos Núñez, with The Chieftains, and in 2011 released an album “The Basque Irish Connection” in collaboration with Basque musician Ibon Koteron. She regularly gives workshops and masterclasses, has performed for several presidents and members of royalty and has additionally coordinated concerts hosted by Irish embassies abroad, on behalf of the Irish government.
Niamh is also a professional archivist and is currently project manager and project archivist for the Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner) collections in the National University of Ireland, Galway. She is also the Communications and Campaigns officer for the Archives and Records Association, Ireland, and regularly gives presentations on her work in this field. She is a founding member and archivist for the volunteer campaign group FairPlé established in 2018, which aims to achieve gender balance in production, performance, promotion and development of Irish traditional and folk music and is also
cohost of the archives podcast series Archive Nation.
