The essential albums of Ceol Gaelach agus Traidisiúnta
Trad continues to be the most powerful battering ram for the culture of the Gael.
Na ceirníní oileán díthreibhe
If you're not deeply enmeshed in the musical heritage of modern Irish-language music, as well as the ceol of the Gaeltacht more generally, can you really call yourself a patriot in any such way? While this list is by no means exhaustive, leaving out classic artists like The Chieftains and more recent wonders like Imlé, it serves as an essential starter pack for all things ceol Gaelach.
As Gaeilge - Wolfe Tones
‘Samhradh, samhradh, bainne na ngamhna
Thugamar féin an samhradh linn’ — Thugamar Féin An Samhradh Linn.
With the eruption of the Wolfe Tones renaissance I feel there's few better places to start than the group's wonderful collection of classic amhráin as Gaeilge. With famous old ballads such as Caoine Cill Cáis but also lesser known tunes such as Amhrán na mBreac, the Tones provide a perfect intro to our ceol traidisiúnta. While perhaps lacking the delicate sophistication of some of the other artists here (as well as the austere world of Gaelic Ireland), I think it's vital we put forward ár gcultúr agus nós as a living and breathing being, in its most celebratory form. This work certainly does that.
There's a reason the Tones have experienced such a rejuvenated renaissance in recent years, beyond the simple explanation that so much of our youth cannot remember a world where rebel songs were seen as IRA-justifying hate speech. With the Sinn Féin protest-victory of 2020, the rise of Kneecap1 and others, there is a rising national spirit in this country, north and south, that no policy document or effort poast can capture quite like the cosmic power of our amthems of resistance.
In my view, the best way to harness this is trí Ghaeilge. Try and listen to the thumping chorus of Tá Na Lá and not imagine a stadium filled of roaring Gaels.
Dúlamán - Clannad
Dúlamán na binne buí, Dúlamán Gaelach — Dúlamán.
Moving up North from Dublin, we have in my view the best work which came out of the 70s explosion in popularity of what is very loosely termed as ‘Celtic’ music. While Enya would obviously go on to have more commercial success with her mostly Anglicised New Age records — some of which contain genuine beauty, at other points merely outdated kitsch — Clannad's third record offers a wonderful variety of ceol traidisiúnta in (of its time) modern context and organisation.
What's more, Clannad are obviously more attuned and conscious artists that acts like the Tones and some of the others here. While musical talent and tasteful renditions of traditional sing-alongs have their own merit, its important to be able to appreciate ceol Gaelach not just as a means to some cultural or political end, but to actually innovate and reimagine our tradition in the context of global and popular styles in folk music. Here, you certainly get that, with the hearty folk-rock of Two Sisters, the wandering droney prog of Siúil, a Rún to the Eno-style ambience of Éirigh Suas, a Stóirín.
As great as all these tracks are however, there is only one tune that the listener could possibly begin with, and that is thankfully the titular opener. A masterpiece of modern ceol Gaelach, it takes an old courting song about seaweed and transforms it into a progressive folk epic, fused with acapella chanting, pounding bodhrán rhythms and masterfully tense acoustic and string work. There are few tracks which demonstrate the potential of modern ceol Gaelach quite like Dúlamán.
Báidín Fheidhlimí - Gael Linn
‘Ailliliú, puilliliú, ailliliú tá an puc ar buile! Ailliliú, puilliliú, ailliliú tá an puc ar buile!’ — An Poc ar Buile.
Ag dul siar, informed Gaels should notice the significance of this collection of records beginning in 1969 — of course the year of the second athbheochan na Gaeilge in the modern era (the third awaits us imminently). While obviously not a cohesive album like most of the records here, I felt remiss not to include such a wonderful introduction to the singles and pop successes of the Gaeltacht. One of the greatest crimes any Gael can commit is to fall victim to the crisis of the ‘Dublin Gaeilgeoir’ — especially of those in the early Dev Free State era. This is where the Gaeltacht and the West in general is infantilised into a mythic fairy state of fair maidens and green fields, totally alien to the lived experience of the actual people who live in the areas today.
This collection is a perfect introduction to the actual popular music of the Gaeltacht, especially after the revival of the late 1960s. From the roadtrip singalong tunes like The Johnstons’ An Banbh, the mariachi-style hit Cóilín ó We 4, to the harrowingly beautiful balladry ó chlann Uí Dhónaill on Caitlín Tiriall — this collection has it all. If you want to immerse yourself into the living and real world of the Gael over the past 50 years, this is it, and it's beautiful. One can only imagine if popular tunes on our national radio stations and Eurovision entries reflected this example — modern and accessible pop music, but all as Gaeilge, we would be far better off.
