As they say "an ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding" - I'm almost 99% sure that Sorcha is the daughter of concertina player, Mary McNamara. Have to agree with ceolachan's comment about hope for the future.
Explanation of the saying :"What hope have the rest of us ?" ( What chance have we mere mortals of ever attaining any sort of decent playing standard when we are totally blown away by a little slip of an 11 year girl who plays such stunningly superb music ).
Our humble task is to weave a sombre tapestry of benighted dysfunctional sub-Hibernian creole against which the playing of those nurtured in the tradition and excelling in its ways can shine forth with incontrovertable and appalling brilliance.
Just take comfort in the knowledge that she started at the beginning like everyone else...it's just that she was as good as most session fiddlers at age 7. She does look a little bit bored, though.
I guess you'd have to hope that she doesnt burn out to fast. I know a guy who was the deadliest box player when he was young - absolutely top notch. Then one day when he was 18 he just gave it up and never touched it again - that was around 15 years ago now. Such a shame as all his siblings still play and are fantastic muscians. He really really hates trad now.
bb - don't worry he'll get back to it. He's obviously just going through a stage in his development. Jacky Daly gave it all up for ages remember, and he made a bit of a comeback didn't he? And James Carty.
As for the brother and sister, brilliant, phenomenal. A touch of Liz Carroll? Do you notice that all those incredibly young and collosally talented people on the comhaltas website tend to ape exactly to the note, stars like Gavin, or Tansey, or whoever's setting of tune? Sour grapes on my part? Maybe. And I suppose they have to start [being brilliant] somewhere.....
Slainte, I was trying to figure out if that was recorded back in 2003. I think that's what it says on the one where she plays the Mystery Reel. Do you get that impression too. It would mean she's around 18 now... right?
2003 till now is 5 years. If she were 11 then(under 12) she'd now be a max of 16 years old. Unless 'under-12' means 12 and under.
As for the original clip, anybody else notice how the pianist was tied to his book? Both players seemed rather mechanical to me. Lots of other players on the Comhaltas site I like more.
I was visiting the dad at his newsagent shop in Ballymote back in 98 and his daughter came in while I was there. Her dad pulled a whistle off the shelf and handed it to her and she played a couple of tunes for me. Very lovely. I remember she had the biggest most adorable doe eyes. There's a video of her playing the whistle here that reminds me of her playing in the shop that day:
But in this clip of Breda Shannon's lovely concertina playing there's a shot of Deirdre just after the start where her adorable doe eyes make a cameo appearance.
"Our humble task is to weave a sombre tapestry of benighted dysfunctional sub-Hibernian creole against which the playing of those nurtured in the tradition and excelling in its ways can shine forth with incontrovertable and appalling brilliance."
Thanks, Nicholas- I think I'm going to get that done as a tattoo.
I can pay you royalties if necessary! It beats my previously favourite adage: "no one is completely useless, then can always serve as a bad example"
a touch of liz carroll? i would hope not! lol! she is mary mcnamaras daughter so i know it would be more paddy canny and pj hayes influence. great stuff!
and sure whats the harm in playing tanseys or gavins setting of a tune? you're right in that you said they have to start being brilliant somewhere! kids have to understand where the music has been to understand where they are going in their own playing.
when I got my first flute lesson in 1995 (Milltown Malbay - Catherine McEvoy's class), at the tender age of 45, most of the others in the class were 12 year-old kids and they were all better than me.
The thing is not to get discouraged but to regard it as a spur to further improvement.
This year, at Drumshanbo, I had graduated to the exalted position whereby I was in the advanced class and only one of the people in the class was as young as 12. And, of course. she was better than me......
So, be mindful that however good you get, there will always be some 11 year-old kid who will be a lot better. More power to their elbow!
I met the McAuliffe family in Sligo in 2004. A couple of years ago, she emailed me that her little sister started playing concertina and was getting better. Some lucky people will have a chance to see them play together in All-Ireland this year.
