Track Listing. 1. Reels: The New Found Out / The Drunken Landlady / The Thrush in the Storm 2. Jigs: Billy Cormack's / An Seanduine Dóite / Maguire's Kick 3. Flings: Her Golden Hair / The Cameronian Highlander 4. Reels: The Road to Cree / John Egan's / Sarah Hobbs 5. Jigs: Mike Rafferty's / Bímis ag Ól / The Lark in the Strand (Harp solo) 6. Reels: Charlie Mulvihill's / Farewell to Ireland 7. Flings: Joe Bane's / The Road to Glounthane (D Melodeon solo) 8. Reels: The Bag of Spuds / A View Across the Valley / The Galway Rambler 9. Jigs: The Whistler at the Wake / The Humours of Glynn 10. Reels: Joe Cooley's / The Virginia / Master Crowley's 11. Reels: Lady Gordon / The Rainy Day / Barr na Cúile (Concertina solo) 12. Jigs: The Shaskeen Jig / The Banks of Lough Gowna 13. Reels: The Green Mountain / The Hearty Bucks of Oranmore (Harp solo) 14. Slides: Pádraig O'Keefe's 1 & 2 / The Humours of Ballydaly 15. Reels: Gathering Sheep / Lad O'Beirne's / Paddy Gone to France 16. Jigs: Páidin O'Rafferty / John McHugh's / The Fog in the Bog 17. Reels. The Leitrim Lilter / Patsy Touhy's / The First Month of Spring Click on underscored titles to hear MP3 sound samples.

We are delighted to announce our release of this recording.

Notes from the Heart
(Clo Iar Chonnachta CICD 160)
Mick Mulcahy, Accordion & Melodeon.
Michelle Mulcahy, Fiddle, Concertina, Harp & Piano.
Louise Mulcahy, Concert Flute, Uilleann Pipes
with
Cyril O'Donoghue: Bouzouki & Guitar.
Tommy Hayes: Bodrhán.


#5 / Best Irish Traditional Albums of 2005
The Irish Echo, CEOL COLUMN By Earle Hitchner

Traditional Irish Music is a Family Affair!

"The Mulcahys of Abbeyfeale, County Limerick, are the most talented musical family in Ireland".
Don Meade, Irish Voice

liveIreland Awards 2006 Female Musicians of the Year---Michelle and Louise Mulcahy

The Irish Times, "A flawless gem". Siobhán Long ****

The Irish Echo, "Notes From the Heart" is chock-full of music that rewards the ears, stirs the mind, and lifts the soul", Earle Hitchner

The Irish World, "Great no-nonsense traditional stuff".

Live Ireland.com "What they do is the real, true deal. No embellishments. Straight. True. Pristine. The Mulcahys rank among the tops in this rarefied air". Bill Margeson

Taplas Dec /Jan 2006
"IF YOU like the 'pure drop', here it is - traditional Irish music at its natural, unadulterated and most seductive best".

Notes from the Heart is the new album from Mick Mulcahy and his two daughters, Louise and Michelle, from Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, released on the CIC label. It is an album of soulful traditional music, and will do much to confirm the family's reputation as great players with a particularly keen understanding of traditional Irish music.

Peadar Ó Riada remarks in the notes for this album that it is the sweetness and the tunefulness of the family's ensemble playing that is most striking, and he is right. Their music is full of melody and warmth, and is firmly rooted in the west Limerick and Sliabh Luachra styles, but also has a Clare influence. The Mulcahys play a dazzling array of instruments on the album; Mick plays accordion and melodeon, Louise plays concert flute and uilleann pipes and Michelle plays fiddle, concertina, harp and piano. Michelle is 20 years of age, and has recently completed her BA in music in UCC; Louise is 22 and is a primary-school teacher in Trim, Co. Meath. The 17 tracks on the album include a reel composed by Michelle, The Road to Cree, as well as a reel by Peadar Ó Riada, Gathering Sheep, and another by the great Mike Rafferty, The Thrush in the Storm. Accompaniment is provided by Cyril O'Donoghue on bouzouki and guitar, and by Tommy Hayes on bodhrán.

This is the second album from the family; their first, The Mulcahy Family, was released on the Shanachie label in 2000, and was lauded by the critics, who described it as 'a sparkling display of musical togetherness and individual expertise', and 'purely magical'.

Mick Mulcahy was born in Brosna in north Kerry, and lives in Abbeyfeale in west Limerick. His button accordion is his long-time companion and has won him many fans and friends. He has released two solo albums on the Gael Linn label, Mick Mulcahy (1977) and Mick Mulcahy agus Cairde (1990).

Copperplate is very proud to have this title on our roster and to help it achieve its full potential will be supporting this release with a full-scale promotional mail out to media and retail. Please copy us on any reviews/features/airplay. Feedback always welcome.

Also available from Copperplate The Mulcahy Family: Reelin' in Tradition

Press Reaction

Best Irish Traditional Albums of 2005

The Irish Echo CEOL Column By Earle Hitchner

Shortly after coming to the Irish Echo in 1991, I decided to compile an annual top 20 list of Irish traditional recordings that would stubbornly resist the trend to place albums in several, often arbitrary categories. I felt then, as I do now, that such category-crammed lists were thinly veiled attempts to pacify as many musicians, publicists, and record labels as possible by spreading acclaim like cheap margarine.
Critics, if they really are critics, should have the courage of their convictions and rank the recordings, no matter how difficult the process and unwieldy the challenge. To me, it's a matter of put up or shut up, and each year I choose to put up for "Ceol" readers.
Every one of these standout albums from 2005, unflinchingly ranked 1 to 10, belongs in your listening library.

