From ballads to a classical masterpiece
THE launch of two CDs in the past week added to the considerable body of artistic output from the Dingle Peninsula – each similar in that they were the work of dyed-in-the-wool locals, yet genres apart in their musical content.
First up was the launch last Wednesday evening in the Skellig Hotel of Thomas O’Callaghan’s ‘Dingle Bay’, a collection of 11 gentle ballads reminiscent of the showband era. Thomas, who is aged somewhere in his 50s, reckons it was a bit late in life to record a first CD but he did it anyway when asked to do so on behalf of the lifeboat service. He hopes to raise a few thousand euro for the Fenit and Valentia lifeboats and after selling 120 or so CDs at the launch he’s off to a good start.
Friends, family and neighbours came out to support the launch at which Thomas sang his way through the tracks on the CD while elements of the Sráid Eoin Wren and friends from the Goat Street Wren added a few tunes to mix.
The CD launch by Maureen Benison in An Lab on Saturday night was similar in some ways. Friends, family and neighbours were in abundance and she played music from the album. But after that it was different. Maureen, otherwise known as Mo, with the stage name Seasta and musically descended from the O’Flaherty’s has found her voice in stripped back piano perfomance, classical undertones overlayed with contemporary expression, the album is energetic and deeply moving.
Piper Eoin Duignan described Mo’s performance as ‘amazing’, which was a generally accepted assessment. Thomas O’Callaghan’s brother, Michael, who attended both CD launches, was equally enthused, describing Mo’s music as ‘something that’ll keep us going through the long nights of winter’.