Debut Album Revives Old Irish Music Style

(Newswire.net — December 25, 2014) Brentwood, Tennessee — Irish music has seen a steady following throughout time, particular since Riverdance. Although this music is still vibrant, there are definite signs that the musical integrity of this old tradition has become greatly diluted. Today, there is real danger that many of the traditional aspects of this music genre may eventually be lost forever. And this is what makes the debut album by Éilís Crean and John Doyle such a timely and much-needed reminder of the true origins of traditional Irish music. This album is the first of it’s kind to showcase the East Galway Irish Music Tradition (EGIMT) as played by Eddie Kelly, a highly-revered and legendary musician and composer, formerly of Eyrecourt, Co. Galway and now living in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon.

“I am beyond excited that The Lonesome Fiddler has finally debuted and the outpouring of support for the East Galway Irish Music Tradition and the music of Eddie Kelly has been truly humbling,” says fiddle player Éilís Crean.  “This album is in honor of my father as well as my teacher, Eddie Kelly and I am passionate about how important that it is to preserve this particular music tradition that is in danger dying out.” Crean remains one of only six fiddle-players in the world playing this style and historically there have only been approximately fifty musicians who were ever proponents of this style.

Crean is joined on this album by four distinguished artists, namely John Doyle, Kevin Crawford, Dermot Byrne and Kenny Malone.

“Nowadays regional styles are far more difficult to define in an age where we have instant access to every Irish musician on the planet. The World Wide Web, mp3 downloads, CD’s, ease of travel etc mean that our influences these days are drawn from a much bigger melting pot” says celebrated Irish flute-player Kevin Crawford. “The search for the Holy Grail is made easier however when new recordings come about that pay homage to and acknowledge the contributions made by these musicians from previous generations” 

Crawford finishes by saying that Éilís Crean has achieved all of this and more on her debut recording The Lonesome Fiddler. Respect, passion, pride of place and attention to detail are evident throughout this album and indeed throughout every conversation that one has with Éilís about the music and musicians of East Galway.

Signed copies of the album (by Eddie Kelly and Éilís Crean) are available upon request . The Lonesome Fiddler is also available on iTunes, GooglePlay,  Spotify and 80+ online music stores.

As a fiddle-player growing up in Co. Roscommon, Ireland, Éilís was taught by the highly esteemed and legendary Eddie Kelly, who played a large part in her upbringing, providing her with hours of instruction through the artful arrangement of his notes during weekly lessons.

Kelly became most famous for a haunting reel that he composed, always known simply as Eddie Kelly’s reel. Crean’s album now places the actual name of this beautiful piece of music as The Lonesome Fiddler, which is the title track of the album. It has been recorded by numerous musicians including Liz Carroll, Kevin and Seamus Glackin on their Northern Lights album and separately by Paddy Glackin and Jolyon Jackson.  Eddie’s original recording of this tune and other recordings are available on website. It’s the only source of his music

Éilís is an awarded musician herself, having won prizes at various events throughout Ireland and Great Britain. Although Éilís’ profession is healthcare IT consulting, her true passion is teaching The East Galway Irish Music Tradition in Eddie’s inimitable way. She is an original artist; each musical piece is a sui generis and she derives great joy from passing the style along to those who want to learn it.

Éilís’ goal is to have one hundred students learning and playing this style before the end of 2015!. A lofty aspiration one might say yet The Irish Gift, Inc, an online education company founded by Crean three years ago has continued to grow and will no doubt see this goal come to fruition. 

If you would like to learn more about the East Galway Irish Music Tradition and how you can learn it, please visit The Irish Gift, Inc (TIG). Online classes are offered in Irish music and language. The TIG Team are also interested in expanding their teaching panel and would welcome inquiries about teaching engagements with TIG. For further information please email eilis@theirishgift.com.