It's too hard to choose one single to recommend from the bunch, but a couple certainly stand out. To get a taste of the spirit of the 1960s athbheochan, one can do no better than the roaring romp or a track, An Damhán Alla ó MacEoin, MacDonnchadha and one of the famous Mac Con Iomaire clan. The second choice would be the quintessential anthem of the Gaeltacht, specifically in Cúige Mumhan, An Poc Ar Buile.
Irish Traditional Songs in Gaelic & English - Seosamh Ó hÉanaí
‘A Pheadair, a Aspail, An bhfaca tú mo ghrá geal?’ — Caoineadh na dTrí Mhuire.
Staying in the Gaeltacht, no list of classic Gael records would be complete without a showcase of the haunting majesty of sean nós singing, and there is no better place to start than with Ó hÉanaí or ‘Joe Heaney’ as he is often known. While plenty of singers have shown the variance and power that sean nós can produce, I do believe any artist has been able to capture the harrowingly lonesome beauty quite like Ó hÉanaí. Exemplifying the contradiction at the heart of the millennium old bard tradition, he is able to throw the listener into the world of totally abandoned and forgotten heroins, all the while commanding the interest of an entire audience and the artfully inclined entire Irish nation.
Even abroad, this collection was able to find a vast audience through its timeless portrayal of romance and tragedy. One could guess this from the sheer amount of English spoken here, with some whole songs as bearla (John Mitchel) while others have 4 minute story introductions to the song (Peigin Is Peadar). With this you get a good mix of classic ceol Gaelach while at the same time you get a personalised and down to earth introduction to Ó hÉanaí himself. While the Kneecap comparison is perhaps not entirely accurate, due to the more austere sensibility here, this record has a similar personable feel.
Other than watching the previously discussed film Song of Granite, there is little way of introducing oneself to sean nós other than just diving in, but if there were any songs here I would recommend there are two that stand out in particular. In terms of a striking melody, The Rocks of Bawn can hardly be beaten, but the funeral lament of Caoineadh na dTrí Mhuire is easily the most emotionally powerful, showcasing a dialogue between idir Muire, Naomh Peadar agus Íosa ar an gcrois.
The Gloaming 2 - The Gloaming
‘'S má bhíonn tú liom bí liom, a stóirín mo chroí, 'S má bhíonn tú liom bí liom os comhair a' tí’ — Casadh an tSúgáin.
Ending with a perhaps more subtle work, but no less modern and powerful, this supergroup of Gaels offer a masterful blend of sean nós and ceol trad with art rock and post-rock influences. If Song of Granite offers what Tarkovsky would feel like as Gaeilge, then the Gloaming is like Godspeed You! Black Emperor for Gaels.
One could say the band themselves reflect the eclectic, ambitious and sonically courageous music produced — a diverse group comprised of two fiddlers of which one is an All-Ireland champion (Hayes & Ó Raghallaigh), a Vermonter and a Chicago Gael (Bartlett & Cahill) and led by renowned amhránaí sean nós Iarla Ó Lionáird. In combining their diverse talents, and taking influence from traditional ballads as well as filíocht old and new, they're able to transcend the confines of folk music: creating anciently nostalgic art that is somehow deeply alive and steeped in our present-day lives.
From funereal sean nós ballads which could bring the most battle-heartened laoch cróga to tears like in Slán Le Máighe, to the ethereal beauty of Fánleog's trad-mimimalism and glittering and lavish crescendo, to soaring instrumental jigs like the The Booley House — this record celebrates the 21st Century Gaels as a forward-looking ethnos, assured in themselves and oh so very much alive. I implore all young Gaels to spin on The Rolling Wave and close their eyes, and as that lone yet gallant fiddle jig begins to emerge from the mournful wake of strings and acoustic drones, like a spring hare raising its head once again after a frosty winter, and imagine a better, brighter and altogether more alive tomorrow for all Gaels — an inevitable victory for our wonderful people and culture. Beir bua!
Mo chomhbhrón le muintir Cairealláin. https://belfastmedia.com/gearoid-o-caireallain-reabhloidi-gaelach-ar-lar