Gairdín na Ghleanna is for my Mam and her passion for gardening! We were very lucky to grow up on Verbena Grove in Bayside and Mam became the resident music teacher there. A lot of great musicians came from the Grove such as the Lyons family of the Bonneymen fame. The families on that cul de sac were known as the Grovettes and Mam went on to teach music for years afterwards and has inspired and taught hundreds of great musicians since.
I was teaching this tune to Patricia Clark one day and it was nameless at the time. We decided on the name after she relayed a hilarious story about their family dog at the time.
A good many loyal followers/listeners passed away during the pandemic, go ndeana Dia trócaire orthu. I wrote this tune to remember them and in gratitude for their support. I choose a barndance as it’s a common type of tune in the Donegal music repertoire and are predominantly happy, upbeat tunes.
Barna is about 6 miles north of Abbeyfeale. There is a nice parking place there where you can see Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. It was here I got the inspiration for this jig.
Living in An Spidéal we have a great view overlooking Cuan na Gaillimhe. This bay was historically called Loch Lurgan. Lurgan is also the name of the town I grew up beside and is where I went to school. I love playing in the key of F! Barndances are also my favourite tunes to play.
