Author: Rick Rubin

I awoke at 10:30 and added the notes for yesterday. Today we’re going to check out the local beach here in Inchydony and tonight we’re going to Cork City. We’ve been invited to a session at the Corner House Pub, led by Macdara O’Faolain and his wife Victoria. I became aware of Macdara as an instrument maker, he builds Irish bouzoukis, very beautiful ones. To view his work go here, http://www.mofluthier.com. He and I have exchanged emails regarding instrument making. More recently I became aware of what a fine musician he is. Raidiona Gaeltachta is a show on RTE, the Irish broadcasting network. The videos are posted on YouTube. The broadcast is in Irish Gaelic, no translation offered but it isn’t really necessary. I would recommend you to the show, there are some magnificent performances and Macdara is featured with Edel Fox, concertina, Neil Byrne, fiddle and Macdara on bouzouki. It’s a great performance by all three. Macdara is the youngest and plays beautifully, for a young man he is already very accomplished. It will be a pleasure to play alongside him.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We pulled ourselves together, drove into Clonakilty to exchange some money only to find out the banks no longer perform that service. On our way out to Akahista today we’ll have to stop by the airport at Shannon and exchange our money. The rates aren’t as favorable, but there’s no choice. We drove on to Cork City and arrived a little before 5:00pm. Here’s a little detail I’d forgotten in the 6 years it’s taken to get back to Ireland. It’s much further North than Spokane. It’s twilight at 10:30pm, so my feel for the actual time is offset by several hours. A five o’clock session at The Corner House pub felt like mid-day. When we arrived there were four players setting up. Macdara on fiddle, his wife Victoria on banjo, a guitarist named Conor and a young Japanese man Masato, with a flute and ourselves.

They greeted us warmly and we settled in, were given a complimentary pint of our choice, Murphy’s of course! Here’s a shout out for Shawn O’Donnell’s Pub in Spokane, the only place you can find Murphy’s Stout on tap in our region. It was a great, relaxed session with plenty of time between tunes to get to know the players around the table. James chatted with Masato and found out that he’s in Ireland for a year diving into the music. His parents offered him money to go to university or he could use the same money for his journey to Ireland. That’s how the music can infect you, university or tunes, university or tunes? Hmmm.

We mentioned to Macdara that we’d driven out to Helvic Head so we could play its namesake. Macdara chuckled and said that what he’d heard was that James Kelly was recording some of the tracks that became The Ring Sessions album at a pub named Tig Muirthe next to Helvic Head. He played the tune and whomever was keeping track of the tune titles asked him what it was called. He didn’t actually know, so said, “we’ll call it Helvic Head.” Oh well! There goes the romance!

So, here’s the rundown. What we will still call Helvic Head is also known as Jump Out Of It Hogan, Melvin Head, Walk Out Of It Hogan and Yellow Stockings. Take your pick. Regardless it is an old tune and shows up in O’Farrell’s National Irish Music Collection, dated 1797.

We played until 8:00, packed our instruments, said thanks and goodbye then made our way to the fish and chips shop Macdara and Victoria told us about. We were all hungry, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and the “chippy” was very good. We were on an extension of Coburg Street, it was Friday evening and the entire street was one big party. Young men and women dressed to attract one another, it was roaring! Bridget noticed an inscription carved into the stone above a doorway next to us that told us that whoever had placed it there would not approve of the revelry.

Scenes from Cork, Macdara and Victoria, Aidan Coffey standing in the doorway of The Corner House. It’s a great album, I have it at home.

We came home, and played more music, our ability to refine our playing when we have no other distractions is wonderful. As we were playing James noticed the moonrise above the hills across from us. It was a fitting end to a great day.

We think this trip is looking to become our best trip ever! It’s not always the big events but the small, random moments that are often what become memorable. We left Inchydory yesterday and drove Southwest to Skibereen, then Northwest toward Ballydehob. Morgan had met a young woman at a music camp last summer, her name is Hannah Collins and she plays piano and concertina. We love the sound of the concertina, it has a clear, simple sound that adds a sweet purity to a tune. Hannah sent Morgan the Google map coordinates for the farm where her family live. The numbers didn’t mislead us and took us to the farm without a hitch.

