New Album now available on CD
From a Rocky Nova Scotian Shore
A collection of traditional Irish tunes and original compositions, recorded in Nova Scotia.
$25.00 plus shipping – select at checkout
Buy on CDCD First Edition
16 tracks
Fiddle, bouzouki, bodhran, tin whistle, mandolin, and guitars by Ross O’Ciarmhaic
Running length: 39’50”
Recorded and mastered by Ross O’Ciarmhaic at Northern Voice, Nova Scotia
A Note from Ross
My first debut album – From a Rocky Nova Scotian Shore – is now available here on my website. It features Irish traditional music from the places where my roots are from, alongside tunes I have written on my journey so far here in Nova Scotia. The Sliabh Luachra region of the wild southwest of Ireland, the beautiful coasts of Clare, and the green hills of Sligo, Leitrim, and the timeless city of Dublin. All collected, to be shared, enjoyed, and passed down. It fills me with great joy to be able to pass my culture on – one that has been so carefully kept, endured, and never forgotten. Enjoy the craic! Éire Abú
Liner Notes
TO LIMERICK WE GO
A slip jig, which I believe may have originally been an old march. The O’Ciarmhaics hail descent from Limerick, and I thought it fitting to pay my ancestors respects with this opening track.
MISS MONAGHAN’S / TOSS THE FEATHERS / THE HARE’S PAW
A set of reels. Inspired by the playing of Michael Coleman (Sligo) and Denis Murphy (Kerry).
DALAIGH’S NO.1 / DALAIGH’S NO.2 / DINNY DELANEY’S
A set of polkas and a slide from the Sliabh Luachra tradition; where you’ll often find your feet taking you to another, wilder, place. Kevin Burke inspired me to learn ‘Dinny Delaney’s’.
THE CLOG / O’KEEFFE’S NO.1 / O’KEEFFE’S NO.2
A set of slides from the Sliabh Luachra tradition, made popular with the playing of fiddlemaster Pádraig O’Keeffe (Kerry).
THE BOYNE HUNT / ROLLING IN THE RYEGRASS
A set of reels popular in dance halls and pub sessions in Clare.
ROLL ME OVER / ROLLING IN THE BARREL
A set of reels. ‘Roll Me Over’ I composed after learning ‘Rolling In The Barrel’ from fiddler Martin Hayes (Clare).
THE LARK IN THE MORNING
A fine four-part jig with an interesting origin. It is said two Uilleann pipers, invited to a house party, played into the early hours duelling to see who could play the best jig. When both grew tired and the sun began to break through the windows, the morning lark called out such a beautiful tune that the two pipers conceded it had won, and so this tune was passed on.
ATHBHEOCHAN
Irish for ‘rebirth’, or ‘to come again’. I composed this on tin whistle, sitting at my desk overlooking a Nova Scotian winter, waiting patiently for spring to arrive.
A DAY AT LOUGHSHINNY
A piece of poetry I composed, remembering my childhood days with family at the beach north of Dublin. Buckets and spades, toy trucks, and imaginations, hunting for crabs.
THE SUNNY HILLS OF BEARA / EAGLE’S ROCK
A jig followed by a slip jig, composed by the late John Dwyer of Cork and Joe Liddy of Leitrim. Lilting and rolling, they are amongst my favourite tunes to play.
THE GULLANE / THE BLACKWATER NO.1 / THE BLACKWATER NO.2
A set of polkas from the Sliabh Luachra tradition. Inspired by Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly (Cork). Gullane is a town outside Gneeveguilla, near the Cork/Kerry border. The Blackwater (An Abhainn Mhór, The Great River) runs 105 miles through Kerry, Waterford, and Cork into the Celtic Sea.
CON CARTHY’S / PADDY CRONIN’S / THE TOORMORE / IF I HAD A WIFE
A set of slides inspired by various fiddlers from the Sliabh Luachra tradition.
WITHIN A MILE OF DUBLIN / THE FERMOY LASSES
A set of reels common in sessions across Ireland. I enjoy the shift in colour when ‘The Fermoy Lasses’ begins.
THE LILTING BANSHEE / HARDIMAN THE FIDDLER / THE MIST-COVERED MOUNTAIN / THE CONNACHTMAN’S RAMBLES / SADDLE THE PONY
A set of jigs and a slip jig inspired by the playing of Tom McGonigle (Omagh), Robert McGouran (Dublin), Junior Crehan (Clare), and Kevin Burke (Sligo). There is a story that a Connachtman set out for a pint and a session, walked further than planned, and eventually saddled a pony to continue his journey of music and socialising.
THE LILTING BANSHEE / HARDIMAN THE FIDDLER / THE MIST-COVERED MOUNTAIN / THE CONNACHTMAN’S RAMBLES / SADDLE THE PONY
A set of jigs and a slip jig inspired by Tom McGonigle (Omagh), Robert McGouran (Dublin), Junior Crehan (Clare), and Kevin Burke (Sligo). There’s a story that a Connachtman set out for a pint and a session, walked further than planned, and eventually commandeered a pony to continue his journey of music and merriment.
CON CARTHY’S / PADDY CRONIN’S / THE TOORMORE / IF I HAD A WIFE
A set of slides inspired by various fiddlers from the Sliabh Luachra tradition.
These notes come from a place.
The recordings carry them forward. If you’d like to spend time with the full album, you can order it below.