Browse Items (13 total)

LISTEN to the interviewDanny Meehan (b.1940) reflects on his life from his childhood in Drimalost, Co. Donegal, to his migration to England at age sixteen, and his return fifty years later. He speaks about his musical influences, the musicians he…

LISTEN to the interviewSinger Jimmy O'Brien talks about his childhood in the Sliabh Luachra area of Co. Kerry. He recalls a vibrant social environment, with lots of music and dancing. Jimmy trained as a mechanic and, with his wife Mary, emigrated to…

LISTEN to the interviewKevin Henry embarks on a wide-ranging discussion of his youth in Ireland, years spent in England, and migration to Canada and then the United States. He eventually settled in Chicago, where he established a career as an iron…

LISTEN to the interviewJimmy O'Brien talks at greater length about some of the traditional customs he remembers from his youth: the musical instruments, fattening a pig for Christmas and making puddings, the meitheal, thrashings, American wakes, and…

LISTEN to the interview Kevin Burke was born in London to parents from Sligo. He began learning to play fiddle from around the age of seven and absorbed the music he heard played around him by migrant musicians. As a teenager he played regularly in…

LISTEN to the interview Unlike many post-war Irish migrants, Mick Treacy from Mitchelstown, Co. Cork was more active on the English folk and jazz scenes than in the Irish music scene, though he did sing Irish songs with a group called the Munstermen.…

LISTEN to the interview Sean Chamberlain describes his youth in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, his migration to London, and the many dance bands he played in over the years. He returned in 1973 to help his brother open a bakery. He lives in the house his…

LISTEN to the interview Kevin McDermott describes his childhood in Cavan town, joining the RAF, and eventual migration to London to join his family in 1956. Along the way he had an active musical life playing different musical styles on the…

LISTEN to the interview Vincent Campbell plays tunes interspersed with stories about them and recollections of his youth and time in Britain. He was born in An tSeanga Mheáin, in the Gaeltacht near Glenties, Co. Donegal. The music of the region was…

LISTEN to the interview Vince Milne is at the later end of the post-war generation. His parents were from Co. Sligo, but he grew up in west Cork and migrated to London in 1970. There, he worked in a variety of jobs and played in Irish pubs and social…