Nyahh Records is proud and excited to announce this compilation of singers, which has been on the back boiler for some time!! Inspired by the song collecting of Alan Lomax, this compilation brings together two generations of singers from all across the island of Ireland. Some of the songs previously appear on albums, but the rest were recorded by the singer themselves on their phones to give the song a real and raw effect that brings an authentic feel and immediacy to the songs. A long standing tradition in Irish culture, singing has taken place in pubs and private homes all over the country since the 13th Century and has been away to share and keep the music alive, passing it down to younger generations. It is considered to be an aural tradition, as a lot of these songs would of not been written down. Nyahh is honoured to be able to present this collection of songs to you from some of Ireland’s best singers.

“One fear I would always have, even in my class situation, is that the emphasis is on technicality – whereas for me, the whole thing is the feeling and heart and soul. That's what the older musicians had”
-Mary Bergin

Liner Notes:
Conor O’Kane – ‘Harvest of Clovers’

A free adaptation of the poem ‘Fiddler Jones’, by Edgar Lee Masters from his epoch-defining work Spoon River Anthology.
Recorded by Natalia Beylis in the Scots Pines of Drumnadubber.

Aoife Hammond – ‘Ócam an Phríosúin’

‘Ócam an phríosúin’ was written by Tomás Ó Lochlainn (Tam Neaine Choilm) of An Trá Bháin, Connemara around the 1930's.

Tomás was imprisoned for distilling póitín and he wrote this song about his experience in prison. Ócam (Oakem) is a type of rope made from tarred fibre and would traditionally have been used as a caulking to seal gaps in ships. The picking and tearing apart of Ócam was used as a punishment in prisons and was a form of free labour. The song is considered a traditional work song or a Geantraí in the Irish Language.

I recorded this song on my phone on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in my studio/spare bedroom in Glenfarne, Leitrim.

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin – ‘Eileanóir na Rún’

I recorded this song upstairs in the green room in Stiúideo Cuan in Spiddal. We were doing a gig there with Skipper's Alley and I took a few minutes to do it after the gig.
I first heard the song from my dad. It's one of the most famous love songs from the sean-nós tradition and also one of the oldest - it probably dates from the 15th century. Some people think Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh composed it, but this is disputed.
"Rún" means "secret" in Irish, so the title translates to something like "Eileanóir of the Secrets".

Michael Frank Ó Confhaola – ‘Róisín Dubh’

This song has appeared previously on my album Mo Chroí is M’anam. Recorded by Ray Diamond.
Méabh Meir – ‘Queen Among The Heather’

Recorded (Jan 2023) in my mother's kitchen in Belfast which is shaped a bit like a cave and where much singing takes place. Learnt from the inimitable singing of Jeannie Robertson, Belle Stewart, and June Tabor.

Rosie Stewart – ‘Jug of Punch’

This song has appeared previously on my album On the Leitrim Mountainside. Recorded by Dr Iain ‘Bapto’ McCurdy and produced by Paddy Morgan & Petesy Burns. I heard Maurice Leydon sing this version at a particularly memorable singing session in Derrygonnelly circa 2004 and was immediately taken with his joyous rendition.

Ruth Clinton – ‘Lament of the Irish Mother’

Recording: The Night Before Larry Got Stretched singing session, The Cobblestone Pub, Smithfield, 6th November 2022. Recorded by Alan Woods.

This version, as found abridged in Pádraig Breathnach's Songs of the Gael (1922) and in full in Edward Hayes' The Ballads of Ireland (1856). I have substituted the religious final verse for the one where Maura appears as a ghost, and used the tune suggested by Breathnach: 'A Spailpín a rún'. The words, "oh, why did you die", would have been exclaimed by people--often women--lamenting over dead bodies. The practice of keening in Ireland was discouraged and eventually suppressed by the Church, who no doubt were uncomfortable with the prominent role played by women in ceremonies over which they believed they should have full jurisdiction.

Fionnuala Maxwell – ‘When the Mummers Come Calling’

Recorded in Killyfad, Annaduff, Co Leitrim. Annaduff area was always used to mummers calling on St. Stephen's Day and many of the neighbours still lament if they don't have any mummers on that day. There was also a strong tradition of mummers or "straw-boys" or "ban-beggars" who appeared at weddings or when the couple arrived home from honeymoon - the straw-boys or ban-beggars would turn up for the "dragging home" and they would play and dance and sing to welcome the newly-married couple home - one of my neighbours who I hear singing in the tractor on a regular basis told me that is where he started singing first - at my mother and father's "dragging home" (don't know who was dragging who but - there you go!)

Nell Ní Chroinin – ‘Banks of Sullane’

The song was recorded in my sitting room in Kilkenny where I'm now living. I took this version from The Songs of Elizabeth Cronin book, which is a resource I love to delve into every now and again. It's a well known love song I learned years ago. I always loved the melody and the fact that it's local to my home place , meant it always had a special place in my heart. The Sullane is the river which headwaters are in Coolea and it flows from there on through Macroom before continuing its journey to join the River Lee and out to sea from there. It is apparently the only male river in Ireland (not sure how they define the sex of the other rivers!) And according to ancient folklore it is said to take a life every 7 years...

Thomas McCarthy – ‘The Wicklow Mountains High’

Recorded on 6 March 2022, at The Night Before Larry Got Stretched, The Cobblestone, Smithfield. Recorded by Alan Woods.

Sarah Ghriallais – ‘An Sceilpín Draighneach’

'An Sceilpín Draighneach' tells the story of a lonely young man and his unrequited love for a young woman he encounters one quiet morning. In his despair, he longs to woo her but ultimately he is bound to emigrate and leave Ireland and his family forever.
Recorded in 1987 and previously appears on the album Between Two Sea on Gael Linn Records.

A portion of the download sales of this compilation will go to CATU. 'CATU Ireland is a union for communities and tenants, that means renters, council tenants, mortgage holders and people in emergency & precarious living situations. '
catuireland.org

Illustration by Denise Conroy
Mastered by Rian Trench
Design by Andrew Wild