(5) NOTES FROM THE HEART, by Mick, Louise, and Michelle Mulcahy (CICD 160)

Born in Brosna, North Kerry, and a resident of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick, button accordionist Mick Mulcahy proves the family who plays music together stays together. With daughters Louise on flute and uilleann pipes and Michelle on harp, fiddle, concertina, and piano, Mick previously issued "The Mulcahy Family" in 2000, and this second family outing is every bit as good and arguably more seasoned. The three pay homage to Galway-born, N.J.-resident flutist Mike Rafferty by performing two of his compositions, and Michelle tucks in one of her own tunes, "The Road to Cree." Every instrument heard here bears the unmistakable stamp of an adept. There are no lapses or weaknesses in this album pulsing with power, sensitivity, and buoyant swing. The most tantalizing elements of Sliabh Luachra and Clare traditions merge in their mutual playing, and their respective solos virtually glow. Still in their early 20s, Michelle and Louise display a level of proficiency and tuneful communication belying their youth, while Mick burnishes his reputation as a box player whose skill is comparable to that of Joe Cooley, Sonny Brogan, Tony MacMahon, and Bill Harte, all of whom influenced him.

[Published on January 25, 2006, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright (c) Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]

www.netrhythms.com
A joyous album of Irish traditional instrumental music, played with skill, tact and enthusiasm in roughly equal measures by a true family team from Co. Limerick (father and two daughters) who sound like they know (and appreciate) each other's abilities inside out and from easy familiarity born only of playing together for years. Comfortable in each other's company yes, but that situation belies the sense of vital independent maturity that the playing of the daughters (both barely into their 20s!) conveys.

The family's sparkling music-making still brings that all-important frisson of discovery that can light up even the most often well-trodden tunes - not that there are many of those on the interesting selection of material showcased on this album's generous 17 tracks (jigs, reels, a set of slides and - unusually - a couple of medleys of flings).

Most of the material is firmly rooted in the west Limerick and Sliabh Luachra styles, but there's also a Clare influence, and the tunes are played with a sweet and attractive combination of melody and warmth offsetting the family's undoubted virtuosity.

There's plenty of welcome variation in texture in the Mulcahys' instrumentation too, as Michelle moves effortlessly over to the harp for some reels (track 13) and a set of jigs (track 5) where she's deftly accompanied by just Tommy Hayes' bodhrán, and Louise swops her flute for the uilleann pipes on two sets of reels (tracks 6 and 8). As if that weren't enough, Michelle also gets to show off her fiery side on concertina on a reel learned from Noel Hill, whom she readily acknowledges a great influence (track 11), and her flute counterpoint to Mick's box on the Gathering Sheep reels set (track 15) is gorgeous, with a tinkling bouzouki and guitar backing (courtesy of guest Cyril O'Donoghue) building as the set progresses. Michelle also brings a gentle rhythmic piano accompaniment to several of the tracks, providing a neatly judged counterpoint to the pointed rhythms of Mick's ever-spirited box playing (melodeon or accordion) or else an altogether softer-edged swing to the proceedings (as on the set of reels forming track 10). Perhaps we don't get to hear enough of Michelle's prowess on fiddle, but her duet with flute on 4 is scintillating while the sounding-together of fiddle with Louise's pipes on the track 9 set of jigs is brilliantly managed. All the above examples serve to highlight the ensemble's expert approach to judging instrumental blend.

This exceptional musicality is but one aspect of this delightful CD that makes it such a pleasure to hear. It's a shame that the CD's title paints an unduly sentimental picture, but don't let that put you off what is a most stimulating and cheering release that should be played to anyone who professes to dislike Irish traditional music - I defy them not to be utterly charmed! David Kidman

www.irishmusicreview.com
Notes from the Heart is the second album to feature the West Limerick triumvirate of accordeonist Mick Mulcahy and his daughters Louise (flute and uilleann pipes) and Michelle (fiddle, concertina, harp and piano), though very much focuses upon tunes from the tradition of neighbouring Clare and, further north, Galway.
It's a very mellifluous brew and by far the most successful of these three albums, thanks to the kind of delicious instrumental interplay which only arises through (in this case, literally) familiarity. Their version of Junior Crehan's Her Long Golden Hair instantly sends the mind drifting towards Miltown Malbay; while Louise's pipes shine on a set of Sliabh Luachra slides. Geoff Wallis


liveIreland Awards 2006 Female Musicians of the Year---Michelle and Louise Mulcahy
The Mulcahy family put out a new album this year, Notes From The Heart. Michelle Mulcahy has redefined the harp. We saw her at Irish Fest in Milwaukee playing with a super group led by Mick Moloney. She was clearly the most amazing musician on a very crowded stage. Is there an instrument she does NOT play? But, it is the harp that has consumed her, and the harp is the better for it. She is a stunner. The grace and power of her playing simply has to be heard. What is she? 20? 21? Good Lord, you should have seen the other harp players watching her like hawks in her solo performance at the Fest. She is a prodigy. So is her fab sister, Louise. She is an equally stunning musician. A pipes player and great flautist, she and Michelle again remind us of these unbelievable families in Ireland that seem to nurture this music with their very souls. Right out of the ground. Louise is a great musician, shown in this album to her best. We can't wait to see her in person, as well. Both these young women have so much in front of them, and have already given so much. Aren't we lucky to have them? Bill Margeson

The Folk Diary Jan 06
You will have to go a long, long way to find a better album of traditional Irish music than this one by accordion-playing Mick and his daughters.

