Ciarán Ó Maonaigh - Ceol a'Ghleanna/Music Of The Glen
By John Cutliffe

There is much made about the different styles of traditional music that are unique to different parts of Ireland. The music of Clare is as different to the music of Donegal as the accents of those who play. There are musical purists who can pinpoint a phrase in any given tune and immediately tell in which area of Ireland the player learned his skills. There are pedantic snobs who litter the internet and various other places and argue ad nauseam about what is and isn't real traditional music and which county boasts the purest form. I even had an angry email once from someone who told me the term should be "traditional Irish music" and not "Irish traditional music" While I am sure there is some archaic grammatical correctness in that argument I could not be bothered to answer that particular mail.

The musicians who play the music, while very proud of the songs and tunes that have grown from their own locale, in general don't give a hoot for any of those arguments and just want to enjoy playing the music itself. I myself am guilty of having a great fondness for Donegal fiddling. Not that there is anything wrong with the great style of the Kerry or Clare players but I just love the fast paced driving passion of the Donegal way. I think my love of bluegrass comes from being surrounded by Donegal players who have such a close musical link to their Appalachian counterparts.

Donegal has given us some of the finest fiddlers I know. Tommy Peoples is one such name. Dinny McLaughlin is another. Dinny is a man who taught and inspired so many others including Liz Doherty who, aside from being a brilliant musician herself, is repaying that inspiration by writing a book about the man. Ciaran Tourish is another who was taught by Dinny and in my opinion is one of the best and most exciting fiddle players to ever come out of Donegal and Ireland as a whole.

The Donegal tradition is far from dead I am glad to say and yet another member of a great Donegal family is carrying on in the form of Ciaran O Maonaigh. The name may well be familiar. His grandfather is the amazing Francie Mooney, a local legend. and his aunt is Altan's own Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Ciaran has inherited great talent from both. And like them he has inherited that great love of the music and playing itself. There is joy in every note that comes out of his fiddle.

His debut album is a testament to simplicity though. There is nothing fancy on this CD except the beautifully designed cover. The 15 tracks flow along like a quiet session on a rainy Sunday afternoon with reels, jigs barndances and hornpipes. Some of my favorites like the "Pinch of Snuff" and "Con Cassidy's" are there as well as "Iníon a' Bhaoghailligh", a lovely slow air that provides the melancholy from which we Irish take great joy in wallowing.

The arrangements are straightforward, as you might guess, with only the fine guitar of John Blake to hold things together and the occasional bit of help from another well loved and highly acclaimed fiddler Dermot McLaughlin.

Recorded in Longford and produced by Ciaran himself the album is not technically perfect but it really doesn't want or need to be. It certainly shows a real diamond in the rough and a musician who is destined to be a shining light in the future of Donegal traditional music. Or should I say "traditional Donegal music:"?

The CD is available through Claddagh Records at http://www.claddaghrecords.com and you can learn more about Ciaran himself at http://www.comfiddle.com