February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Also featuring four duets with flutist Frank Neylon and piano
backup from Tom McSharry or Hermeline German, the 20 tracks were put
together by a famous fiddler strictly for my own archival appreciation,
and it saddens me that these recordings and select others from the 1950s
by Paddy Cronin have not yet been collected on a commercial CD. His
virtuosity will stun anyone unfamiliar with his playing in this period.
For many years a resident of Boston, Paddy Cronin was taught by a
Sliabh Luachra legend, P_draig O’Keeffe (1887-1963), a fiddler from
Glauntane whom Cronin described as simply “the greatest.” The long,
nurturing legacy of O’Keeffe has not waned in Sliabh Luachra music,
which is mainly dance music, specifically polkas and slides, plus some
exquisitely performed slow airs.
The Sliabh Luachra musical pantheon also includes fiddlers Johnny
Cronin (Paddy’s brother), Denis Murphy, his sister Julia Clifford, Tom
Billy Murphy, Dan O’Leary, Mick Duggan, Maurice O’Keeffe, and Jerry
McCarthy. Among notable Sliabh Luachra button accordionists are Johnny
O’Leary, Jackie Daly, Jimmie Doyle, Denis O’Keeffe, Dan O’Herlihy, and
John Brosnan.
On the merits of his fine, self-issued solo debut, “Different State,”
Paudie O’Connor deserves consideration for that latter list. From
Ballyhar, Kerry, the 30-year-old button accordionist expertly navigates
the tricky terrain between music intended for dancing and music intended
for listening. When performed at their apex, jigs, reels, slides,
polkas, and hornpipes should be both. Classic c