Kerry Dances and Moonlight in Mayo
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the podcast version of Sunday Masalini, which differs from the radio version for rights reasons. We hope you enjoy the programme.
There's a pub in Dingle called The Mighty Session. It's at the bottom of Main Street and next door to the Dryad Beog, a pub that has hosted many a Mighty Session over the years. And I was lucky enough to attend what I believe was the mightiest of them. On the morning of August 10th, 1996, this Mayo man found himself in Dingle Mart for the agricultural show. While my Kerry farming relatives did have several fine specimens entered in competition, our main interest was in our two young nieces, who were going to be taking part in an Irish dancing display. The mart was thronged, the air humming with the music of gossip, agri-chatter, huckster-patter, fiddlers and box-players. The tunes were spirited, lively and rhythmic, the air's traditional and recognisable jigs, reels and horn-pipes.
The fragrance of perfume, candy-floss and freshly-baked apple-tarts mingled with the pungent odor of cow-dung and sweat. The morning had everything we loved about Dingle. The weather too was pleasant and warm, so by lunchtime I'd worked up a bit of a thirst.
What made the Dingle 'Mighty Session' stand out as a once-in-a-lifetime musical event?
The girls having displayed their prowess and the animals having strutted their stuff in the various show rings, I headed to the Dredbyog for a cold, refreshing pint. Having worked my way through the crowd of animated drinkers and settled at the bar, I became aware of the music that was wafting from the furthest corner, where the window looked out onto Main Street, the session corner. My foot was jigging, my head was bobbing, my fingers tapping on the countertop. Then I noted a quality to the music that was unique, exceptional even. I could hear instruments that wouldn't normally be heard at an afternoon session on Agricultural Show Day. There were arrangements too, pushes and riffs that were not generally part of the traditional music lexicon.
I lifted my pint, craned my head and shuffled away from the counter to get closer to the source of this enticing music. And the first thing I noticed was a big, upright double bass being played by a rangy, handsome, long-haired man in an open-necked shirt and an unmistakable groove. Surely that couldn't be Trevor Hutchinson of the Waterboys. No sooner had I confirmed my suspicions than I heard the whine of a familiar dobro. No, not Frankie Lane too. Not the lynchpin of the flag cowboys who I had watched leap around the stage and into the front boxes of the Olympia Theatre at many a late night gig. This warranted further investigation, so I elbowed my way forward relatively unapologetically for a better view.
And it was as if I slipped through a mystical veil into another world where I became transfixed and transported by the most eclectic mix of musicians playing traditional music in a way I had never heard it played before and bringing a whole new trad feel to chart hits and songwriter standards that I thought I knew. So, who else made up this gang of musical misfits, of saints and scoundrels? Double Bass and Dobro were joined by the melodious cries of several giddy accordions, played by Dermot Byrne, Moira Begley, Seamus Begley, and at the centre of it all, the wonderful and electrifying Sharon Shannon. Guitars were played by Donna Hennessy and the enigmatic barefoot legend Steve Cooney. And last, but by no means least, was my fellow mailman, Vinnie Kilduff, with his melodious mandolin.
Had I died and gone to heaven? No, I was very much alive, but yes, transported to a musical paradise. And this was all happening serenashka, free gratis and for nothing, in a pub in the heart of Dingle, in the middle of the day. These troubadours were definitely putting their stamp on this day, and the cultural into agricultural. And then, Lee Monwainly and Fíoch Nó Bréinán sashéed in, just for good measure. Later, during a break, I got chatting to Vinnie Kilduff. When I asked how they had all ended up here, he explained that Sharon Shannon was recording an album back west and some of the musicians were guesting on it, then others just heard who was about and were drawn like moths to a flame.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:18
2
What made the Dingle 'Mighty Session' stand out as a once-in-a-lifetime musical event?
1:18–24:24
3
Who were the musicians at the Dingle session and how did their lineup form spontaneously?
24:24–33:19
4
How did the All‑Ireland semi and final between Mayo and Kerry shape the narrator's Dingle memories?
33:19–34:09