JigTime

There are names that people use in Irish traditional music circles that are immortal. In my home county of Donegal most of these names are fiddle players. The Donegal style of playing has something very special and unique about it. It has the feel of the driving wind and rain that can beat hard on our coastline for days on end. It also has the sweetness and melody of a summer’s day.

People have argued for years about the different styles of traditional music up and down the length of Ireland. Not many, especially in Donegal, will argue about who the great fiddlers are. There are just a handful of them. John Doherty is the best known and is of course now a legend. Tommy Peoples’ playing commands a similar amount of respect and reverence.

There is one name that is creeping into those barroom conversations when people talk about “the greats”. Ciaran Tourish has been playing the fiddle since he was a very young lad. In my opinion he is one of the great Donegal fiddle players of all time. But more importantly for me than that. He is a good friend.

I started playing with Ciaran in the Pyros way back when he was just a lad. We got to know each other well over the years. When I moved to London Ciaran had become a full time member of, and one of the driving forces behind Altan. I was a drinker at the time, a pretty serious drinker. It took a long time for me to break the chain and when I did I had left a fair bit of wreckage in my path. A lot of people doubted me when I came out of rehab and tried to start again after not being sober for over 15 years. I don’t blame them either. I had let a lot of people down over the years. Even some of my hard drinking friends had trouble coming to terms with the new me.

But Ciaran never looked at me like that. He did with me what he does with everyone: looks for and finds some good. I was a big fan of Altan and to show that appreciation I would organize parties for them when they came to London. These were “all night”crazy sessions but a lot of fun. Ciaran and I would inevitably end up in a corner of the bar talking nonsense and laughing about the world.

When I moved to live in America, Ciaran once again went the extra step to show his faith in an old friend and invited me on tour with Altan as a tour manager. I did about 5 tours with the band over 4 years and we traveled all over America. It was one of the most fulfilling things I had ever done. It was a lot of work but it never seemed like it. I got to travel with people I loved and listened to amazing music every night.

But on those days off when the band had some down time, the phone would ring in my room and it would be Tourish inviting me to lunch or just keep him company for a drink. And we would laugh about our Pyros days and talk about how we missed our kids when we were on the road.

It is a coincidence that while I am doing these little blog tributes to my fellow Pyros that Altan are now in the same US state as me. I will see Ciaran tomorrow and again feel that rush of pride when he takes a solo. And after the show I will be among friends and especially one who showed a little faith in me when I had very little faith in myself.

Cheers Ciaran. Heres to many more tunes.