They play together with the instinctive understanding that only comes when close blood relations play together. Louise's flute and Michelle's fiddle dovetail beautifully with their father's playing. Their repertoire reflects Mick's background in the Sliabh Luachra area so we get slides as well as jigs and reels (but surprisingly, no polkas.)

Their main instruments should be enough to fill an album and delight on their own but the album also shows their multi-instrumental talents with Michelle switching to piano to accompany the accordion and Louise filling the ensemble sound with some superb playing on the Uillean pipes.
To add to the delight there is Michelle's lovely harp playing; a couple of solos and three lovely reels as a flute and harp duet. (Vic Smith)

Taplas Dec /Jan 2006

IF YOU like the 'pure drop', here it is - traditional Irish music at its natural, unadulterated and most seductive best.

The Mulcahys are ably supported here by Cyril O'Donoghue (bouzouki/guitar) and Tommy Hayes (bodhran). The standard of musicianship is incredible, especially from Michelle on harp, concertina and piano, as well as fiddle. Louise doubles flutes and uilleann pipes and dad Mick plays assorted accordions. Their ensemble precision betokens a life-time of playing together and, with brisk but unhurried tempi, they always seem to have room to do more, but don't need to, a sure sign of class!

This is just un-fussy tune sets, with each played only twice in most cases, making most tracks shortish, but we get seventeen of them - 45 tunes' in all. The instrumentation varies, giving each a share of the limelight. Michelle's harp solos are particularly appealing.

As most tunes are common enough and the pace firmly rhythmic, this is an ideal play-along-to-learn album, except that many pieces are performed on Eb instruments, or not in the 'normal' key. (Of course, there is transposition software on the internet to deal with such problems, if you! want to use D instruments). Someone get this family over here! Jem Hammond

The Living Tradition Nov / Dec 2005
This is the second album from box-player Mick Mulcahy and his daughters Michelle and Louise. More of the same? Yes, if we're talking about straight trad Irish jigs and reels, this CD is very similar to their 2000 recording.

But there are some important differences. Five years ago, both girls were still at school and had not been exposed to many influences outside their native Munster tradition. Now both have flown the nest, and the the family trio has toured extensively: the influences have broadened, and it is perhaps remarkable that their trio playing is still so tight and intuitive.

The repertoire here is about what you'd expect: traditional reels more than half the time, traditional jigs most of the rest, plus two tracks of flings (how did they get there?) and a set of slides from Padraig O'Keefe. The trio is augmented by Cyril O'Donoghue and Tommy Hayes on most tracks: no better men.

Louise is a mistress of flutes and pipes, and her sweet tone cuts through the earthier box and fiddle. 'Her Long Golden Hair' is the first of the flings here, and the flute floats above the surface with an easy grace in both octaves.

We get a glimpse of the feet under the swan in 'The Bag of Spuds', but Louise comes back strongly on 'Paddy O'Rafferty's'. She gives us three sets of fine piping too: 'Charlie Mulvihill's Reel', 'The Whistler At The Wake', and that set of slides, all with deft fingerwork and tasty regulators. Michelle moves from fiddle to concertina to harp and back, stopping off at the piano. Her harp solos are scintillating: reels and jigs played with power and panache, no concession to the complexity of the instrument.

Listen to 'The Green Mountain' or 'Bimis Ag 01', both great tunes boldly played. The concertina solo struggles to get going, but once she's on track Michelle steams through 'Barr Na Cuile' and 'The Rainy Day' without a backward glance.

Mick provides a solid anchor on the ensemble tracks, and a solo set of flings in fine form. The box sets the tempo, and adds bags of lift. Mick
Mulcahy is a veteran of dances, recordings and concert performances, and five years ago we were charmed to discover how well his teenage daughters could follow him: for teenagers, their music was outstanding. Now they stand in their own right as mature musicians, worldly wise but still true to their tradition. 'Notes From The Heart' is ample proof that the girls have not lost the local plot, and have grown into veteran
performers already. Alex Monaghan


Live Ireland Web Site- Nov 05
Here comes winter. K. We're ready, and here are two more albums that will warm us as the snow flies! First, just a quick note to thank all of you who called, posted and talked to us expressing your appreciation for last month's column on Sean O'Riada. A great figure, to be sure. Now, on to the business at hand!

