Cronin brothers from Reaboy, presented by Aidan Connolly

THE coming Saturday, January 18, is the date for the first Handed Down presentation of 2020 and it will be a special one for the Cronin brothers from Reaboy in Gneeveguilla.

Johnny played fiddle and box; Mick played flute and whistle and Paddy favoured fiddle and flute.

It will be presented by the young and accomplished fiddle player, Aidan Connelly – a Dublin born musician with firm roots in Sliabh Luachra and an avid admirer of the Cronin legacy, style and way of doing all things musical.

A huge amount of rare and previously unseen and unheard materials will be brought to the Sliabh Luachra Heritage Centre stage in Scartaglin on Saturday night from 8pm sharp by the presenter.

This will all be punctuated by musical interludes from the rich heritage in and around which the Cronins dwelt.

In the sleeve notes of his debut CD ‘Be Off ’, Aidan Connolly gives credit to his uncle, Con Moynihan for switching him on to the music of the Cronins.

“A key moment for me was when my

uncle Con gave me a CD containing two Paddy Cronin albums from the 1970s – Kerry’s Own and The Rakish Paddy.

“I was immediately taken by Paddy’s stylish playing and quickly set about learning all of his tunes. For me Paddy Cronin is the Rolls Royce of fiddle music and I spent my teenage years trying to mimic his incredible tone, rhythm and ornamentation,” Aidan wrote.

In the course of Saturday night, the Dan O’Connell Memorial Award will also be presented.

Last year’s winners, The Rising,

a traditional band from Killarney, have chosen P. J. Teahan as this year’s recipient for his contribution to Sliabh Luachra music.

The full line up for Scart on Saturday night is as follows, guest musicians: John Daly, Con Moynihan and Denis O’Connor; Thomas Barrett from The Rising; Singer, Nollaig Ní Laoire, Oireachtas Corn Uí Riada winner along with young musicians, Joanne and Deirdre Moynihan, Castleisland; Seán Butler, Scartaglin and Shauna Bradley, Rathfarnham, Dublin.