First off, congrats to everyone who went over to compete at the Fleadh this year! Special congratulations to Los Angeles’s own Rio Navarro, who placed first in under 15 piano-accordion competition — a grand achievement to travel all the way from California and take the All-Ireland!
Hearty congratulations, too, to a rake of other other winners, including Seamus Noonan (Reynolds-Hanafin-Cooley), 3rd, flute, O18; Lauren Tuffy Coleman-O’Grady), 3rd, Irish Singing (Ladies), 12-15; Madeline Stevenson (O’Neil Malcom), 3rd, Sean-Nós Dancing, 15-18; Claire Noonan (O’Neil Malcom), 3rd, Melodeon, Under 12; Faolan Rogers, Irish Harp & Fiddle, Under 12; Mary Helen Claassen (St. Louis Irish Arts), 3rd, Lilting, Under 12; and Aine Siobhan Mahony (Irish Traditions Atlanta), English Singing (Ladies), 12-15. It means so much that our younger folks are doing so much to keep the music going, competing so well in the face of the stiff competition they encounter this and every year.
A big shout out, too, to Niall O’Leary who had a brief feature on TG4’s “Fleadh24” program. Niall gave viewers a solo on the spoons and had a nice chat with Doireann Ní Ghlacáin about his own O’Leary School of Irish Dance and the Time Square-like atmosphere he was picking up on in Wexford Town. Great to see a familiar face featured so prominently! For more about Niall, his school, and his various occupations and peregrinations, visit https://nialloleary.com/.
This week I wanted to let readers know about "Chongie Road,” the debut piping album from Seánie Ó’Loingsigh. Ó’Loingsigh hails from Achill Island, Co. Mayo, and is a brilliant uilleann piper and whistle player whose music, as we hear here, is relaxed, full of nuance, and ultimately inspired by his upbringing on Achill Island.
Ó’Loingsigh has been at this music thing for a long time. He started learning the tin whistle at 4, followed by a brief dalliance with the flute that fizzled when he took on the uilleann pipes shortly thereafter. Piping was a very real passion for Ó’Loingsigh for quite a while, and then life intervened: a career in aviation, first as an engineer then as an airline pilot, put his musical interests in a competing position until 2022, when he returned to Achill and made a conscious return to more full-time music making. This move led to this album, which he describes as a reflection on times gone by and his journey to date. It features a mix of tunes he learned when first starting and a number of those he picked up elsewhere along the way.
Joining Ó’Loingsigh is a pretty spectacular supporting cast that includes Tony Byrne (guitar), Joseph McNulty (fiddle & bodhrán), Niall Hughes (double bass), Alex Borwick (trombone, keyboards, percussion), and Collie Ahern (side & bass drum). Byrne is a well-known Dublin guitarist who has a long list of credits to his name; McNulty is a five time All-Ireland winner; Hughes plays in the Irish/Persian quartet Nava, who were nominated for “Best Folk Group” at the 2022 RTÉ Folk Awards; Borwick has a background in jazz and has performed with the likes of Martin Hayes; and Ahern a well-regarded percussionist. What they add here is excellent and gives the album remarkable body.
There are some pretty glorious tracks on "Chongie Road”. Some that combine terrific piping with smart arranging one might consider familiar in approach. For example, “The Big House,” the set of jigs that opens the album, starts with “The Sunnyside,” a Niall Vallely tune presen
ted in a familiar pipes/guitar setting. When the tune switches to “The Big House,” the texture changes. Byrne’s guitar playing remains outstanding, but Borwick’s synthesized keyboards and Hughes’s bass give the track an entirely new and very modern feeling. When they eventually switch to “Munster Buttermilk,” the set’s final tune, the shift in keys and addition of McNulty’s fiddle playing give the album a lift that gives this track a very far-reaching sort of character.
The same might be said about “Road To Lisdoonvarna,” the set of reels that follows. The bass/keyboard/guitar mix gives Ó’Loingsigh’s lively piping a boldness that is very enjoyable. But it’s later in the track when Ahern’s side drumming comes in that the track just takes off. The drumming here is balanced and controlled, but adds a real satisfying voice to the track that is different and well done.
Ó’Loingsigh gives listeners a stunning slow air with “Valencia Harbour.” The piping is wonderful to listen to, of course, but it’s done over a field recording of waves crashing on a beach – one on Achill, I imagine – which gives it a very personal and poetic feel.
But then there are a couple tracks that are a bit unexpected. “Jewels of the Ocean” is a waltz composed by Scottish piper Allan MacDonald and the track features Ó’Loingsigh’s piping (later McNulty is given a bit of a feature), however it’s the use of the trombone in some very tasty accents that give this one a really interesting and expressive palette.
”Chongie Road,” the album’s closer, is another surprise. Featuring an original air “that reflects the passing of music in Achill through the generations, using a local stream as a metaphor for the journey of my life,” the track opens and closes with words spoken in tandem by two voices, singer/songwriter Brid McLoughlin and John Twin McNamara, the headmaster of Ó’Loingsigh’s national school. Together, the two talk about the Chongie River’s journey from bog to sea with the sound of a rushing river in the background. Ó’Loingsigh’s plays his air in bold and eloquent fashion, a great way of combining music, words, and natural sound.
"Chongie Road” is a very cool album. The piping is very finely done, as are the supporting arrangements In some respects, the music reminds me of “Changing Time,” David Doocey’s fabulous 2013 debut album in that it features superb musicianship and music that in its raw state has the mark of age and maturity but which is set in the sort of interesting, forward looking arrangements that attract thoughtful, receptive ears. Not just for pipers, this one finds novel and interesting ways to use music and sound to evoke a sense of Irish “place.” Ó’Loingsigh has done fine work here – it’s worth checking out! To learn more and to purchase, visit https://chongieroad.ie/.