First up is Notes From The Heart by the Mulcahy family from west Limerick. Father Mick is on the button box and melodeon, with daughters Louise on pipes and flutes and Michelle on fiddle, concertina, harp and piano. The album is on one of our favorite labels, Clo Iar-Chonnachta.
We may well be listening to the Instrumental Album of the Year. A few years ago, the Mulcahys released The Mulcahy Family to international acclaim, led by LiveIreland.com! We were alerted to these wonderful players by Mick Moloney, who raved about that album, and the musicianship of the whole thing. Led by the revolutionary and stunning harp playing of Michelle, we still think Mick didn't rave enough. And, the bottom line is that this album is even better! Here comes one whine. We wish the trio would have given us a couple airs---but that is small potatoes. What we are offered is a stunning array of gorgeous reels, jigs, flings and slides. The whole project is a perfect reflection of the Clare and Sliabh Luchara styles of playing. Michelle continues to bring the harp on and on with her miraculous and growing individual style. She appeared at Irish Fest in Milwaukee this past summer with Green Fields of America, as well as in solo performance and offered a living lesson in the tradition. She is, along with her sister, a jaw-dropping miracle of a prodigy. Modest, young and plays with a gift from God. Okay, we'll say it. She is also as cute as a button. Of course she stole our heart---ours and about 3,000 others at the performances. Anyway, her sister, Louise, is already among the top pipers in Ireland. We are well older than the ages of the two sisters combined. Talk about the future of Irish music!!! Dad, Mick, is among the most widely respected and liked musicians in Ireland. If he had done nothing more than raise these two, we would be in awe. Then, add the fact that he is also a wonderful box player. Wow!

There are so very, very few who can pull this off. By "this", we mean the true, real tradition. No frills. Mind you, we love the frills and accoutrement of the flashier groups, singers and all. We have often told you that to be a La Bottine, a Bridies, a North Cregg, a Maire ni Cathasaig and Chris Newman, Tommy Fleming or Cathie Ryan, or a Danu requires incredible traditionally-based talent to do what they do in the first place. Then, there are a smaller number of musicians like this. We think, of course, of The Brock-McGuire Band, The Tap Room Trio, Kevin Henry, Gary Hastings and a select band of others. What they do is the real, true deal. No embellishments. Straight. True. Pristine. The Mulcahys rank among the tops in this rarefied air. When a Paul Brock speaks glowingly about Mick Mulcahy's box playing, when a Mick Moloney is in awe of Michelle's talents and several great pipers ask you if you have heard Louise Mulcahy yet, you must know there is something extraordinary at work. There is. It is called the Mulcahy Family and the album is Notes From the Heart.
A blessing of an achievement. Traditional music, perfectly played. Period! Bill Margeson Rating: Four Harps


The Irish Music Magazine 11.05

The Mulcahy family's new CD,"Notes from the Heart", provides a generous and joyful selection of dance tunes, 17 tracks, and just short of an hour in duration. The father, Mick, and his two daughters, Louise and Michelle, play a variety of instruments, Mick (accordion and melodeon), Louise (concert flute and uilleann pipes), and Michelle (fiddle, concertina, harp and piano). Now there's talent for you!

Their friend, Peadar O'Riada, writes the CD notes that introduce us to the Mulcahys, and having listened to the CD, one is indeed happy to share his enthusiasm for their music, which, he says, is "of the highest quality".

The pleasure of listening to this second CD the Mulcahys have released, is hugely enhanced by the accompanying CD notes that are of the high standard we have come to expect of Clo lar-Chonnachta. The notes are detailed and the artwork and photo reproductions are of a high quality. Incidentally, it's all bilingual, English and Irish.

Peadar O'Riada's view of the family's music is worth quoting: "Their music has a clean, clear quality that is instantly recognisable. This music is rooted in Sliabhs Luachra and West Limerick but is also under the influence of the Clare tradition. I can always hear this as I listen to their tempo when they play reels. They have a nice rhythm to their jig playing as well and obviously are well in command of the art of playing slides and polkas." Peadar perceptively adds that it is "the sweetness and tunefulness of their ensemble playing that is most striking."

I find myself in total agreement with his statement that they play with authority and freedom, and I am at one with him in his view that "it is unusual to find music as mature in people so young as these girls..." The familiar and not-so-familiar are found on this CD, and musicians should know that quite a few are not commonly heard. The notes to tunes like The Bag of Spuds, The Galway Rambler, The Humours of Glynn, The Road to Cree, The Cameronian Highlander, etc., are full of fascinating and revealing detail and are most welcome. Aidan O'Hara


The Irish Post 24.09.05

Traditional Irish music family affair

NOTES From The Heart is the new album from Mick Mulcahy and his two daughters, Louise and Michelle, from Abbeyfeale. Co. Limerick.

It is an album of soulful traditional music, and will do much to confirm the family's reputation as great players with a particularly keen understanding of traditional Irish music.
Peadar O'Riada remarks in the notes for this album that it is the sweetness and the tunefulness of the family's ensemble playing that is most striking, and he is right. Their music is full of melody and warmth, and is firmly rooted in the west Limerick and Sliabh Luachra styles, but also has a Clare influence.

The Mulcahy family play a dazzling array of instruments on the album; Mick plays accordion and melodeon, Louise plays concert flute and uilleann pipes and Michelle plays fiddle, concertina, harp and piano.

The 17 tracks include a reel composed by Michelle, The Road to Cree, as well as a reel by Peadar O'Riada, Gathering Sheep, and another by the great Mike Rafferty, The Thrush in the Storm.

Accompaniment is provided by Cyril O'Donoghue on bouzouki, and guitar, and by Tommy Hayes on bodhran.

This is the second album from the family; their first, The Mulcahy Family, was released on the Shanachie label and lauded by critics who described it as "a sparkling display of musical togetherness and individual expertise", and "purely magical".