When you ask the question "what hope have the rest of it", you make it sound like a competition. (Comhaltas might breed that kind of attitude in some people, but it's not a competition). You should play music for your own personal enjoyment, not to try to be better than anyone else.
Or even trying to "keep up" with anyone else... If you're asking the question more like "how could I ever hope to be that good, when I didn't start that young?", then you're still looking at it the wrong way. Your goal shouldn't necessarily to play as well as she does, your goal should be to play as well as you can. And if you put time and dedication into it, you can get as good as you want! (Except that the better you get, the higher you'll raise that bar, and you'll never "get there")
If you're just phrasing it this way to complement her playing, then ignore the above...
What hope have the rest of us? That we can play and enjoy our own music to the best of our abilities. If you take this young lady's beautiful playing as a threat instead of a joy, you miss the point entirely. You fall into the same trap as many people do these days, of thinking that the playing of the music is the province of an elite few, while the rest of us exist only to consume that music as listeners. Playing music should be a joy at every level of ability!
De Selby - I'll gladly waive the royalty, but suggest that the words be done in elegant Celtic script round a hole punched through by a leprechaun's head, gleefully sticking its tongue out.
But about pre-adolescent kid performers - I think it's likely to be a good sign, if anything, if they're rather wooden; it shows they're concentrating on trying to get their stuff right, above all else, in what for at least some must be a rather intimidating set-up. Eleven-year-old whizzkids or showpeople might just burn out or pack in early, and the precocious don't always stay at the front of the game - though they can do.
yes, sorcha costelloe and her brother are the children of mary macnamara. the coverage of the clare fleadh in tulla on clare fm featured a wonderful concert with interviews, that included a super-lovely rendition of "jenny's welcome to charlie" by sorcha, with a haunting old-style setting.....
Well, we need both enjoyment and efforts to play better, right? I'm sure most of these talented young musicians don't sacrifice their own personal enjoyment to play well.
Yes, Michael Hurley of Ballymote is actually from Leeds. The three of his children are playing on the clip. I've met Michael a few times in Leeds, but I'm not sure if he remembers me. The family has its origins in East Galway and Mayo. That's what Des Hurley told me.
I have a lovely recording made by Michael and Des that prompted me to drop by his Newsagent shop in Ballymote and say hello when I was in the area. We later met up in Gurteen for a session with Peter Horan and the usual suspects there. Michael's a very nice fellow and seems to take great pride in helping young people get going with the music. I'd say his own children are extremely fortunate to grow up in that musical environment.
What hope have the rest of us?
What hope have the rest of us?
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_265_5_sorcha_costelloe/
# Posted on July 26th 2008 by Red Robin
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
A bright future for The Music.
# Posted on July 26th 2008 by drone
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
check out this
www.clarefm.ie
go to the kitchen recordings
and the one wed the 28 of november.
feakle
# Posted on July 26th 2008 by bud an asal
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
That;s a great setting of the 'cliffs of moher' at the end.
# Posted on July 26th 2008 by Mad Baloney
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
What more hope could we possibly want?
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by ceolachan
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
As they say "an ounce of breeding is worth a ton of feeding" - I'm almost 99% sure that Sorcha is the daughter of concertina player, Mary McNamara. Have to agree with ceolachan's comment about hope for the future.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Bannerman
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
That was just great. Lovely pace and feel to her playing, nice and relaxed. My hope is to do my best to sound like that some day! What an inspiration.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by soft black stars
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Explanation of the saying :"What hope have the rest of us ?" ( What chance have we mere mortals of ever attaining any sort of decent playing standard when we are totally blown away by a little slip of an 11 year girl who plays such stunningly superb music ).
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Red Robin
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
What this girl can do is irrelevant to what you can do.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by crazy_fingerz
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Our humble task is to weave a sombre tapestry of benighted dysfunctional sub-Hibernian creole against which the playing of those nurtured in the tradition and excelling in its ways can shine forth with incontrovertable and appalling brilliance.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by nicholas
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Her playing is smooth and competent I suppose...it's not particular grabbing me though...
