Chief O’Neill: The Book, Coming This Summer
Walsh Whiskey, based in Carlow, produce a fine single malt whiskey called Writers’ Tears. It is my favourite tipple at this time, and not just because of the flavour. The Read More …
Tag: Cork
East At Glendart
Nineteenth century figures who came from the Far West and loved the Far East.
The Grassy Green Pillow
On a recent visit to West Cork, I had the fortune to properly explore Tralibane and the surrounding area. I was bowled over by the hospitality of the people there, Read More …
Bantry Chief O’Neill Festival 2019
Bantry is a beautiful town in West Cork, not too far from Tralibane where Francis O’Neill was born. This year’s 2019 Chief O’Neill festival kicks off tomorrow (September 6) in Read More …
The Tragedy of Tralibane Bridge
If you closely read O’Neill’s work, Tralibane bridge turns out to be personally very important to him, as a place and a tune.
The Boys From The East
I have been struck recently by a number of remarkable historical connections between Japan and West Cork (and even Bantry in particular). Of course, O’Neill visited Yokohama in his early Read More …
Chief O’Neill Traditional Music Festival in Bantry
O’Neill released a major work of historical and contemporary research on the topic of Irish music in 1913 titled Irish Minstrels and Musicians. Not only did it advance the serious Read More …
Bantry Bay Revisited
Return to Bantry Bay. Just as Francis O’Neill returned in very different circumstances from when he left at 16— in his mid-fifties as a newly retired Chicago Chief of Police. Read More …
Ronan O’Kelly’s Ireland
As we move into summer and hopefully better weather, time to think about what to do on the holidays. A music festival is always a good option and, as I Read More …
The Mist Covered Mountain
Many of the tunes O’Neill collected made reference in their names to the fairy folklore of Ireland: The Fairy Queen, King of the Fairies, The Fairy Boy etc. In Victorian Read More …