Mick Mulcahy was born in Brosna in north Kerry and lives in Abbeyfeale in west Limerick. His button accordion is his long-time companion and has won him many fans and friends. He has released two solo albums on the Gael Linn label, Mick Mulcahy (1977) and Mick Mulcahy agus Cairde (1990). Michelle is 20 and has recently completed her BA in music in UCC; Louise is 22 and is a primary-school teacher in Trim, Co. Meath.

Don Meade, the noted traditional music columnist with the Irish Voice of America reviewing the CD said: "The Mulcahys of Abbeyfeate, County Limerick, are the most talented musical family in Ireland." I cannot disagree with that. Joe Mullarkey

The Irish World 23.09.05
North Kerry born Mick Mulcahy and his two daughters Louise and Michelle know how to make traditional music. With a whole range of instrumental accomplishments between them, the Mulcahys have everything a traditional music fan could wish for.

The CD covers a number of established Irish tunes and Mick gives a helpful guide to the origins of each song, which is a great idea for those who incorrectly assume that all 'diddly diddly' music sounds the same.

As if these classic renditions weren't enough Michelle Mulcahy reveals her own creative talents in the composition of 'The Road to Cree', which she wrote in honour of the great fiddle player Patrick Kelly. Great no-nonsense traditional stuff.


The Irish Echo 22.09.05

CEOL Column
By Earle Hitchner

Mulcahys Make Magical Music in Limerick

At the heart of Irish traditional music is community, and it is not necessarily defined or limited by geography. You don't need to be a native to go native musically. All it takes are sincerity, respect, and commitment to gain entrée into this tight-knit global community, whether as a performer or as a fan.

Musical families are often the backbone of multi-generational continuity within that global community, and no musical family today is more impressive in upholding the best principles of the tradition than the Mulcahys of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick.

Originally from Brosna, North Kerry, button accordionist Mick Mulcahy himself was influenced by his father and an uncle, and Mick, in turn, has passed on that devotion to Irish traditional music to his two talented daughters: Louise, who plays flute, uilleann pipes, and whistle, and Michelle, who plays fiddle, harp, piano, concertina, and accordion. Both sisters are multiple All-Ireland champions. A member of the Brosna Céilí Band, who won the All-Ireland senior
championship in 1972, Mick Mulcahy released a self-titled solo album for Gael-Linn in 1976 and "Mick Mulcahy agus Cairde," another Gael-Linn recording, in 1990 that featured longtime playing partner Mick O'Connor on banjo.

In 1999 Louise Mulcahy appeared on "A New Dawn" (Na Píobairí Uilleann), spotlighting the skills of a younger generation of pipers, and in 2004 Michelle Mulcahy played harp on two tracks of "Legacy," a recording made by another prominent Limerick family of musicians, uilleann piper Mickey Dunne with his daughters Bríd on fiddle and Niamh on fiddle and vocal.
In 2000 Mick, Louise, and Michelle Mulcahy collaborated on "The Mulcahy Family," a Shanachie CD produced by Mick Moloney that finished in the Irish Echo's top 15 traditional albums for that year. Their new CD is "Notes From the Heart," which they produced on their own for Cló Iar-Chonnachta, the Galway-based company that now outshines all other labels worldwide for both quantity and quality of Irish traditional music releases. (Previously in 2005, CIC released "Fortune Favours the Merry" and "Within a Mile of Kilty," both enthusiastically reviewed in "Ceol.")

The teenaged sisters on "The Mulcahy Family" CD are now adults, and the greater maturity and seasoning of their playing brim with even more brio. Their uilleann pipes-fiddle duets on "Charlie Mulvihill's/Farewell to Ireland" reels, "The Whistler at the Wake/The Humours of Glynn" jigs, and "Pádraig O'Keeffe's 1 & 2/The Humours of Ballydaly" slides, along with their flute-harp duet on "The Bag of Spuds/A View From Across the Valley/The Galway Rambler" reels, are exemplars of tempo, precision, energy, expertise, and invention all rolled together. Their virtuosity
matches their versatility.

Michelle's harp solos on "Mike Rafferty's/Bímis ag Ól/The Lark on the Strand" jigs, with delicate bodhrán work from Tommy Hayes, and especially "The Green Mountain/The Hearty Bucks of Oranmore" reels confirm she is one of Ireland's most adroit and creative harpers. And her concertina solo on "Lady Gordon/The Rainy Day/Barr na Cúile" reels reveals a flair reminiscent of Clare's Noel Hill and Meath's Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh.
Mick Mulcahy is understandably proud of his two daughters' musical skill and gives them ample room on the CD to display it. But he also affirms his position as one of Ireland's best box players with a buoyant solo on "Joe Banne's/The Road to Glounthane" flings, backed with a nimble lightness on bones by Hayes.

The majority of the CD showcases the Mulcahys' fluid, lively, close trio playing. It sparkles on "Páidín O'Rafferty/John McHugh's/The Fog in the Bog" and "Billy McCormack's/An Seanduine Dóite/Maguire's Kick" jigs, as well as on "Cooley's/The Virginia/Master Crowley's," "Gathering Sheep/Lad O'Beirne's/Paddy's Gone to France," "The New Found Out/The Drunken Landlady/The Thrush in the Storm," and "The Leitrim Lilter/Patsy Touhy's/The First Month of Spring" reels. Michelle wrote the first reel in "The Road to Cree/John Egan's/Sarah Hobbs," a superb medley that
starts with a brisk flute-fiddle duet from the sisters, who are soon joined by their father.