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by crazy_fingerz
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Just take comfort in the knowledge that she started at the beginning like everyone else...it's just that she was as good as most session fiddlers at age 7. She does look a little bit bored, though.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by leoj
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
I guess you'd have to hope that she doesnt burn out to fast. I know a guy who was the deadliest box player when he was young - absolutely top notch. Then one day when he was 18 he just gave it up and never touched it again - that was around 15 years ago now. Such a shame as all his siblings still play and are fantastic muscians. He really really hates trad now.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by bb
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
bb - don't worry he'll get back to it. He's obviously just going through a stage in his development. Jacky Daly gave it all up for ages remember, and he made a bit of a comeback didn't he? And James Carty.
As for the brother and sister, brilliant, phenomenal. A touch of Liz Carroll? Do you notice that all those incredibly young and collosally talented people on the comhaltas website tend to ape exactly to the note, stars like Gavin, or Tansey, or whoever's setting of tune? Sour grapes on my part? Maybe. And I suppose they have to start [being brilliant] somewhere.....
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Alf Tupper
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
It's fantastic playing. I wish I could have started trad at that age.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by jasonb
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
I liked the first runner up under-12 one better.
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_265_1_fiddle_player_bronwyn_de_paor/
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Phantom Button
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Also check the Hurleys of Ballymote: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_264_3_the_hurley_family/
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by slainte
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Slainte, I was trying to figure out if that was recorded back in 2003. I think that's what it says on the one where she plays the Mystery Reel. Do you get that impression too. It would mean she's around 18 now... right?
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Phantom Button
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
2003 till now is 5 years. If she were 11 then(under 12) she'd now be a max of 16 years old. Unless 'under-12' means 12 and under.
As for the original clip, anybody else notice how the pianist was tied to his book? Both players seemed rather mechanical to me. Lots of other players on the Comhaltas site I like more.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by awildman2384
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
I was visiting the dad at his newsagent shop in Ballymote back in 98 and his daughter came in while I was there. Her dad pulled a whistle off the shelf and handed it to her and she played a couple of tunes for me. Very lovely. I remember she had the biggest most adorable doe eyes. There's a video of her playing the whistle here that reminds me of her playing in the shop that day:
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_264_4_deirdre_hurley/
But in this clip of Breda Shannon's lovely concertina playing there's a shot of Deirdre just after the start where her adorable doe eyes make a cameo appearance.
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_264_1_breda_shannon_on_concertina/
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Phantom Button
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
The tune she calls the Belford Jig--there is no record of it here but it is familiar. Anyone recognize the tune?
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_264_1_breda_shannon_on_concertina/lang/ga/
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by leoj
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
"Our humble task is to weave a sombre tapestry of benighted dysfunctional sub-Hibernian creole against which the playing of those nurtured in the tradition and excelling in its ways can shine forth with incontrovertable and appalling brilliance."
Thanks, Nicholas- I think I'm going to get that done as a tattoo.
I can pay you royalties if necessary! It beats my previously favourite adage: "no one is completely useless, then can always serve as a bad example"
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by de Selby
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
a touch of liz carroll? i would hope not! lol! she is mary mcnamaras daughter so i know it would be more paddy canny and pj hayes influence. great stuff!
and sure whats the harm in playing tanseys or gavins setting of a tune? you're right in that you said they have to start being brilliant somewhere! kids have to understand where the music has been to understand where they are going in their own playing.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by tradmoosic
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
when I got my first flute lesson in 1995 (Milltown Malbay - Catherine McEvoy's class), at the tender age of 45, most of the others in the class were 12 year-old kids and they were all better than me.
The thing is not to get discouraged but to regard it as a spur to further improvement.
This year, at Drumshanbo, I had graduated to the exalted position whereby I was in the advanced class and only one of the people in the class was as young as 12. And, of course. she was better than me......
So, be mindful that however good you get, there will always be some 11 year-old kid who will be a lot better. More power to their elbow!
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Shepshed
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
anyone know the name of the first jig she's playing?
