Parish Centre, Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, FRIDAY 11TH @ 8.30pm Admission €10
SEAMUS
BEGLEY
Begley comes from the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) of Dingle, in Co. Kerry,
the son of local accordionist Bhreandáin Bheaglaoich. He played music from an
early age, and at 14 started playing accordion at local dances. In 1972 he
recorded his first album, An Ciarraíoch Mallaithe with his sister Máire. He
lived in Chicago, working as a truck driver, in 1976, and since then has lived
in Kerry. Máire and Séamus made a second album for Gael Linn in 1989, with
Seamus on accordion,. Máire on piano and piano-accordion, both singing, and
introducing Stephen Cooney on guitar and piano.
Freewheeling, free spirited, and powered by an appetite for traditional music's
outer reaches, this master of the squeeze box leaves little to chance. If it's a
shot in the arm you're after, Begley's the man to call on - he seems to have
successfully married all the wildness of West Kerry with a sublime talent for
the feather-light touch, when required.
Instruments played: Accordion, Vocals
Seamus Begley & Jim Murray
Seamus Begley comes from the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) of Dingle, in Co. Kerry. Initially best known for his work with the Australian guitarist Steve Cooney, Seamus is the quintessential Irish musician, an eager storyteller famed for his sharp wit and for pumping out tune after tune at all-night sessions. He plays with an energy that is alarming, belting out jigs, slides and polkas with rapid sprays of ornamentation before making a sudden key change into a bitter-sweet air, sung or played on the accordion. In short, he is the finest exponent of West Kerry dance music.
In recent years, Seamus has been performing with the young guitarist Jim Murray from Macroom in West Cork, a pupil of Steve Cooney. Like his partner, Jim plays with a passion and rhythmic intensity that has to be heard to be believed. His use of nylon strings, fairly unusual in Irish music, gives a very percussive sound to his guitar. Using nylon as opposed to steel also allows him to create a more mellow sound on the slower, lyrical tunes.
In 2001, their album, Ragairne (Revelling at Night), won the Hot Press Magazine award for Folk and Traditional Album of the Year. Since then, they have continued to galvanise dancers and mesmerise audiences at home and abroad.