July 8-9
We drove into Westport late afternoon and it looked little changed since our last visit. The one thing that is different is the level of traffic and tourists. We’ve never visited this late in the season and now that James is retired from teaching we won’t have to again. We can come whenever we prefer. We found the rental home, which is tidy, warm and dry. Once established, and after a quick dinner, into Westport we went. I had a bit of an attitude regarding Matt Molloys after the last visit and was certain the place would be raging, the session loud and not much enjoyment attainable. We checked out The Porter House next to Molloy’s thinking Jackie Small might be leading a session, but there was only a lone guitarist setting up a mic stand. We thought it might be worth looking in at Molloy’s and Morgan went in on his own. He came out to report that Dan Delaney and Declan Askin were playing with a fiddler and bouzouki player and that once Dan saw Morgan he asked us to sit down with them. Hearing that there was already a bouzouki player I figured, eh! I’d be one too many but Morgan said, “go check it out for yourselves” so James and I ducked in and Dan saw us and said come in. I remarked that I had my bouzouki and they wouldn’t need two and Dan says, “yes we do!” So in we go, and boy, were we lucky. It was one of the better sessions we’ve had. Dan Delaney we met our first trip to Westport. He and Johnny Fadgin were leading at the old Bould Biddy’s. We met Declan back in 2018 when we heard him play and sing with Coda. He possesses a rich baritone voice and is a fine guitarist. The fiddler is named Aidan and the bouzouki player we’d met in the past, a man close to my age named Paddy. A young woman was sitting on Morgan’s right whose name I failed to register who plays flute. She’s 17 and won All Ireland Fleadh (a national music competition) when she was 15. After hearing her there’s little doubt to her ability, she’s phenomenal and has a command of the instrument and tunes that is uncanny for one so young.
The tunes that Dan and Eamon were calling were with few exceptions in our wheelhouse. There were a few tunes I was shaky on, so chose to listen. I passed Paddy my bouzouki and he handed me his. We played a set on each others instruments. His is quite a good one, hand built, and he was very complimentary of mine. Dan launched into a song Sheamaisin. He sang that the night we first met in 2012. We felt like the skies had opened and the clouds parted, welcoming us back. The young flute player started The Gold Ring, a tune we love and know so well. I automatically backed her, and noticed that no one else was playing. I thought for a moment “uh, oh am I committing a session etiquette error?” but Dan glanced at me with a look of pleasure so I continued. One time through and everyone joined in. We all loved that tune. The room had a lot of listeners and even though it grew loud at times we could hear one another well. The listeners encouraged us, complimented the playing and were generally respectful. We finished up close to 12:00. We were high with the energy and pleasure derived from playing tunes with kindred spirits. Dan has invited us to play with he and his wife again this evening at Molloy’s.
July 9
July 9
We drove into Westport a little before 9:00pm. Going into the side entrance to Molloy’s we met Dan’s wife Dearbhla. We knew that Dan had left the priesthood to marry but had never met his wife. She’s a warm and welcoming person a true compliment to Dan’s quiet contemplative nature. She told us about an art exhibit at the Old Customs House that a woman she knows is having. She and Dan had both been there before coming to set up for the session. There were already quite a few people waiting for it to start and we were waiting for the more modern and amplified band playing in the concert room to finish. Dan mentioned that he and Dearbhla were still working on the over 200 tune manuscript from the 1860”s that they’d found in the attic of one of his relatives homes. He told us about the manuscript when we last met two years ago, they’d just discovered it then. Photos of it show beautifully written staff notation in a small manuscript book. Whoever copied and preserved the tunes clearly valued them and put a lot of effort into it. It’s a precious resource and Dan and Darvala are planning on publishing it.
A tall man came by us with a mandolin and guitar case and Dan told me that his name is Brian and that he was playing with us. He is also a luthier and had built both instruments. That made me happy, I love speaking with other builders. We set up and started in. There were Dan and his wife Dearbhla, the young flute player Etienne from Wed. Night, Brian, the luthier, James, Morgan and I. Early on it was clear that this was going to be a very different session from last nights. There were a lot of people who had left the concert and stopped in our room, they’d were a pretty rowdy group. A group of women stopped just behind Morgan James and I and they had clearly been drinking. It turned out that they were primary school teachers who were partying with a friend who was leaving for Australia. They were quite chatty, one had learned whistle and kept wanting to borrow James’s. They weren’t being aggressive but they were sucking the energy their way. Dan and Darvala were doing their best to manage it all without being unpleasant. Fionn, Adan, Zeke, Amy, Harry and Ceilan showed up. They all came from the UK and USA to meet up here. Morgan mentioned that Fionn and Adan were newlyweds and Darvala in real Irish hospitality launched into Red Is The Rose the lyric is all about a man’s true love being the most beautiful of all. It was a very sweet moment. Dan apologized that the environment was so loud, but there was not much he could do. When the room became quiet for a song, the main bar area was roaring. We played through it all as best we could.
Brian and I exchanged contact info. We had visits with Maggie McGing and Tom and a few admirers. All in all it wqas a good session, very different than last nights but still fun.