The accompaniment of Hayes and Providence's Cyril O'Donoghue on bouzouki and guitar adds properly moderated percussion and rhythm to the Mulcahy mix and keeps it in the forefront where it belongs.

On their album Mick, Louise, and Michelle acknowledge Mike Rafferty, raised in Ballinakill, Galway, and residing in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., whose masterful music inspired them to include three tunes learned from or linked to him: "The Thrush in the Storm," "The Shaskeen Jig," and "Mike Rafferty's."

Bearing strong testimony to the ongoing power of family in the Irish tradition, "Notes From the Heart" is chock-full of music that rewards the ears, stirs the mind, and lifts the soul. Earle Hitchner

[Published on September 21, 2005, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright (c) Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of author.]

The Irish Times
If only all cardiac muscles were as resilient as those of the Mulcahy clan. Notes from the Heart is proof-positive that creative genius needs no fancy PR machine to flourish. This is the purest drop, and yet it's bursting with a contemporary inventiveness that guarantees its relevance to neophyte and stalwart alike. These Abbeyfeale Mulcahys are no strangers to the feisty lift of Sliabh Luachra, yet there's a gentility to Michelle's harp, and a fluidity to Louise's flute that hint at a fondness for Clare, where a tincture more light shines and catches the notes. As well as some lovely tunes from Vincent Broderick, Mick lets the box bask deep in the belly of a pair of flings, including The Road to Glounthane. A flawless gem. Siobhán Long ****

Louise is a mistress of flutes and pipes, and her sweet tone cuts through the earthier box and fiddle. 'Her Long Golden Hair' is the first of the flings here, and the flute floats above the surface with an easy grace in both octaves.

We get a glimpse of the feet under the swan in 'The Bag of Spuds', but Louise comes back strongly on 'Paddy O'Rafferty's'. She gives us three sets of fine piping too: 'Charlie Mulvihill's Reel', 'The Whistler At The Wake', and that set of slides, all with deft fingerwork and tasty regulators. Michelle moves from fiddle to concertina to harp and back, stopping off at the piano. Her harp solos are scintillating: reels and jigs played with power and panache, no concession to the complexity of the instrument.

Listen to 'The Green Mountain' or 'Bimis Ag 01', both great tunes boldly played. The concertina solo struggles to get going, but once she's on track Michelle steams through 'Barr Na Cuile' and 'The Rainy Day' without a backward glance.

Mick provides a solid anchor on the ensemble tracks, and a solo set of flings in fine form. The box sets the tempo, and adds bags of lift. Mick
Mulcahy is a veteran of dances, recordings and concert performances, and five years ago we were charmed to discover how well his teenage daughters could follow him: for teenagers, their music was outstanding. Now they stand in their own right as mature musicians, worldly wise but still true to their tradition. 'Notes From The Heart' is ample proof that the girls have not lost the local plot, and have grown into veteran
performers already. Alex Monaghan


Live Ireland Web Site- Nov 05
Here comes winter. K. We're ready, and here are two more albums that will warm us as the snow flies! First, just a quick note to thank all of you who called, posted and talked to us expressing your appreciation for last month's column on Sean O'Riada. A great figure, to be sure. Now, on to the business at hand!

First up is Notes From The Heart by the Mulcahy family from west Limerick. Father Mick is on the button box and melodeon, with daughters Louise on pipes and flutes and Michelle on fiddle, concertina, harp and piano. The album is on one of our favorite labels, Clo Iar-Chonnachta.
We may well be listening to the Instrumental Album of the Year. A few years ago, the Mulcahys released The Mulcahy Family to international acclaim, led by LiveIreland.com! We were alerted to these wonderful players by Mick Moloney, who raved about that album, and the musicianship of the whole thing. Led by the revolutionary and stunning harp playing of Michelle, we still think Mick didn't rave enough. And, the bottom line is that this album is even better! Here comes one whine. We wish the trio would have given us a couple airs---but that is small potatoes. What we are offered is a stunning array of gorgeous reels, jigs, flings and slides. The whole project is a perfect reflection of the Clare and Sliabh Luchara styles of playing. Michelle continues to bring the harp on and on with her miraculous and growing individual style. She appeared at Irish Fest in Milwaukee this past summer with Green Fields of America, as well as in solo performance and offered a living lesson in the tradition. She is, along with her sister, a jaw-dropping miracle of a prodigy. Modest, young and plays with a gift from God. Okay, we'll say it. She is also as cute as a button. Of course she stole our heart---ours and about 3,000 others at the performances. Anyway, her sister, Louise, is already among the top pipers in Ireland. We are well older than the ages of the two sisters combined. Talk about the future of Irish music!!! Dad, Mick, is among the most widely respected and liked musicians in Ireland. If he had done nothing more than raise these two, we would be in awe. Then, add the fact that he is also a wonderful box player. Wow!

