By Rónán Galvin

Horse skulls buried under the kitchen floor, a bumpy stretch of road that inspired a tune title and June, July and August when the salmon leaps the fall! Corratistune, Magho and Aughakillymaude – townlands on the shores of Lough Erne and bedrocks of traditional music and song that can be explored through the McConnell Collection. Here we can learn about the flute player William Carroll, a ‘strong man’ whose sound could fill a hall on his own and discover that seven generations of fiddle players stretched back to John Gunn. Cathal and Maura’s natural interaction with older players encouraged the telling of anecdotes, and folklore is very much present in the hundreds of cassette tapes donated to ITMA.

On leaving school, Cathal’s first position in employment commenced in 1960 and lasted until 1964 working in a grocery shop in Glassdrummon close to Kinawley – a round trip of 14 miles by bicycle. While the employment itself left no lasting impression on Cathal, this period brought him into contact with a rich music tradition in the Kinawley and Derrylin areas and in particular musicians such as Andy Kerrin and Ned Curran, both fiddlers, a young Gabriel McArdle, flute player John Joe ‘Puck’ Maguire and Tommy Maguire, a fiddle player who features in this playlist.

It was during this period that Cathal first met Big John McManus of Aughakillymaude, a multi-instrumentalist and singer and John’s wife, Valerie, herself a fine singer. John was a direct descendant of John Gunn who compiled The ‘Gunn Book’, a manuscript of more than one hundred and seventy tunes dating from the mid 19th century and indeed John drew on these older tunes, many of which were passed on to Cathal among others. Included in the playlist is the slow air ‘The Corratistune rose’ composed by John McManus and it refers to a rose that was brought by John Gunn’s wife from her home place on their marriage. The rose bush still flourishes to this day! John and Cathal were lifelong friends and they remained in regular contact until John’s passing in 2013.

A decade later in the early 1970s Cathal and Maura first travelled to the Derrygonnelly area, 14 miles north of Bellanaleck. It was here that they discovered a rich repertoire and style and in particular the flute player, Eddie Duffy and his playing partner, Mick Hoy, a fine fiddle player and singer. The McConnells were to spend many a night in their company and in between local lore and hot punch, some great tunes were exchanged including local polkas, marches, highlands and tunes with titles like ‘Swing swang’ or ‘The Magho snaps’ both of which features here.

It could be said that Cathal served as a conduit through which a rich repertoire from older Fermanagh musicians including Big John, Mick and Eddie reached the wider world. Cathal is highly aware and proud of his heritage and discussions about this wealth of tradition proved the initial spark for the excellent 2003 publication ‘Hidden Fermanagh’ compiled by his friend and flute player, Cyril Maguire.

This project is possible thanks to funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.