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by greybeardd
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Whats your opinion on this?
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_265_6_sean_mulvihill/
Much to mechanical sounding for me.As my grandmother used to say "hes puting the ornaments before the music".
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by dinn2
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
"Phantom Button," I guess Deirdre Hurley is probably still 15 or 14, considering the clip was recorded in 2004 or 2005. That means she is about the same age as this London girl:
http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_209_1_orla_mcauliffe
I met the McAuliffe family in Sligo in 2004. A couple of years ago, she emailed me that her little sister started playing concertina and was getting better. Some lucky people will have a chance to see them play together in All-Ireland this year.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by slainte
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
When you ask the question "what hope have the rest of it", you make it sound like a competition. (Comhaltas might breed that kind of attitude in some people, but it's not a competition). You should play music for your own personal enjoyment, not to try to be better than anyone else.
Or even trying to "keep up" with anyone else... If you're asking the question more like "how could I ever hope to be that good, when I didn't start that young?", then you're still looking at it the wrong way. Your goal shouldn't necessarily to play as well as she does, your goal should be to play as well as you can. And if you put time and dedication into it, you can get as good as you want! (Except that the better you get, the higher you'll raise that bar, and you'll never "get there")
If you're just phrasing it this way to complement her playing, then ignore the above...
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Reverend
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
actually, I meant "compliment" her playing...
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by Reverend
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
What hope have the rest of us? That we can play and enjoy our own music to the best of our abilities. If you take this young lady's beautiful playing as a threat instead of a joy, you miss the point entirely. You fall into the same trap as many people do these days, of thinking that the playing of the music is the province of an elite few, while the rest of us exist only to consume that music as listeners. Playing music should be a joy at every level of ability!
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by AlBrown
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
De Selby - I'll gladly waive the royalty, but suggest that the words be done in elegant Celtic script round a hole punched through by a leprechaun's head, gleefully sticking its tongue out.
But about pre-adolescent kid performers - I think it's likely to be a good sign, if anything, if they're rather wooden; it shows they're concentrating on trying to get their stuff right, above all else, in what for at least some must be a rather intimidating set-up. Eleven-year-old whizzkids or showpeople might just burn out or pack in early, and the precocious don't always stay at the front of the game - though they can do.
# Posted on July 27th 2008 by nicholas
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
yes, sorcha costelloe and her brother are the children of mary macnamara. the coverage of the clare fleadh in tulla on clare fm featured a wonderful concert with interviews, that included a super-lovely rendition of "jenny's welcome to charlie" by sorcha, with a haunting old-style setting.....
# Posted on July 28th 2008 by ceemonster
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Bumping this so hopefully more folks can read Reverend Pete and Al Brown's insightful comments, well said gents.
# Posted on July 28th 2008 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Well, we need both enjoyment and efforts to play better, right? I'm sure most of these talented young musicians don't sacrifice their own personal enjoyment to play well.
# Posted on July 28th 2008 by slainte
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Would the Hurleys of Ballymote (link above) be an offshoot of the Hurleys of Leeds, by any chance?
Thanks Nicholas for your suggestions. I've passed them on to my tattooist.
# Posted on July 28th 2008 by de Selby
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
[I liked the first runner up under-12 one better.] this one is in an older age category, no?
# Posted on July 29th 2008 by ceemonster
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
Yes, Michael Hurley of Ballymote is actually from Leeds. The three of his children are playing on the clip. I've met Michael a few times in Leeds, but I'm not sure if he remembers me. The family has its origins in East Galway and Mayo. That's what Des Hurley told me.
# Posted on July 29th 2008 by slainte
Re: What hope have the rest of us?
I have a lovely recording made by Michael and Des that prompted me to drop by his Newsagent shop in Ballymote and say hello when I was in the area. We later met up in Gurteen for a session with Peter Horan and the usual suspects there. Michael's a very nice fellow and seems to take great pride in helping young people get going with the music. I'd say his own children are extremely fortunate to grow up in that musical environment.
# Posted on July 29th 2008 by Phantom Button