Hannah greeted us at the door and invited us in. Her mother, Margaret, greeted us and we chatted for a bit. Margaret offered us tea and oh so much more. The Irish generosity is second to none. Fresh made bread, farm made goat cheese, fresh pesto made of basil, walnuts and wild garlic and pot after pot of tea.

Great treats and conversation and then we played some tunes. Hannah is a very good player and of course she knows Macdara and Victoria, it’s a small island and despite its diversity and geographical regionalism we are always struck by the interconnectedness of musicians and families.

We reluctantly said goodbye to Hannah and Margaret and drove northwest toward Durrus and then we went southwest to Ahakista where our rental is. We unpacked and headed to a small restaurant, Arundels where we had a steaming bowl of fresh mussels in a delicious broth with fresh herbs.

The remains. We were too desirous to take a before picture.

You may or may not recall that during out first trip to KIlcrohane in 2016 we stopped in at Eileens Pub, where we played a few tunes. Through that we met Wayne Sheehy and Frank O’Mahony (pronounced O’Manny) who invited us to play the next morning for his friend Siobhan’s birthday. We decided to check in at Eileens. She was behind the bar, remembered us when we mentioned having played before with Wayne Sheehy and she invited us to bring our instruments in if we liked. The pub was as I remembered it and as we started to play more and more people came in. Wayne warned us that a large group of walkers and hikers were in the village and he was correct. We’re playing tunes and the pub is quickly filling to capacity. The hikers are in a walking/hiking club that are hiking the Sheepshead peninsula. They were quite enthusiastic, clapping and hooting. A young woman and older man came in carrying instruments, it seemed they were scheduled to play for the evening and here we were. We told them we were just finishing and would happily pack up so they could get to it. Unbeknownst to us there was some tension between them and Eileen. Eileen said something to Jemima, that’s the young woman, about not wanting them tonight, and that she wasn’t going to take care of them (read no free pints or money), we weren’t clear what the issue was, but instantly you could cut the tension with a knife. Eileen had given us free pints, that’s how publicans say thanks for the music, which we offered to Jemima and her partner which made Eileen angry “where’d ya get those pints” Jemima protesting loudly that we’d offered them and, oh shit! What have we stepped into? One of the hikers astutely started to sing Wild Mountain Thyme, which eased the tension and the entire pub joined in. As Morgan and I escaped to the outside, scratching our heads, the woman who started the song said to me when I thanked her. For her diplomacy, “I grew up in a large family”. Ah the Irish.

Jemima has the bodhran (frame drum).

Outside, Jemima and her friend, I’m going to try and get his name, explained that they have a difficult relationship with Eileen. Jemima was born in England and her family bought a holiday home in Kilcrohane when she was small. She more or less grew up in the village and now chooses to call it home. She and he have a little farm and it sounds like they’re eking out a living. He said “Eileen, she’s tender, like an Irish summer”, which had me laughing. They both look like hippies. He, a pretty crusty fellow, scaggly beard, head scarf, cigaret dangling from his lower lip while he sings with a voice that sounds like broken bottles. There seems to be a grudge of sorts between them and Eileen and I didn’t ask for details.

We felt poorly about the scene with Eileen and Morgan stepped over and gave Jemima 20 Euro so they had something for the nights outing. As we walked away Jemima shouted to us “thank ye, ye’s gentlemen and scholars”. I remarked to Morgan, “where else could you have an experience like this”? And so ends the evening of the third day in Ireland.

Sunday was more a catch our collective breath day. We woke late, when you fall into bed at 2AM you wake late, what can I say? I’m enjoying the vacation and lack of pressing problems to be solved. If you want to read a fantastic book on the wandering musician’s life read Ciaran Carson’s Last Night’s Fun. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18754 We wandered down to the village, we wanted to say hello to Frank O’Mahony, but he closes at 1:00 on Sunday, so we stopped in at Eileen’s, It was much more quiet than the night before, the hikers having gone to hike elsewhere, so we settled in with some tea, later some Murphy’s and played some tunes. There were a handful of locals and a couple of visitors. We met an American couple who are visiting out on the road. He’s heard us the night before at Eileen’s and had some questions about Irish music. He’s a musician as well from Wisconsin, named Terry Murphy, his wife Katy, He asked if he could sit in with us, wasn’t sure how to accompany the tunes, we gave him a few tips and he did pretty well for not knowing the repertoire. He kindly gave us each a CD he’d produced of his songs and we bid them goodbye.

