Author: peadar

The first polka arose out of a piece of music I was commissioned to compose by Ionad Culturtha Bhaile Mhuirne in 2008. It was for string quartet, traditional Irish flute and Irish ‘Sean-nós’ singer. When emailing the tunes to the lads I thought the Polka would never do on its own so I made the second one to follow. It has no name and in memory of all the
emailing tunes and pdf and MP3 files to America - I call it Martin’s Polka

I recorded these tunes with Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on the Triúr album.  

Price: €15.00

Download PDF file for Polka na Carraige Báinne here

Download the pdf of Polka do Martin here.

In 2008 the Cork County Council completed a major refurbishment of the County Hall, which for many years was the tallest
building in Ireland. They asked me to compose a piece for them for the occasion of their official opening of these municipal offices. Cork is by far the biggest county in Ireland and therefore has many different areas, landscapes and former baronies. I had the idea that if I put a reasonable traditional tune together, it might get played now and again and thus the event would be remembered quite often rather then the ‘once off ’ of so many standard commissioned pieces. Caoimhín played it with me on the original day and Seán Ó Sé bonged a bell and sang out the name for each Barony as a call to its Councillors to enter the Hall. Here, we three just play the hornpipe and remember here again the official opening of the refurbished Cork County Hall - long may it prosper.

I recorded the tune with Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on the Triúr album.  

Price: €15.00

Download the pdf here.

The first slide I pulled together for a fiddler friend of mine Sean Ó Liatháin from Sliabh Riach. He plays the fiddle in the old style on his knee and makes wonderful music. Viewers of that popular Irish television series, “Come West Along The Road” will know his playing as the signature tune is a recording of his playing while we danced a set. I was asked to supply a piece of dance music for a film by Cathal Black and asked Sean would he go with me to film it on Achill Island. So hence the tune “An Slide Dubh” (Dubh is the Irish for black). During this current recording I felt it was too short on it’s own so I baked this second one while Martin and Caoimhín were tuning up.

Caoimhín likes Sliabh Luachra music very much. Sliabh Luchra is located along the Cork Kerry Border and has a special place for slides and polkas. It is the music we dance to, in the main, around here.

I recorded these tunes with Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on the Triúr album.  

Price: €15.00

Download the pdf of An Slide Dubh here.

Download the pdf of Slide Caoimhín (The Rubber Band) here

 

This song started out life as a slow air that I put together live in front of cameras during the making of a TV documentary series around 1986 “I Live Here”. At the time I was stupidly pushing around to see when whatever talent I had for composing would cease to function - searching for the boundary limit if you like. We had been filming in the mountains and mist had come down so we returned to the house to film a sequence of this eejit playing the piano. The images in my mind was of a stream passing over a small rock creating a rhythm with a kind of 5/4 pattern. The resulting piece I called Maoileann after the mountain. Some years later my good friend Diamuidín Maidhcí died in a car crash. All his compadres in the choir were devastated. He was not the first choir member to die young and tragically and we needed
some piece to sing. Another good friend and choir member, the poet Dónal Ó Liatháin took on the task of writing the poem for me and I added to his task by asking him to write for this unusual air. I feel that the mountains are fundamental to our character. To his eternal credit he proceeded without complaint and produced this poem. He was a mighty poet and has since joined Diarmuidín on the other side. Here is his text. I hope good gaelic speakers will forgive my rough translation.

You will find the score/dots/music notation here

Téacs/text Author Dónal O Liatháin

Tráthann an taoide tréan,
Imíon na sár fhir uainn.
Ar a gcúrsa uaigneach rúndiamharach,
Casann an taoide chughainn
Lascadh na dtonn cois tráth.
Le faor faille fuaire,
Scairt na bhfaoileán.
Grian is spéir,
Amharc sléibh,
Múchann ceo,
Na glaisí thar creagaibh
Le fánaigh aniar
Binneas ceoil
Ca’nad don long?
Cad é an last ar bórd?
I gcéin siar
Seolann uainn thar iarchuarach na bóchna
Torann na dtonn ag freagairt spéirling an cheoil
Tagann lá din daonaí
Tagann glaoch na threo,
Gairm ón dtaoibh clé

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The strong tide ebbs
Great men leave us
On their lonely, Godsecret journey.
The tide turns towards us
The lash of waves on beach
By cliffs cold edge
The screech of sea gull
Sun and sky
Mountain-sight,
Mist quenches,
The riverlets over craggs
Fall from the west.
Sweetness of music.
Where to the ship?
What cargo on board?
Far away west
It sails from us beyond furthest arc of ocean
Roar of wave answers harmony of music.
The day comes for the human
The call comes towards him
A command from the left side.

I recorded the tune with Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on the Triúr album.  

Price: €15.00