Catherine Newman’s

Music from the manuscripts for special airing

THE Rockchapel-based comhaltas group Ceoltoiri Sliabh Luchra will present their new show “Music from the Manuscripts” in Bruach na Carraige Rockchapel on Friday 16 March at 8.30pm

This show is a celebration of the music of local musicians Dave Dan Curtin of Stagmount Roakchapel, his father Dan Curtin and their neighbour Dave Leahy of Secondgloss Mountcollins, who died in 1907.

The manuscripts from all three were recently discovered.

Dan Curtin`s manuscripts from the National Traditional Music Archives in Dublin date back to before 1850 and gives us an important glimpse of an older layer of Sliabh Luachra Music than what prevails today, with many of the tunes having not been heard yet, or heard of for over a century.

Dave Dan and Dave Leahy’s manuscripts were donated to the Bruach Na Carraige Archive by the late Margaret O Brien, daughter of Dave Dan`s of Elsberry Missouri in the US. They also contain tunes not heard anymore.

These manuscripts illustrate the quality of the music around Rockchapel over 150 years of age, and the ability of our musicians to produce such quality manuscripts.