We headed up the road to Arundel’s because Wayne Sheehy said he’d meet us there. He’s got a recording studio at his home on the North side of the Sheepshead on the other side of Kilcrohane. He’s in the middle of mixing an album of music created by African refugees, so only had time for a quick pint. We chatted for about an hour, spoke about the poor state of affairs in the USA, seen through an Irishman’s eyes, and agreed to meet Monday evening at Eileen’s for a session from 6:00-8:00. The start time is correct, who knows when we’ll end.

Tunes in Eileen’s

This is a catch up day. Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th went by so quickly I had no time to sit and write. We just arrived in County Clare, near to Ennistymon, actually pretty much mid-distance between Ennistymon and Lisdoonvarna. Ennistymon has Cooley’s House, where we’ve enjoyed memorable sessions with Adam, Stefan, the Australian Bob’s and Paul Dooley and Lisdoonvarna where sits The Roadside Tavern, where we’ve had mighty sessions with Terry Bingham, Paul Dooley, Christy Barry and Seamus Hynes as well as Billy Baldwin, the publican, on bodhran.

So I ended the last entry with us expecting a session with Wayne Sheehy on Monday the 27th. We spent that day driving up to the next peninsula, The Beara, where we had some great adventures on our first visit in 2012. Bridget’s Dad’s mother’s family, the Healey’s, were from the island of Dursey which is on the southwest tip of The Beara. It’s approx. 4 miles long and separated from the mainland by a treacherous channel with powerful tidal races that flow through it. I’ve looked at the currents running through it and tried to imagine how the people in older times crossed it. It couldn’t have been easy. Much like The Blasket Islands to the north off Dingle they shed their population to where there are according to Wikipedia 3 or so permanent residents. I like the “or so”. Whomever they are they must value solitude. We were going to try and cross over to it on the cable car that runs from the mainland out to the island, Ireland’s only cable car, but there were too many people that day and it looked like the car only took about 6 at a time. We needed to be back in Kilcrohane at 6:00pm so we bid Dursey goodbye and continued the road to Laragh stopped in at Helen’s, what used to be Sullivan’s, and had some delicious fresh sea food for lunch. Helen remembered us playing there in 2012, it hadn’t changed much in 12 years.

Helens, Sullivans, back in 2012

We crossed over Healey Pass back to the south side of The Beara and got back at 5:30. Just enough time to freshen up, grab our instruments and meet Wayne at Eileen’s.

Wayne greeted us at Eileen’s and mentioned that we might have a musical legend show up. We were thinking maybe Damian Dempsey might be the person, Wayne was touring with him when we met him in 2016 and he’s from Cork, but he was keeping it close as to whom it could be. We settled into a corner, tuned up and played tunes. At first it was pretty empty but as we played and bantered more people arrived. At one point an attractive young woman came in with a friend and Wayne introduced us to Lisa Lambe. https://www.lisalambe.ie/about/ He’d mentioned to us that he was working with an amazing young singer, but I didn’t really know her work. Introductions went around and Wayne asked us to play a set. Lisa listened and seemed engaged with what we were doing. My wife Ally had texted me and wanted to know if we were going to be near Kilcrohane, which of course we were, just up the road in Ahakista. It turned out that a friend of ours in Spokane, Nancy, has an ex-sister in law named Sandy who lives in Kilcrohane. What are the chances of that? It’s Ireland, all sorts of wonderful things, connections and adventures happen for us here. I contacted Sandy and told her we were going to be at Eileen’s at 6:00 and she came and introduced herself. She’d been married to Andy, an old friend of ours and Nancy’s brother, and they were a duo, Andy on guitar and Sandy singing. At one point Sandy asked if we could back her up on a song, we asked her to sing a couple of bars, found the key and she proceeded to sing a wonderful blues, she’d heard it from Bonnie Raitt but it sounded a lot like an old Bessie Smith song. Sandy was warmly applauded and we asked Lisa to sing for us. Here is what she did.