There are so very, very few who can pull this off. By "this", we mean the true, real tradition. No frills. Mind you, we love the frills and accoutrement of the flashier groups, singers and all. We have often told you that to be a La Bottine, a Bridies, a North Cregg, a Maire ni Cathasaig and Chris Newman, Tommy Fleming or Cathie Ryan, or a Danu requires incredible traditionally-based talent to do what they do in the first place. Then, there are a smaller number of musicians like this. We think, of course, of The Brock-McGuire Band, The Tap Room Trio, Kevin Henry, Gary Hastings and a select band of others. What they do is the real, true deal. No embellishments. Straight. True. Pristine. The Mulcahys rank among the tops in this rarefied air. When a Paul Brock speaks glowingly about Mick Mulcahy's box playing, when a Mick Moloney is in awe of Michelle's talents and several great pipers ask you if you have heard Louise Mulcahy yet, you must know there is something extraordinary at work. There is. It is called the Mulcahy Family and the album is Notes From the Heart.
A blessing of an achievement. Traditional music, perfectly played. Period! Bill Margeson Rating: Four Harps


The Irish Music Magazine 11.05

The Mulcahy family's new CD,"Notes from the Heart", provides a generous and joyful selection of dance tunes, 17 tracks, and just short of an hour in duration. The father, Mick, and his two daughters, Louise and Michelle, play a variety of instruments, Mick (accordion and melodeon), Louise (concert flute and uilleann pipes), and Michelle (fiddle, concertina, harp and piano). Now there's talent for you!

Their friend, Peadar O'Riada, writes the CD notes that introduce us to the Mulcahys, and having listened to the CD, one is indeed happy to share his enthusiasm for their music, which, he says, is "of the highest quality".

The pleasure of listening to this second CD the Mulcahys have released, is hugely enhanced by the accompanying CD notes that are of the high standard we have come to expect of Clo lar-Chonnachta. The notes are detailed and the artwork and photo reproductions are of a high quality. Incidentally, it's all bilingual, English and Irish.

Peadar O'Riada's view of the family's music is worth quoting: "Their music has a clean, clear quality that is instantly recognisable. This music is rooted in Sliabhs Luachra and West Limerick but is also under the influence of the Clare tradition. I can always hear this as I listen to their tempo when they play reels. They have a nice rhythm to their jig playing as well and obviously are well in command of the art of playing slides and polkas." Peadar perceptively adds that it is "the sweetness and tunefulness of their ensemble playing that is most striking."

I find myself in total agreement with his statement that they play with authority and freedom, and I am at one with him in his view that "it is unusual to find music as mature in people so young as these girls..." The familiar and not-so-familiar are found on this CD, and musicians should know that quite a few are not commonly heard. The notes to tunes like The Bag of Spuds, The Galway Rambler, The Humours of Glynn, The Road to Cree, The Cameronian Highlander, etc., are full of fascinating and revealing detail and are most welcome. Aidan O'Hara


The Irish Post 24.09.05

Traditional Irish music family affair

NOTES From The Heart is the new album from Mick Mulcahy and his two daughters, Louise and Michelle, from Abbeyfeale. Co. Limerick.

It is an album of soulful traditional music, and will do much to confirm the family's reputation as great players with a particularly keen understanding of traditional Irish music.
Peadar O'Riada remarks in the notes for this album that it is the sweetness and the tunefulness of the family's ensemble playing that is most striking, and he is right. Their music is full of melody and warmth, and is firmly rooted in the west Limerick and Sliabh Luachra styles, but also has a Clare influence.

The Mulcahy family play a dazzling array of instruments on the album; Mick plays accordion and melodeon, Louise plays concert flute and uilleann pipes and Michelle plays fiddle, concertina, harp and piano.

The 17 tracks include a reel composed by Michelle, The Road to Cree, as well as a reel by Peadar O'Riada, Gathering Sheep, and another by the great Mike Rafferty, The Thrush in the Storm.

Accompaniment is provided by Cyril O'Donoghue on bouzouki, and guitar, and by Tommy Hayes on bodhran.

This is the second album from the family; their first, The Mulcahy Family, was released on the Shanachie label and lauded by critics who described it as "a sparkling display of musical togetherness and individual expertise", and "purely magical".

Mick Mulcahy was born in Brosna in north Kerry and lives in Abbeyfeale in west Limerick. His button accordion is his long-time companion and has won him many fans and friends. He has released two solo albums on the Gael Linn label, Mick Mulcahy (1977) and Mick Mulcahy agus Cairde (1990). Michelle is 20 and has recently completed her BA in music in UCC; Louise is 22 and is a primary-school teacher in Trim, Co. Meath.

Don Meade, the noted traditional music columnist with the Irish Voice of America reviewing the CD said: "The Mulcahys of Abbeyfeate, County Limerick, are the most talented musical family in Ireland." I cannot disagree with that. Joe Mullarkey

The Irish World 23.09.05
North Kerry born Mick Mulcahy and his two daughters Louise and Michelle know how to make traditional music. With a whole range of instrumental accomplishments between them, the Mulcahys have everything a traditional music fan could wish for.

The CD covers a number of established Irish tunes and Mick gives a helpful guide to the origins of each song, which is a great idea for those who incorrectly assume that all 'diddly diddly' music sounds the same.

As if these classic renditions weren't enough Michelle Mulcahy reveals her own creative talents in the composition of 'The Road to Cree', which she wrote in honour of the great fiddle player Patrick Kelly. Great no-nonsense traditional stuff.


The Irish Echo 22.09.05

CEOL Column
By Earle Hitchner

Mulcahys Make Magical Music in Limerick

At the heart of Irish traditional music is community, and it is not necessarily defined or limited by geography. You don't need to be a native to go native musically. All it takes are sincerity, respect, and commitment to gain entrée into this tight-knit global community, whether as a performer or as a fan.

