The sub title of the book is Dance Music from the Cork – Kerry Border.
Sliabh Luachra, in the heart of Munster, is home to a unique style of traditional Irish music. The great fiddle-player Padraig O’Keefe (1887-1963) lived and taught there, passing on a vibrant musical tradition to Denis Murphy and his daughter Julia Clifford, and to the box-player Johhny O’Leary.
O’Leary was the custodian of a huge repertoire of tunes adapted by The Chieftains, De Dannan and Planxty among others. He blends Sliabh Luachra tunes with older Kerry music. Johnny is hailed as one of its finest exponents. polkas, slides, reels, jigs and hornpipes. These tunes make up the tune-sources for the collection. The book has historic photographs of the principal performers interspersed amongst the written words.
Our copy is a rare first edition that was published in 1994.