Ann Lane, a political activist from Cork and personal assistant to Mary Robinson as Senator and as President of Ireland 1990–1997, was living in the early 1970s in 42 Lower Mount Street in south central Dublin, a Georgian building in a terrace since demolished and replaced by an office block. She acted as its caretaker as it awaited redevelopment. Uilleann piper Liam O’Flynn and his brother Michael took an apartment in the building about 1972, as did, somewhat later, the famous traditional music collector and musician Seamus Ennis. Late-night parties were held in the house, and it became a meeting place for contemporary traditional musicians. They included those who were then in the process of forming the group Planxty, soon to be world-famous, and Planxty held its first rehearsal in the house.
Ann Lane made recordings at parties in no 42 on audio cassette, a new technology then, and also at the landmark Planxty concert in the National Stadium, Dublin, in 1973. She recorded Seamus Ennis in performance at the Swamp Folk Club in Rathmines, Dublin, at about the same time. Ann has kindly donated her recordings and photographs of the period to the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and a selection of the recordings is presented here. She has also recorded an interview on camera for ITMA about her musical memories of the time.
With thanks to Ann Lane, and, for permission to reproduce these recordings of their music, to Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Matt Molloy, Christy Moore, and Liam O’Flynn.
Nicholas Caloran & Danny Diamond, 1 October 2011
Liam O’Flynn / Ó Floinn (1945–2018), internationally renowned virtuoso uilleann piper and whistle player, was a native of Cill, Co. Kildare. He was long known as Liam Óg, having been named after his fiddle player father Liam, headmaster of Cill national school. With family and musical connections to Tralee, Co. Kerry, and to Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, Liam was recognised early on as a more than talented piper. He took lessons from Leo Rowsome in Dublin, and later played with and was influenced by Willie Clancy and Seamus Ennis. But in time, he developed his own highly individual rock-steady, perfectly pitched style of mixed open and tight piping — piping expressed in solidly rhythmic dance tunes and in sweeping airs. Never losing contact with his traditional roots, he began a long series of music collaborations in 1972 with Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, and Andy Irvine, as members of the innovative group Planxty. Through Planxty, Liam’s piping came to international as well as national attention, and brought a whole generation to uilleann piping. In the 1980s, he embarked as a solo piper with orchestral accompaniment on an original series of compositions by Shaun Davey, the best known being The Brendan Voyage. In the late 1990s, he formed his band The Piper’s Call; together they made one of his many recordings on the Tara label. He played on numerous film scores, and worked with experimental composers such as John Cage, popular singers such as Kate Bush, and fellow traditional musicians such as fiddle player Paddy Glackin. With the poet Seamus Heaney, he developed The Poet and the Piper, an occasional and much admired stage performance. In 2007, Liam was awarded the TG4 ‘Ceoltóir na Bliana’ Gradam Ceoil. He also served on the ITMA Board.
