Just found this video
while browsing YouTube. I think this is an informative find for those who want to know traditional Scottish music , especially the music of the Hebrides.
If you listen carefully you’ll notice that she has a pure, natural voice which is rare.
I first saw Eddi Reader at “An Evening with Jools Holland” and from then on my interest was piqued. She has a fantastic voice and vibrant persona. Well this year our Scottish crooner is back with the new album Love is the Way. The new single is Roses.
The video shows her walking around the field with her guitar, accordion and flute. The song has that happy , easy , toe tapping quality. It’s so sweet it will leave even your heavy metal companion melting. Her bio says she’s born in 1959. I had my mouth hanging open. She doesn’t look her age at all, and more importantly she looks gorgeous.
She is a nominee on the upcoming IMA (Ireland’s Music Awards) which I wrote about here. So cast your votes now.
You can go to her official site by clicking at the album art. Now I am smiling. I really am!
Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Mhao) was a female Irish pirate who still enchants our imaginations. Frankly I didn’t know her until the book Island of the White Cow fell on my hands. It recounts the experience of an American poet from the Midwest who settled in an unmodernized island off the west coast of Ireland. The Pirate queen was given a huge reference in that book .
In her old age O’Malley was given pardon. She met Elizabeth I at Kentwell and as history puts it, they conversed in Latin-their only common language. They apparently built a rapport which was inevitable; being two strong women with great minds. I will let this video do the talking.
I discovered W. B. Yeats in college and ever since his poetry is something I read from time to time when I want to feel good.There is this distinct sadness in his poetry that is so beautiful. Here’s one taken from the collection of the same title.
THE WILD SWANS AT COOLE
THE trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty Swans.
The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.
I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All’s changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.
Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.
But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake’s edge or pool
Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?
And since we are in the subject of swans, then listen check this video by Loreena McKennitt called The Bonny Swans.
I love the Internet. It makes the world smaller. It helps me get into different places without really traveling. It gets me into people’s minds, learn their history and thoughts without having to travel half the world away. Such is the fun I got when I stumbled upon LIVEIRELAND.COM. Yes, keep those blues away, relax and listen to the beauty of Irish music.
Daithi Locha is our guest for today and he will show us a glimpse of that LiveIreland radio is all about. Note that this is also my first interview for this blog!
1. What is liveireland.com?
LiveIreland is essentially a co-op Internet radio station set up by broadcast radio students in 1999 to hone their skills for the world of media entertainment. It has since developed into a live Irish media site in its own right.
2. What are the goals that the show wants to accomplish?
To spread Irish music and culture to a worldwide audience using the latest and experimental webcast mediums out there.
2. How do you describe your work?
It’s a hobby not work!!
3. Any quirks having this job?
Lack of time.
4. How many members are there?
Over 3000 members and 40,000+ listeners every 24 hours.
5. How do you relax and where do you hangout?
Clay shooting, Running, The Gym and Lemon Jelly in Temple bar. The official liveIreland coffee shop!
6. Favorite music/bands?
Current Irish and Folk: Planxty, Damien Dempsey, Cora Smyth, Sean Keane, Eddi Reader, Mike McGoldrick, Liam O’Flynn.
Current Other Music: Bat for Lashes, Empire of the Sun, MGMT, Goldfrap, Hot Chip, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
7. What’s your message to new listeners?
Tune in, close your eyes and smell the Irish countryside. Thirty minutes a day for the best stress beater anywhere!
Celtic Music Fan 