To say we were stunned is an understatement. The song is in Irish in the Sean Nos style, but you don’t need to understand the lyrics to sense the longing and sorrow within it. We had tears in our eyes, with both the song and the beauty of Lisa’s interpretation. She’s a gifted performer and artist in the truest sense of the word. We sang a couple of songs with Lisa adding harmonies and at one point she started singing P Stands For Paddy to a melody we had started. The sense of joy and spontaneity was palpable. Bridget was sitting next to Lisa and at one point she leaned over to Bridget and said that we were “proper exceptional.” When you hear that coming from and artist of her calibre you can’t just “aw shucks” it away. We come to Ireland to soak up the culture and learn, to make new friends and strengthen the bonds we’ve made already. We’ve been self conscious about playing this music that we didn’t grow up with, but we love it and do our best to be respectful. Wayne understood our intent back in 2016. We approach the music and culture with respect and we bring to it what is in us. We hope it represents the music and us well.

Around 10:00pm Eileen gently asked us if we wrap things up. On Monday evenings she said she usually closes closer to 9:00. We weren’t ready to call it a night so stood under the little outdoor enclosure Eileen has and spoke politics, music and lots of other things that came to mind and finally said goodbye. It was a memorable evening.

Wayne Sheehy, Eileen and Lisa Lambe

The next morning we packed up and had a visit from our host at Hilltop House in Ahakista. We asked if our music was too loud and too late. She told us no not at all, they love the music. Her mother was in the hospital with a fractured back and Evelyn said she’d been at the hospital with her mam but that if her mam had been home she would have had a glass against the door listening in. Her Dad played box (accordion, usually buttons not keys) and had his own stool down at Eileen’s. He’d passed away not long ago. We also learned that musicians like Frankie Gavin, Alec Finn, Dolores Keane (she was once called the voice of Ireland) and many others had stayed there, so we were some more musicians who had been called in by Hilltop House. Honestly these things find us, we don’t plan that well!

We had a short visit to Wayne Sheehy’s home on the north side of The Sheepshead. We all like Wayne, he’s generous and welcoming and a very busy man. He is the proprietor of Ocean Studios, has played as a professional drummer for decades, toured with U2, The Rolling Stones and Damian Dempsey amongst others. He’s smart and witty, has broad musical taste and is currently producing some extraordinary music. He played us some tracks of an album featuring some gorgeous vocal work with a beautiful soundscape of keyboards, strings, cello, bass and guitar. We were blown away with the raw tracks he played us. The album has yet to find a home so I can’t be specific but I told Wayne that when it’s official I want to have it in my collection. We also listened to some tracks by some performers from Congo and Burundi that were really good. Wayne is a good sound engineer the product speaks for itself. He also offered an antique keyed flute to James. Wayne doesn’t play it, told us that it had been given to him and he wanted to pass it on to James if he could use it. It appears to be Swiss made, we’re guessing late 19th or early 20th century and despite leaky pads James can get some music out of it. He’s going to send it to someone who can restore it. We reluctantly said goodbye to Wayne and hit the road to Inch, Dingle to visit our friends Fidelis and John Foley, proprietors of Foleys Bar Inch.

MORE TO FOLLOW

I’m still scrambling to get caught up, this happened the last trip and I never finished documenting the last week back in 2018. I don’t want that to happen this time. 

We drove north along the Sheepshead and crossed over The Beara and crossed over to Dingle. I have very little to report because I fell asleep for 90 minutes and missed the journey. We’ve been going to bed late, getting up late and drinking appreciation pints. Customers and establishments show their pleasure with the music by giving shots of whiskey or pints of beer. I’ve been doing my best not to over do but it’s not always easy.

