Oct 11, 2022
Paddy’s father was also a keen traditional fiddler and specialised in teaching children how to play. ‘In his time, there was more music around,’ says Paddy with his bashful smile. ‘A lot of the musicians he knew were of an older generation. He would keep them in the...
Oct 11, 2022
‘Once, I was coming to school and I met two fellows leading a three-year-old bullock with horns. On his horns was a placard – ‘The Land for the People and the Road for the Bullock’. And beneath the bull, they were dragging a man who was after evicting a poor...
Oct 11, 2022
‘I’m just ticking over,’ says the eighty-two-year-old forester, while tippling several litres of petrol from a billy-can directly into a chainsaw without spilling a drop. ‘And once you keep ticking, you’re not too bad.’ Become a member of Turtle’s History Library to...
Oct 11, 2022
When Robbie McMahon sings “Spancil Hill”, it all falls into place. There have been so many versions of this powerful ballad that it becomes easy to forget who was there first. He revels in his role as guardian to the ballad. ‘How many times have I sung it? Well, it...
Oct 11, 2022
Stephen John Tierney is a Corribean. At least, that is what some call those who live along the shores of the majestic Lough Corrib in County Galway. His home, Mayfly Cottage, lies in the wet and rocky high ground just north of Oughterard, a stone’s throw from the...
