Album Notes

Eddie was a brilliant musician. In Dublin he mixed among the many old greats of the time, supping at the well of tradition and he amassed a deep knowledge and understanding of the whole tradition of music, song and language. You will hear the whole range of these recordings, from the reel to the air and from the everyday tune to the challenging, all played with accuracy and respect.

They were mainly home recordings, practice tapes, made by Eddie himself or by other people at various times. Some tapes were recorded at a session that he played in a pub at Miltown Malbay, there are two selections with Joe Ryan on fiddle and one with accompaniment by Alec Finn. In addition to exceptional harmonica playing there is also a disc of 14 traditional songs, some drawn from his native County Cavan.

As you will appreciate, the recordings quality the original cassettes was very variable and was not the highest, but they have been restored and mastered to best possible quality.

This 4CD collection is a sample of Eddie’s music and song. It has been a long labour of love for all involved to bring it this far and we hope that you will get much enjoyment from it.