When we arrived at Foleys a large tour bus was parked out front. We entered the bar side, it was shoulder to shoulder. Peeking in to the restaurant showed there wasn’t a table available. John and Fidelis were nowhere to be seen, drinks were being ordered, they were obviously doing well. Everything looked familiar but the level of activity was more than I remember. The Foley’s are a wonderful family. They’re generous, kind and took us in like old friends the first time we met them. We’ve stayed connected since 2014. Their oldest Katie, whom we played tunes with is now a mom of a lively 4 year old daughter and lives across the road in the old cottage that goes back 6 generations. The twins Brid and Aine are now 19, one studying psychology and the other becoming a special needs teacher. Everybody’s growing into their lives while John and FIdelis manage a very successful business that’s been in the family the 6 generations. They own two cottages next to the pub and another home a short walk up the road. It pleases us greatly to see that they’re all doing so well. They’ve worked hard for everything they have.

We were hoping to play some tunes with Katie but Grace was requiring some attention and Katie being a good Mom stayed with her. We set up in the bar and launched into some tunes. There were a raucous group of Australians and New Zealanders who were celebrating the wedding of a friend. A fellow leaned over to me and said that he’d just received news that his Dad in New Zealand had died. He was hurting and wanted to know if we could play something in his memory. Morgan launched into Neil Gow’s Lament and James sang Wild Mountain Thyme. Two sad pieces. Tears and sighs all around. Scotty, for that is the man’s name, thanked us. As Bridget said he was in a good place to grieve. It’s a culture that knows how to grieve. We had some interesting discussions about many things, I love the people we meet here, kindred spirits. We closed the pub, John and Fidelis kindly stayed up for all of us. Fidelis sang two songs, one that her mother used to sing when she wanted friends to end the visit and go home. We went to bed late, of course, and I crashed hard and woke around 9:30am. Katie is running her own little coffee stand next to the pub. I welcomed her skills. She had lived in Cork and got used to having good coffee. When she returned to DIngle she couldn’t find anything she wanted to drink or spend her money on. She invested in some good equipment and now has a brisk business. We left the Foleys, after hugs and promises to return and headed to Clare.

I’m closing in on catching up with the posts. It’s difficult when you get behind and each day is full of memorable events. We arrived in Clare later in the afternoon, I’m still gauging time of day from the amount of light, thinking as I would at home. That’s a mistake as there is still twilight at 11:00pm this far North.

We arrived at our rental home, a nice spacious place, chose our rooms and put our things in them. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, got our instruments in the car and drove to Lisdoonvarna to see what was happening at The Roadside Tavern. We have great affection for The Roadside. We’ve played some great sessions there with Paul Dooley, Terry Bingham, Christy Barry and Seamus Hynes. The publican Billy Archibald asked if he could sit in with his bodhran which felt very validating. Our impulse to get to this establishment could be viewed similarly to fish returning to the spawning site. The first thing I did was walk up to the bar and ask if Billy Baldwin was there. The young man looked a little puzzled and then said “oh you mean Billy Archibald”, “oh yeah, that’s him” I fumble. I’m OK with names but I have to use them to really remember them. “Billy retired a few years back but he shows up with his bodhran when music’s going on.”We find out there’s an open session Thursday night, Christy Barry with Colin Nea Unfortunately not much was going on this night. A guitarist and fiddler playing quiet songs, we know better than to crash something like that.

So, into the car and down to Ennistymon. The home we rented is really close to both towns so really easy to toggle between both locations. We were looking for Cooley House, the sign of another memorable session. We arrive in Ennistymon, spot Cooley House, Bridget parks in front and we step in. The proprietor, Joan, is still there. She looks a little older, but she’s there and it’s good to see her. We remind her of our previous visits and she remembers us. We order pints which she brings over and we proceed to catch up. She survived Covid and shares that she actually enjoyed the time off, coming in to work was difficult, the government slowly added opening hours and eventually she got back to normal. There was no session tonight but she encouraged us to get our instruments and play. She said she wasn’t doing regular sessions because she can’t get staff on those busy nights. Musicians are coming in but it’s nothing official. The pub was nice and quiet and we thought we’d settle in for a few quiet tunes but within a few minutes of starting more people came in and soon it was a steady stream and within 30 minutes Cooley’s House was hopping. The customers seemed to like the music, a couple of young French men were particularly engaged and bought us half pints of Murphy’s. A party at a table next to us were nodding along, people leaving nodded recognition as they left. I remarked to Joan “see what we did to your nice quiet establishment.” We packed up to return to the house.

