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9½ Decades
In 1908, the parish of Kilfenora
was in debt. The new priest, Canon Cassidy from Moughana set to clearing
the debt and refurbishing the church. At the fundraising dances he held
in the schoolhouse, members of the old Brass & Reed band (see above)
like John Joe Lynch, (fiddler and drummer) and Jim Mulqueeney (fiddler)
were involved, though were deferential in the presence of the senior players
such as fiddle master Michael Slattery.
Fr. Fabian McCormack in this
following extract describes the atmospheres at those early céilís.
"…My father and mother
were teenagers then and both loved those dances. My father complained
to me that Canon Cassidy was always present and very strict on any wild
"wheeling" or jumping in the set; everything had to be sedate…
The '20s core group consisted
of Jim Mulqueeney, Jim McCormack, John Joe Lynch, Austin Tierney and Lynch's
sister, Mrs. Brigid McGrath, on concertina. Tom Ward - (fiddle) Lil McCormack,
(piano), Paddy "Pepper" Linnane, Tommy Mulqueeney, Pat Madigan
(banjo, clarinet, bass), Jimmy Leyden (drums), brother and sister Paddy
and Nora "Marshall" McMahon (flute and fiddle respectively)
and Maureen Kelly (piano).
By the thirties, there were
already a couple of radios in Kilfenora village. The first broadcast by
the band was in 1932 from Athlone. The radios were taken out in the open,
as the crowd of listeners was as big as when Eamon de Valera came to the
village for the Clare election in 1917. There was another broadcast in
June 1935 relayed from the town hall in Ennis. They were half-hour programmes
and entailed lengthy rehearsal beforehand. On June 30th 1940, the Kilfenora
broadcast from the Convent of Mercy, Ennis on Radio Éireann, a
prize for winning the Céilí Band Competition at the Ennis
Carnival.
They had a three-year standing
contract to play for the céilithe in the Queen's Hotel, Ennis,
during the winters of '35, '36 and '37. The regular lineup during the
'30s was: John Joe Lynch, Jim Mulqueeney, Tom Ward, Nora McMahon (violins),
Paddy McMahon, Jim McCormack (flutes), Jim Ward (piccolo), Paddy Byrt
(concertina), Pat Madigan (Sax & Clarinet), Jimmy Leyden (drums).
During the '40's some of the
Kilfenora stalwarts played under a different banner. The Corcomroe band
was organised in 1942 by, Barry Ward from Northern Ireland, who came as
an engineer to the phosphate mines in Doolin, which were opened in that
year. According to Jim Ward, this Barry Ward (no relation) played the
piano accordion and was "music mad but apparently didn't know much
about traditional music". It was his good fortune though, to gather
around him some of the finest traditional musicians in North Clare.
The Byrt family featured very
much in this band and the photo shows four of them. Paddy Byrt, a founder
member of the Kilfenora in 1909 was a gifted musician with an unmatched
knowledge of music and traditional lore, which he passed on to his sons,
one of whom, John in particular was regarded as one of the foremost fiddle
players of his time and according to some of his peers, he possessed more
tunes than any other of his contemporaries.
As a young adult, P.J. Lynch
(son of John Joe, both pictured above) liked to go off for a few days
playing music with his friends and he smelled an opportunity for enjoyment
when he heard of the All-Ireland fleádh to be held in Athlone in
'53. He was excited by the concept of a céilí band competition
and took part there with a hastily assembled ad-hoc band of musicians
he met at the festival.
During the autumn after his
return, he assembled a group of musicians from within a five-mile radius
of the village. They rehearsed and started playing for céilís
every Sunday. They enlisted the assistance of Molly Conole, daughter of
Michael Slattery, the 1909 founder, as coach. They duly travelled to the
'54 fleádh in Cavan and a vigorous performance brought them victory.
The Kilfenora obviously had
devised a winning formula. Much to the delight of their supporters, they
triumphed at the next two fleádhanna, completing the celebrated
three-in-a row on home ground in Ennis in '56, The lineup that year was:
Gerry Lynch, Kitty Linnane, Frank O'Mahony, PJ Lynch, Gerald O Loughlin,
Shamus McCormack, Gus Tierney, Noreen Lynch, Jim Ward and Ita Mulqueeney.
(All pictured on the Band picture from 1956 to the left)
The 1958 album The Kilfenora
Céilí Band was the only commercial recording by most of
that line-up. After that, there were substantial changes in personnel
and it was a very different band that won at the fleádh in Swinford
in 1961. .
P.J. Lynch stepped aside and
the steady hand of Kitty Linnane steered them through the next three and
a half decades. The band was extremely busy on the céilí
circuit. They played every county in the Republic. They went on a series
of trips to Britain during Lent when demand was quiet at home. It is surprising
that caution prevailed in preventing them from accepting the numerous
invitations to the U.S.
From the mid-'70s onwards,
their work as a full-blown céilí band was greatly diminished.
During the early '70s, the band did produce two more albums, Clare Céilí
(E.M.I.) and The Kilfenora Céilí Band (Transatlantic). By
the '80s, their activities were limited to special occasions of nostalgia.
The fact was that set dancing was at that time becoming pub-based and
céilí bands weren't getting many bookings till the resurgence
of the '90s.
The band members who appeared
on the Clare Céilí album were: Kitty Linnane, Paddy (Organ)
Mullins, Tommy Peoples, Gus Tierney, Jim Ward, Michael Sexton, Jimmy Leyden
and singer P.J. Murrihy.
During the '70s and '80s,
the aforementioned fiddler Gus Tierney was passing the music on to the
next generation during his classes all over North Clare. Many of his pupils
went on to turn professional and several formed the basis of the present
Kilfenora band.
With Kitty in failing health,
John Lynch, son of P.J. stepped into the breech in '91. He assembled a
young lineup to carry the torch. The group (with the help of mentors Phil
McMahon and Gerry Lynch) achieved three titles in a row from '93 to '95,
forty years after the original achievement.
The band in the past decade
has been commercially very active. This is the third album by the current
personnel (sixth in all by the Kilfenora). They gig the length and breadth
of Ireland and travel regularly to Britain, Europe and the United States.
Their performances are no longer confined to playing for céilí
dancers and they regularly entertain at the larger U.S. festivals for
audiences of thousands.
Lynch has been very careful
to preserve authenticity by keeping innovation to a discreet minimum and
staying true to traditional instrumentation and repertoire. To date, the
band has continued in the style of its predecessors.
Here, their first live album
brings the atmosphere and excitement of the céilí to a new
generation of dancers and listeners both near and far.
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