Musical families are often the backbone of multi-generational continuity within that global community, and no musical family today is more impressive in upholding the best principles of the tradition than the Mulcahys of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick.

Originally from Brosna, North Kerry, button accordionist Mick Mulcahy himself was influenced by his father and an uncle, and Mick, in turn, has passed on that devotion to Irish traditional music to his two talented daughters: Louise, who plays flute, uilleann pipes, and whistle, and Michelle, who plays fiddle, harp, piano, concertina, and accordion. Both sisters are multiple All-Ireland champions. A member of the Brosna Céilí Band, who won the All-Ireland senior
championship in 1972, Mick Mulcahy released a self-titled solo album for Gael-Linn in 1976 and "Mick Mulcahy agus Cairde," another Gael-Linn recording, in 1990 that featured longtime playing partner Mick O'Connor on banjo.

In 1999 Louise Mulcahy appeared on "A New Dawn" (Na Píobairí Uilleann), spotlighting the skills of a younger generation of pipers, and in 2004 Michelle Mulcahy played harp on two tracks of "Legacy," a recording made by another prominent Limerick family of musicians, uilleann piper Mickey Dunne with his daughters Bríd on fiddle and Niamh on fiddle and vocal.
In 2000 Mick, Louise, and Michelle Mulcahy collaborated on "The Mulcahy Family," a Shanachie CD produced by Mick Moloney that finished in the Irish Echo's top 15 traditional albums for that year. Their new CD is "Notes From the Heart," which they produced on their own for Cló Iar-Chonnachta, the Galway-based company that now outshines all other labels worldwide for both quantity and quality of Irish traditional music releases. (Previously in 2005, CIC released "Fortune Favours the Merry" and "Within a Mile of Kilty," both enthusiastically reviewed in "Ceol.")

The teenaged sisters on "The Mulcahy Family" CD are now adults, and the greater maturity and seasoning of their playing brim with even more brio. Their uilleann pipes-fiddle duets on "Charlie Mulvihill's/Farewell to Ireland" reels, "The Whistler at the Wake/The Humours of Glynn" jigs, and "Pádraig O'Keeffe's 1 & 2/The Humours of Ballydaly" slides, along with their flute-harp duet on "The Bag of Spuds/A View From Across the Valley/The Galway Rambler" reels, are exemplars of tempo, precision, energy, expertise, and invention all rolled together. Their virtuosity
matches their versatility.

Michelle's harp solos on "Mike Rafferty's/Bímis ag Ól/The Lark on the Strand" jigs, with delicate bodhrán work from Tommy Hayes, and especially "The Green Mountain/The Hearty Bucks of Oranmore" reels confirm she is one of Ireland's most adroit and creative harpers. And her concertina solo on "Lady Gordon/The Rainy Day/Barr na Cúile" reels reveals a flair reminiscent of Clare's Noel Hill and Meath's Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh.
Mick Mulcahy is understandably proud of his two daughters' musical skill and gives them ample room on the CD to display it. But he also affirms his position as one of Ireland's best box players with a buoyant solo on "Joe Banne's/The Road to Glounthane" flings, backed with a nimble lightness on bones by Hayes.

The majority of the CD showcases the Mulcahys' fluid, lively, close trio playing. It sparkles on "Páidín O'Rafferty/John McHugh's/The Fog in the Bog" and "Billy McCormack's/An Seanduine Dóite/Maguire's Kick" jigs, as well as on "Cooley's/The Virginia/Master Crowley's," "Gathering Sheep/Lad O'Beirne's/Paddy's Gone to France," "The New Found Out/The Drunken Landlady/The Thrush in the Storm," and "The Leitrim Lilter/Patsy Touhy's/The First Month of Spring" reels. Michelle wrote the first reel in "The Road to Cree/John Egan's/Sarah Hobbs," a superb medley that
starts with a brisk flute-fiddle duet from the sisters, who are soon joined by their father.

The accompaniment of Hayes and Providence's Cyril O'Donoghue on bouzouki and guitar adds properly moderated percussion and rhythm to the Mulcahy mix and keeps it in the forefront where it belongs.

On their album Mick, Louise, and Michelle acknowledge Mike Rafferty, raised in Ballinakill, Galway, and residing in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., whose masterful music inspired them to include three tunes learned from or linked to him: "The Thrush in the Storm," "The Shaskeen Jig," and "Mike Rafferty's."

Bearing strong testimony to the ongoing power of family in the Irish tradition, "Notes From the Heart" is chock-full of music that rewards the ears, stirs the mind, and lifts the soul. Earle Hitchner

[Published on September 21, 2005, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright (c) Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of author.]

The Irish Times
If only all cardiac muscles were as resilient as those of the Mulcahy clan. Notes from the Heart is proof-positive that creative genius needs no fancy PR machine to flourish. This is the purest drop, and yet it's bursting with a contemporary inventiveness that guarantees its relevance to neophyte and stalwart alike. These Abbeyfeale Mulcahys are no strangers to the feisty lift of Sliabh Luachra, yet there's a gentility to Michelle's harp, and a fluidity to Louise's flute that hint at a fondness for Clare, where a tincture more light shines and catches the notes. As well as some lovely tunes from Vincent Broderick, Mick lets the box bask deep in the belly of a pair of flings, including The Road to Glounthane. A flawless gem. Siobhán Long ****