Many years ago, I had the privilege of being hired to sub on the mandolin and fiddle for a band in Northampton called Klezamir. There, I met Brian Bender, a piano player who was interested in many styles of music. During the break, we chatted about how we got into the styles of music we like to play. He mentioned going to Israel to study Klezmer. He asked me if I'd ever gone to Ireland. Up till then the answer was no.
My Grandfather on my Mother's side was Thomas Kielty. His family is from County Wicklow, just south of Dublin. They came to America in the 19th century around the great famine. My Mother was discriminated against by many people in the early years, but that's another story. The idea of going over to Ireland was exciting!
The summer of 1995, Brian and I were playing music for a dance at a party in Ashfield, MA. There, I met an Irish set dancer named Maire Doherty. She learned about my desire to go to Ireland and invited me to stay with her at her BnB in Kilfenora. That summer, my wife and I decided to go!
Our trip to Ireland was one of the best trips I've ever taken. We flew in to the airport and rented a little red car with the steering wheel on the right and the gear shift in the middle. The journey from Limerick to Kilfenora could have been much faster, but I was jet lagged and not familiar with the car. The roads in Ireland are narrow and there's only room for one car. So if someone's coming your way, you have to get over, usually ending up in a bush/hedge or someone's field.
The weather on that first day was overcast, spitting rain. But the drive to Maire's house was beautiful and I felt like we had entered another world, a magical place. I maintained this feeling throughout the trip. We were there for six weeks. Two in Kilfenora, where I played at Linane's Pub in the center of town, and went to the Kilfenora Set Dance on Thursday nights. We toured around County Clare, to the Cliffs of Mohr, to Doolin, Lisdoonvarna, and many other places. One time we went up to Galway and Connemara. We tried to stay away from tourists, to catch as much music as possible, and to go hiking and walking at every destination spot.
I had the pleasure of learning how to play the treble from Frankie Gavin during a break at a concert in Cork.