We are still relying on GPS to get us to our location. We’re in the countryside so it’s dark. James tells Bridget to take the next left and we head up this small road. The GPS shows a right turn that’s supposed to get us there, it’s even smaller. Soon we’re bouncing around on a rapidly narrowing boreen, the grass in the center is getting taller and the tree limbs are hanging into the lane. We’re nervously joking as we’re beginning to see boggy ground through the windshield. This road might lead somewhere, if you’re driving a 4 wheel drive, but not in our rental car. Bridget slows down and we urge her to keep the speed, we’re afraid we may get stuck. We finally see a spot wide enough, in front of an old abandoned cottage to turn around. I get out and guide her through the turn, jump in and we make our way back out to the road. Morgan mutters about finding a paper map the next day, our faith in GPS is shaken. We finally get back to the house pour some whisky and play more tunes.

We woke up into the new day. It’s cloudy but there seems to be no threat of rain. We have nowhere special to go and decide to have an easy day of it. Wash clothes, have breakfast and practice tunes.

Around 4:00 we drive into Ennistymon, we need to stop at the market and get a few supplies we forgot. We find an antique shop and James asks if they might have a box he can put the flute that Wayne gave him into. She rustles around in the back of the store and comes out with a nice wooden box that a presentation bottle of Midleton whiskey came in. Check that off the list! We wandered into a nice cheese shop that had a good looking loaf of bread and some sheep’s cheese, which is one of the few I can tolerate. We tried a few other doors but they were locked. It was 5:00 and the end of the work day.

Back to our temporary home, grab the instruments and off to The Roadside Tavern for dinner and tunes. I looked to my left and there stood the man himself, Billy Archibald. I was truly pleased to see him and he remembered us. We chatted for a few minutes. He told us he retired just before Covid struck. He’d been at The Roadside for nearly 29 and a half years. He was happy to be retired and enjoyed coming in to drum to the tunes.

The Roadside has been taken over by new ownership and now serves from an updated menu. It’s no longer just pub food fair. Our meals were delicious and players were beginning to come in so we left our dinner table upstairs and went downstairs to grab some spots. A couple from Philadelphia, PA were having dinner and the woman very kindly offered a bit of the bench seat she was sitting on to me. James chatted with them and found out that he was born in Ireland and they were here for a family reunion. She told me that they had been to visit Australia just before coming here and they were reverse jet lagged on top of adjusting to Ireland.

The session started around 8:00. It was led by Sonia on fiddle and Carla providing guitar and vocals. This wasn’t a Trad session, lots of contemporary songs by American writers like Gillian Welch and John Prine. It also didn’t seem to comport to the general “session” rule that if you don’t know a tune or song, you sit out and not feck it up. A nice enough man was sitting across from me and between James and Morgan. He thrashed his way through tunes and songs playing too many chords and missing the changes a good deal of the time. I politely sat out on his songs if I had nothing to add but was not accorded the same from him. Oh well, these things can happen. We begged off around 10:00 and Bridget was waiting outside the door for us when we stepped out of the door.

We came home, had a snack and proceeded to play for another couple of hours. So ends another day and I’ve reported all there is for now.

