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Josie McDermott was an Irish flute player from lived in Coolmeen, Sligo, near the border with Roscommon & Leitrim, in an area rich in folklore and musical traditions.
Tag Archives: Irish Flute
John Joe Gardiner (1892–1979) was an influential Irish flute & fiddle player from Corhubber, Ballymote in Co. Sligo. From a musical family, his father Séamus was a fiddler and bandmaster, and his mother Ellen was a dancer. His sister Kathleen Harrington (née Gardiner) was an influential fiddle player & their home was a popular céilí house.
Patsy Hanly is an Irish flute player from Kilrooskey, County Roscommon. He is an influential player in the Roscommon / North Connaught style of flute playing.
Mike Rafferty was an Irish flute player from Ballinakill in Co. Galway, who emigrated to the US and became a major figure in Irish traditional music there.
Born in 1926, he learned his music from his father Barrell Rafferty, who played flute and uilleann pipes. In 1949 he emigrated to the US where he married and raised a family of 5.
He toured all over the US with the group the Green Fields of America, and was influential in the early days of Comhaltas, as a member of the Martin Mulvihill Branch.
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Below is a series of recordings demonstrating polymer flutes made by Des Seery from Co. Wicklow. Sadly Des is no longer with us, so I’ve kept the CD up here for posterity. I don’t have much information about the recording, other than that the musicians are Pat Fitzpatrick, Eamonn de Barra and Ken Murphy.
Jim Donoghue (1910-90) was a Sligo tin whistle player, known for his style of playing the “Clarke Whistle” – he played in a strong, rhythmic style with a tone that approached that of the Irish flute. He obtained his unique tone by working or “humouring” the fipple of his Clarke tin whistle, and played many of his tunes in unique settings. Below is his version of the Battering Ram jig.
Vincent Broderick’s reel or Midsummer’s Night, reel on Irish flute associated with the Irish flute player Vincent Broderick. See also Broderick’s Jig and the Haunted House, two other tunes associated with him.
The Sailor’s Bonnet, reel associated with John McKenna, the Irish flute player from County Leitrim. Played here on tin whistle
John McKenna was an influential Irish flute player. Born in 1880 in Tarmon, Co Leitrim, he worked in the Arigna coal mines before emigrating to the States in 1911, where he settled in New York. He made 60 recordings (78s) between 1921 and 1937, including several duets with violinist James Morrisson. He was among the first to make recordings of Irish traditional music, with James Morrisson (fiddle), Patsy Tuohy (uilleann pipes) and other emigrant musicians, at the time of Francis O’Neill’s book “The Dance Music of Ireland.
The group Cruinniu playing at the Cooley/Collins festival, with 3 tunes : the Boys of Bluehill and 2 reels. With Jack Talty (keyboard), Ann Marie Grogan (flute), Caitlíin Nic Gabhann (concertina), Siobhán O’Donnell (bodhrán and vocals), Damien O’Reilly (accordion) and Áine Bird (fiddle).