Album Notes

Down from Bell Harbour is the third solo album from legendary Clareman Chris Droney, who has been playing music for seventy-three years, delighting traditional music enthusiasts and dancers alike. With tasteful accompaniment from Jacinta McEvoy, Down from Bell Harbour is one of the finest ever collections of traditional Irish concertina music.

There is no doubt but that the Droney name has been firmly carved into the annals of traditional Irish music by this humble and gifted exponent. The toast of local house dances during his teenage years, he later became All-Ireland Senior Concertina Champion nine times, and played with several well-known céilí bands during a prolific career that has spanned several generations. He has performed on stages from Canada to Camden Town, while music lovers from Japan to North America have been warmly welcomed into the Droney home after seeking out the concertina maestro. Chris still plays regularly with The Four Courts céilí band, throughout Ireland and abroad.

The CD includes jigs, reels, hornpipes and waltzes, as well as Chris's own composition, the slow air ‘Peaceful Corcomroe'.

Chris's music spans the generations, and I can honestly say that it is as fresh today as it was in the 1950s. There is no mistaking the music of Chris Droney. – Kieran Hanrahan, RTÉ Radio