We’re in the new month and Friday turned out to be a lovely, sunny day. James, Bridget and I went to visit Doolin Cave. I tend not to visit typical tourist spots, I suppose it’s my elitism showing, or dislike of crowds but I own it. This is one time I’m glad I didn’t follow my usual aversion. I allowed myself to be persuaded by Bridget’s enthusiasm. This part of Ireland is large stretches of limestone. It is uplifted ancient sea bottom that was once in the latitude of Brazil. Glacial forces carved it up and created large cave systems in the porous limestone. The region was well known to cavers and spelunkers. To quote Wikipedia, “The cave was discovered in 1952 by J. M. Dickenson and Brian M. Varley of the Craven Pothole Club, an English caving club based in the Yorkshire Dales.^[1] Entry was arduous, requiring a long, difficult crawl.” What isn’t included in this entry is that both men were 18 at the time and had decided to take off on their own, and do a little solo exploring away from the other cavers they were with. They told no one where they were heading so if they’d had trouble they would have likely died. They found a small stream disappearing into a small hole at the base of a cliff and correctly surmised that it might be draining into a cave system. So they pulled a boulder aside and wriggled in. The shit the young can do when you think you’re immortal, right? They crawled on their bellies for over 400 yards. Part way along they realized their headlamp batteries might fail so turned them off. They kept going in pitch black until they could hear that they were in a larger space. They switched their lamps on and were astounded to see this.

Europe’s largest stalactite

By the time the young men crawled out of the hole they entered 7 hours had gone by. From 1952 until 1990 the cave was the exclusive play ground of cavers. The land it is found on had been farmland for generations and sold to the Browne family in 1990. It was their desire to have it become a show cave which was met by much protest from the caving community. It is beautiful and worth seeing though I find myself wondering if it would have been best to leave it to the cavers.

James’s lungs have been bothering him for a couple of days. He decided it was serious enough to merit a consultation with a doctor. We drove up to the clinic in Lisdoonvarna but they didn’t have a spot to fit him in. He was given a list of other possible doctors and as we were leaving I looked to my left and saw a familiar face. I said “Christy”? Indeed it’s Christy Barry. He thinks he might have pulled a muscle mowing the yard and says he’ll see us at The Roadside tonight. We hope he’s not got something else going on. James managed to get an appointment in Ennistymon and he has been diagnosed with a chest infection. He’s got meds and should be fine.

We head over to The Roadside tavern around 9:30, the website says the session starts at 9:45. We arrive and the session is in full flight, remember the lesson we received in 2014 regarding making plans in Ireland? Here was a perfect example. Obviously the website was wrong and it started earlier. Christy and the box player, who wasn’t Colin Nea, and 4 others were whacking away. There was someone on bouzouki and another on tenor guitar, neither particularly dynamic players. Christy invited Morgan to sit in but pointedly stated they didn’t need any more back up. Well, that’s me out. The playing aside from Christy and the box player wasn’t that interesting so we left. We were spoiled the last time over when we caught Christy and Terry Bingham alone and we could sit down to a session of careful listening to one another. That’s the joy in sessions, the ability to listen and flow with the dialogue created.

We drove into Doolin but could find nothing going on in which we could participate. We dropped Bridget off at the house and were off to Ennistymon. We parked a block from Cooley House and checked out a couple of pubs we didn’t know. No music. As we approached Cooley House we heard an amplified voice and guitar. Nothing doing, singer night. Shit, shit, shit. I looked into the window of the pub next to Cooley House, Eugene’s Whisky Bar. I said to James and Morgan “check this out!”

Eugene’s Whisky Bar, Ennistymon

The minute we walked in we realized we were in a place we wanted to play. It has a warm and friendly feeling. One wall is filled with framed posters of the Lisdoonvarna Folk Festivals starting in 1978. It reads like the Who’s Who of Irish and English folk of the era. Eugene served us three pints while we soaked in the atmosphere of this gem of a public space. There were two Americans sitting at the bar, a man and woman and three women sitting over in the corner near us. A very quiet place. Eugene was engaged with the American couple and we listened. The man got up and went out for a smoke, the woman followed shortly and we started speaking with Eugene, we gushed on about how much we enjoyed his place, and the Lisdoonvarna Festival posters. We asked if he’d attended them and he said “I attended them all but I wasn’t really there. I was an alcoholic.” We got the point, but that got Eugene talking. I got up to take some photos and he kindly turned the lights on in the back part that had not been lit. A total feast for the eyes. As it turns out Eugene loves the music and the musicians who create it. He was drinking buddies with Tommy Peoples who was from up the coast in Donegal but was married to a Clare woman from around the area, “a disastrous marriage” according to Eugene. As Eugene tells it he woke up one day in 1989 and said “that’s it” and he quit drinking. When he got sober enough he realized he had left a trail of debt in his wake, money he’d borrowed that added up to 30,000 Irish Pounds. He says he’d paid it all back in October before the year ended. He worked, saved and bought the Pub he’s owned and proceeded to create a wonderfully unique place. He’s not had drink since 1989, doesn’t allow drunkeness in his establishment and, unique to Ireland, doesn’t allow you to take your drink outside the door. Most pubs do and it’s not against the law like the U.S. How did we miss this Ennistymon gem? We’ve been here three times and missed Eugene’s, right next to Cooley House, which we’ve visited every time. Better late than never.

