The sadness of Emigration has had a huge bearing on the history of Ireland and in particular the midlands and west. The famous song "The Shores of Lough Bran" is a fitting reminder of this aspect of our history. John Keegan Casey composed the song "Boating on Lough Ree", a love song about the death and drowning of a mans girlfriend Molly Ban, While "The Minstrel Boy" commemorates all the people in the Reigon that died in the various conflicts from 1798 in Ballinamuck to the war of independance. The haunting air "Easter Snow", is named after the townland of the same name near Croughan, just a few miles west of Carrick on Shannon.

With Seanchai Vincent Pierse we are transported back to a time before television, when it was the humour and wit of the storyteller that kept the audience enthralled on the long winter nights. Finally we tried to include some of the more popular tunes synonymous with the area, which are played at almost every session in the region. "The Humours of Tulla","The Rambling Pitchfork","The Wandering Minstral" and "Andersons" are fine examples of this.

The material for the new CD was recorded live at the Roscommon Arts Centre on June 26th 2005. The 16 pieces picked for this CD are a selection from a two-hour show. The entire show from the night is also available on DVD. We chose the music song and story for the CD to give the listener a flavour of the variety and vitality of the complete show and hope that you enjoy the mix.