Eithne Vallely

The unexpected, tragic death of Eithne Vallely last week is a huge blow to Irish traditional music in Ireland and the wider world. As matriarch of the legendary Vallely clan, she is the epitome of “the good ancestor.” The founder of the Armagh Pipers Club in 1966, with her husband Brian, she was an inspirational teacher of a wide range of traditional instruments. Eithne grew up steeped in Donegal music and Irish-speaking culture. Her mother, grandmother and grandfather were fiddle players, and she began playing at age nine.

Three of her children are distinguished musicians and part of the traditional music avant-garde: Niall is a concertina player who formed the Cork-based band Nomos and later recorded two albums under the name, Buille, with his brother Caoimhin on piano; Caoimhin co-founded the group North Cregg and is also a fiddle player; Cillian is a piper and has been the calm center of the high-powered group Lunasa since 1996.

Eithne’s husband, Brian, is a teacher, organizer, and pipes and flute player. In addition, he is a highly-regarded painter who focused on Irish music and musicians in his work. His portraits featured in many publications, including the Companion Guide to Irish Music edited by his first cousin, Fintan Vallely.

The Irish Times report on her death noted that the Armagh Pipers Club said it was with “great sorrow” that they shared news of her death, extending “heartfelt sympathy” to her family. “Eithne brought music into the lives of children for six decades,” the club said. “Her enormous contribution to Irish traditional music was recognised nationally with many awards and honours.” Thousands of musicians got their start at the Armagh Pipers Club, and many are still active performers.

Bob Breheny

And, in the SF Bay Area, we mourn the passing of Bob Breheny, the quiet dynamo of the Celtic Music scene in the South Bay for over forty years. I had several fruitful and funny encounters with him over the years at concerts featuring Tony Mac Mahon, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Molly’s Revenge, among others.

Michael Black knew him well and wrote this elegant, eloquent tribute for the Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay. I particularly liked this summary:

He was incredibly well read, quietly observant, and full of unexpected humor. I will admit it took me a while to get used to his puns, but they became part of who he was, and part of what made him unmistakably Bob.

Bob was well known for his quirky ways as a host and his very wry (but never awry) sense of humor. He liked nothing more than drawing you into a bout of high-level banter where his erudition would flash and frolic.

I pulled up a couple of his old email messages, which illustrate his mischievousness. From 2011,

Cheers Tom.

Thanks for the bellow below.

Bugger. Wish I did espy in the sky your review of Brendan & Caoimhin ere churning out the cheesy newsletter. Had I done so, I’d filched the whole thing. Of course, permission would be good too. Maybe I’ll figure out how to include in October update or at least refer folks to same. Saxophone!

There’s also a bit on your blog about Moya Brennan in T with the Maggies, arriving anon for only No. California appearance in Santa Cruz. Her manager and better half, Tim Jarvis, will also be along, so I hope we get a good showing or it’ll be my guts for garters.

Imbibed your riff on ‘The Guard.’ Ever see Brendan Gleeson flick ‘I Went Down?’ Mighty stuff. Thought I read somewhere that he was directing film of what I’d thought to be unfilmable, Flann O’Brien’s ‘At Swim-Two-Birds.’ Anything, other than 12 inches, afoot there? 

your palindrome pal, -BoB

And this exchange from 2008:

Hey Bob: Thanks for the blog menchkin (which, as you know, is an old Gaelic word for a little mention) in the latest newsletter. You’ve got some great stuff coming up. I saw the Molly’s last night rattling the pews in an Episcopal church in Castro Valley….. Can I use “blogtrotting” if I give you credit? As you said once to me, I wish I’d thought of that…. -Tom

Mazel tov, Tom.

Use what you wish sans credit, it’s not as if I’d be calling you and come after your blog with a bludgeon.

Did I say ‘I wish I’d thought of that?’ Maybe I was thinking of the Wilde-Whistler exchange:

Whistler: (says something or other)

Wilde: I wish I had said that, James.

Whistler: You will, Oscar, you will.

(discom) Bob (ulated)

Bob hosted the late Tony Mac Mahon during a 2002 visit at the Resource Center for Non-Violence in Santa Cruz. Tony was in fine form and partnered up with Japanese guitarist Junji Shirota. It was a magical evening with Tony responding wholeheartedly to the energy generated by an audience of aficionados. Pete Haworth of Molly’s Revenge recorded the concert and gave me a copy. So here’s a rare live recording of a suitably mournful slow air called Amhrán na Leabhar:

https://on.soundcloud.com/ztlQwlc1xmRcuggSqv

Dolly Parton

And, finally, Irish music fans join the mourning for the great Dolly Parton. She enhanced and beautified every musical genre she touched, including Irish traditional songs. She understood well the underlying connections to country music from early Irish immigrants to the United States. Her primary collaboration was with the Donegal band Altan. Her voice blended gloriously with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh on the songs “The Pretty Young Girl” and “In the Sweet By and By.” Mairéad recalls the great fun she had working with Dolly in this RTE interview. This YouTube video features their duet of “The Sweet By and By”, from the Women’s Heart- A Decade On album