Eugene told us that he asked Tommy Peoples to come play in the pub, at the back where he figured he wanted the musicians to sit. Each time he’d have Tommy play seated in a different spot. While he was playing he’d move around the room and see where the music projected and make mental notes as to how he wanted to build it out to best showcase the music. It was very intentional where he put in an arch or partition. We’re nodding, realizing this man is a serious music man. He had Tommy do this seven separate times until one day Tommy said “if you don’t want me here why don’t you just tell me so.” He didn’t understand why Eugene kept moving him around. They sorted it out and remained friends. Eugene regaled us with some very humorous anecdotes and told us we were welcome to come back and play. Two of James’s and Bridget’s children Zeke with his partner Amy and Fionn are coming to stay with us this weekend so we’re going to head into Ennistymon Sunday after 5:00 when Eugene’s is open, sit down in the back of his lovely space and play. We don’t care if anybody but family and Eugene listen, we want to soak up the atmosphere of his gorgeous creation.

We drove into Doolin for lunch and a little shopping. We stopped in at the little woolen shop and Bridget looked at sweaters. We tried one spot for lunch but the prices put us off. Doolin caters to tourists not local folk, whom I’m certain can’t afford very much in the village. Bridget dropped us off at the house and went back out to look at some more shops while not being encumbered with the three of us.

We practiced some sets and continued to put together some new ones. We’re having so much fun exploring this, for us, new combination. I’m continuing to find new ways to express myself through the cittern and James and Morgan find it highly complimentary to the music.

The Roadside Tavern was our favorite place to play until this trip. It can be foolish to base current expectations on the past, nothing stays the same. And so it has proven. We relied on the website only to find it was incorrect. We’ve been looking forward to playing with Paul Dooley and Terry Bingham, as well as Christy Barry this trip. Zero for four attempts so far. The website stated that Paul Dooley was playing Saturday night, so we arrived quite early. We left our instruments in the car and got inside the Roadside where I spotted some guitar cases and a small amplifier. Paul plays fiddle. We inquired of the man behind the bar where he confirmed that it wasn’t a Trad night. A good session is proving illusive. We go back to the car and drive over to Kilfenora, a nearby village that’s famous for music to a Pub Morgan remembered from 28 years ago called Vaughan’s. Morgan played with Tommy Peoples in a corner of that pub.

Tonight there was going to be a young singer/guitarist, so no Trad music there. We spoke with an older man who looked like he’d put in a hard days work. He proved to be an entertaining man, full of humor and pithy observations. Then a nice young man Éanna stepped out. It turns out that he works IT for Peter and his wife who own the Roadside Tavern and the Smokehouse, which prepares wonderful smoked salmon. It’s a small country. We had a very pleasant conversation with him. His wife and he are expecting a new member of the family, and while we were conversing another young man from the town came out of the pub and saw Éanna, interrupted and inquired as to how he was. He has the coffee and ice cream shop in Kilfenora. When Éanna told him they were expecting, the response was “ah sure, well you’re doing something right.” We didn’t get any trad music but we did have some great Craic with some locals.

Back home where we worked through sets and enjoyed the pleasure of one another’s company. Tomorrow, Zeke, Fionn, James and Bridget’s sons and Amy, Zeke’s partner arrive to spend the best part of a week traveling with us. We’re “planning” on playing at Eugene’s tonight but we’ll check in with him early evening and see if that’s a go or not.