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A Salute to Irish Music with Martin Hayes

The musician Christy Moore said Ireland could never have the equivalent of a folk revival because it never let its traditions lapse. And that's very true. The are probably other places in the world as deeply attached to their traditional music, but I don't know where they are.

That's not to say that everybody in Ireland listens to jigs, reels and old songs. Far from it. In fact mainstream Ireland is a lot like mainstream America, with a special fondness for treacly country and western. But the musicians who play "trad" are like an army of Alan Lomaxes, the ethnomusicologist who went in the field and scrupulously collected American roots music in the 30s and 40s, so that oral traditions did not disappear.

In Ireland the players tend to be like that, and rarely is a song played without some prior mention of its history and the manner in which it was passed along. So much more to come on this show with the great fiddler Martin Hayes.

What's your favorite Irish music? Comment below, email Colin@wnpr.org, or tweet @wnprcolin.

Songs we aired during this show:

  • Goitse - "Erin on the Rhine"
  • The Willis Clan - "Ship of the Line"
  • Solas - "Lay Your Money Down" (feat. Rhiannon Giddens)
  • Nuala Kennedy - "Paddy's Lamentation"

GUESTS:

  • Martin Hayesis one of the world’s most creative and accomplished fiddlers, hailing from County Clare, Ireland.
  • Steve Dieterich is the producer & host ofCeltic Airs for over 20 years at WWUH.

Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.
Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public.
Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows.

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