In celebration of our March 2026 Drawing from the Well concert in the National Concert Hall (NCH), ITMA is delighted to share a selection of audio recordings from the Breandán Breathnach Collection, which served as inspiration for the artists’ performances in the NCH.
The recording dates range from the 1950s to the 1980s, and the recording locations cover all four provinces of Ireland and include household names such as Willie Clancy, John Doherty, Johnny O’Leary and Micho Russell, while also highlighting potentially lesser-known but vital sources for Breathnach’s work.
Audio playlist
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About this playlist
We begin with Willie Clancy playing the reel ‘Rakish Paddy’, a tune which Breathnach attributed to Clancy in his 1963 publication Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. This tune is commonly associated with the great travelling piper Johnny Doran, whose playing heavily influenced Willie.
Next, we travel to Dublin, to St. Kevin’s Hospital. Here we find a recording made in 1963 of one of Breathnach’s most prolific sources, Dublin accordion player Sonny Brogan. Also present in the room are the piper Tommy Reck as well as fiddler Tommie Potts.
In September 1965 Breathnach located and recorded the great travelling fiddle player John Doherty in Bonner’s, Reelan Bridge, Co. Donegal. Doherty plays a reel, ‘Bean a’ tí ar lár’, most associated with the Donegal fiddle tradition.
ITMA looks forward to presenting more tracks from Padraic Mac Mathúna’s monthly playlists, as he delves deeper into the collections of music, song and dance housed at the ITMA.