Pride of New York

Pride of New York

County New York has nurtured almost as many Irish musicians as County Dublin and County Clare. As with those counties on the isle Ireland, the music of Irish New York has a distinct edge, born of mixing and mingling of Irish backgrounds and styles and of the energy and exploration that fill the boroughs of New York.

Four New York based and bred players, all highly accomplished in their own rights, put a natural Irish new York spin on a baker’s dozen of sets of reels, jigs, hornpipes, and slip jigs, with the occasional waltz and march thrown in for variety, music itself which was often composed or passed along in the New York Irish community. The musicians draw you in to conversation so well that you can easily imagine you’re sitting in on tunes handed round at a session. Billy McComiskey plays accordion, Brendan Dolan does keyboards,. Brian Conway is the fiddler, and Joanie Madden plays flutes and whistles. Among them they count work with Brendan Mulvihill, Daithi Sproule, Mick Moloney, Cathie Ryan, Liz Carroll, Cherish the Ladies, and Trian, to mention but a few, as well as several All Ireland championships.

It’s the in the moment freshness of their collaboration which really shines here, though, well engineered and mixed by Keith Chirgwin and mastered by Emily Lazar. You’ll find your own way into which of these sparkling cuts you enjoy the most, of course. Two of my favorites are the Redican’s/The Gatehouse Maid/ The Road to Garrison set of reels and Madden’s flute solo, the air Slan Le Maigh.



you may also want to see
Music Road: Green Fields of America

Music Road: Billy McComiskey: Outside the Box

Music Road: Voices: Cherish the Ladies

-->If you'd like to support my creative work,
here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this.Thank you.

Billy McComiskey: Outside the Box

Billy McComiskey
Outside the Box


This is accordion player Billy McComiskey’s first solo set in more than two decades. He’s been immersed in playing with others, both in the studio and in concert, so it took him a while. Those years and those experiences have allowed him to bring layers of depth, feeling, and humor to an engaging collection of tunes which runs from reels to jigs to hornpipes to set dances and O’Carolan tunes. It’s a program both well thought out and well worth repeated listening. Many of the tunes are from the tradition, although they are often not well worn ones. The O’Carolan set, too, is especially worth noting, as is McComiskey’s original lullabye Grainne’s Grace. If you’re looking for music that will go well with the turning of seasons and last on into the new year too, Outside the Box is a fine choice. Liz Carroll,Bredan Dolan, Mick Moloney, Athena Tergis, and John Doyle are among those who sit in with McComiskey on the tunes.


you may also want to see
Music Road: now playing: Athena Tergis

Music Road: now playing: Emily Smith: Too Long Away