Various Artists: Within A Mile of Kilty 2
Traditional Irish Music from North Leitrim,
featuring John Gordon, Ben Lennon, Charlie Lennon, Brian Rooney, Maurice Lennon, Seamus Quinn and Brian Lennon.
Kiltyclogher is a small village in the north of County Leitrim. It sits on the border of Leitrim (Republic of Ireland) and Fermanagh (Northern Ireland)and has a population of approximately 150 people.
From this small border village and its environs a unique cluster of traditional Irish musicians have emerged over the last eighty years. The styles presented on this, the second volume of this collection, are as varied as if the musicians had come from all over Ireland. There is, however, a common thread running through their playing, despite the fact that the featured musicians range in age from being born in the 1920s through to the 1960s. When the first volume was released in 2005, only one of the featured musicians, John Gordon, had passed on, in 2002, three years before its release; sadly, another great musician featured here, Ben Lennon, passed away in 2020.
This CD represents a collection of recordings by these musicians recorded over the last sixty years – some in studios, others at home. Plus 20 page booklet
Audio
Track 1: Templehouse/ Morning Dew: Seamus Quinn
Track 2: John Gordon: The Primrose Polka
Track 3: Brian Rooney: Mullingar Races
Track 4: Ben, Charlie & Brian Lennon: Down the Broom / The Gatehouse Maid
Track Listing
- Jigs: Stick Across the Hob/Richard Brennan 's Favourite. Seamus Quinn 3.35
- Hornpipes: McCormack/Dunphy's. Ben Lennon & Seamus Quinn 3.05
- Reels: Miss McGuinness./Lucky in Love. Ben & Brian Lennon 2.28
- Reels: Pride of Rathmore /The Ballinamore. Charlie Lennon 2.59
- Reels: Down the Broom/The Gatehouse Maid/ Molloy’s. Ben, Charlie & Brian Lennon 4.14
- Air: On Leaving Lough Melvin’s Shore. Maurice Lennon 3.36
- Reels: Humours of Scariff/ Green Mountain. Brian Rooney 2.12
- Reels: Bonny Kate/Jenny's Chickens. Ben & Charlie Lennon 3.17
- Polkas: The Primrose/The Bluebell. John Gordon 4.24
- Reels: Lord McDonald’s/ Balinasloe Fair. Ben Lennon & Brian Rooney 3.13
- Reels: The Laurel Tree/ Flowers of Red Hill. Brian Lennon 2.28
- Reels: Templehouse/ Morning Dew. Seamus Quinn 2.36
- Jig: The Monaghan Charlie Lennon. 3.02
- Reel Sally's Smile. Maurice Lennon. 2.32
- Reels: The Haymaker/Mullingar Races. Brian Rooney 2.26
- Reel: Carmel Mahony Mulhaire. Maurice & Brian Lennon 3.45
- Reel: The Mountain Stream. John Gordon 1.53
- Reels: Miss McLeod's/ Philip O’Beirne’s Delight. Ben Lennon 2.48
- Hornpipes: The May Flowers 'The Welcome/Lunny's. John Gordon 3.04
- Reel: Lord Gordon. Ben Lennon 2.49
Also available from Copperplate:
Various Artists: Within A Mile of Kilty 1
Ben Lennon & Friends: The Natural Bridge
Ben Lennon & Tony O'Connell: Rossinver Braes
Charlie Lennon: Turning The Tunes
Maurice Lennon: The Little Ones
Brian Rooney & John Carty: At Complete Ease
Press Reviews
The Living Tradition June/July 2022
There are still things that can cause a frisson when taking a CD out from its mailing packet, and one, for me, is to discover that it’s from Cló Iar-Chonnacht. Without fail, this company turns out brilliant examples of some of Ireland’s finest playing and it is keeping its flag flying high with this compilation.
The sub-title is Traditional Irish Music From North Leitrim, so there’s the essence of what we get. The “Kilty” of the title is the border village of Kiltyclogher, which, despite only having some 150 of a population, has produced a fair number of particularly fine musicians over the years. This CD puts together a selection of these, recorded both in studios and at home, over the last 60 years or so. The Lennon family features on this volume, with Ben, fiddle; Brian, flute; Charlie, fiddle and piano; and Maurice, fiddle all present. Also included are John Gordon, fiddle; Seamus Quinn, fiddle and piano; and Brian Rooney, fiddle, with some other guest appearances.
There is, with such a range of musicians, a great variety in style of playing, not just that of North Leitrim, so we get a musical tour of the country along with note-perfect playing, including a polka set of The Primrose / The Bluebell, which are well-known to Jimmy Shand enthusiasts, but played here in a more stripped-back way.
A word needs to be added about the quality of the bilingual booklet notes as well, as they provide biographies of the players and details of the tunes and their sources which are at the same time comprehensive yet concise. Highly recommended. Gordon Potter
R’n’R Magazine May/June 2022 * * * * Within A Mlle Of Kitty 2
Kiltyclogher is a village of approximately 150 people in the north of County Leitrim (Republic of Ireland) on the border with Fermanagh (Northern Ireland). A small village then, but one whose traditional music community has made a significant Cultural contribution over the last eighty or so years.
This album, a follow up to Within A Mile Of Kilty from 2005, features John Gordon, Ben Lennon. Charlie Lennon, Brian Rooney,
Maurice Lennon, Seamus Quinn and Brian Lennon across twenty tracks recorded between 1956 and 2020 in both studio and home settings.
While each player has an individual style, the core sound of these recordings lies in the combination of fiddle and flute, with several musicians equally accomplished on d both instruments. Instrumental variety is provided in the outstanding flute playing of Brian Lennon, and in the occasional accompaniment contributions on guitar, bouzouki and nyckelharpa.
Whilst reels are the favoured musical form. There’re also Jigs, hornpipes and polkas. including a wonderfully atypical rendition of 'The Primrose Polka & The Bluebell Polka's by John and Anthony Gordon. Both the recordings and packaging meet the attention to detail that aficionados have come to expect from the Clo lar-Chonnacht label. Its a fabulous traditional release in every way. Steve Hunt
