Jillser Nic Amhlaoibh

The Irish Concertina Company lists their top model, the Eirú at €4300, not sure what the next model down, the Vintage goes for as I can't see a price for it on their website. Re: the price of an Edgley Heritage - there was one posted for sale here last week and the seller, who's the original owner stated that it cost them $6900 CAD when new in 2020 if I recall correctly: https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/25316-magnifique-heritage-edgley-cg-30-keys-2020-maple-and-steel-ends-to-sell-wheatstone-layout/

If you look through the right hand side grill you may be able to see the date it was made and whatever model it is written in pen, which would be additional helpful info. Going by the serial number it could be a 2015 build.

Just got this lovely Edgley Heritage C/G Anglo this week, still can't believe it's mine!

Have you seen this thread? It compares the original Rochelle and the Rochelle 2, might be helpful. The 2 is definitely not quite as cumbersome size wise as the original Rochelle going by the photos. https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/24371-comparison-standard-rochelle-and-rochelle-2/#comment-216235

Question: I was under the impression that people who don't know notation have used a form of ABC's to jot tunes down for quite awhile, pre-dating computers - is it that recent (computer era) a creation?

Looks like milk chocolate to me...

When I lived in the States I rented a Rochelle from them when first starting out and then bought a lovely second hand Tedrow from them shortly afterwards. Great to deal with and will be sorely missed. Wishing everyone there all the best in their future endeavours.

Looks like the OP has managed to get another key made so no need to fit a different catch to close the case or alter the handle.

Sounds the business, comhghairdeas!

The course materials are viewed via the coursera website - once you sign up for free account and sign up for the course you can access each module.

Sounds like it's not just an issue of remembering the tune, it's an issue of being able to play the tune in the presence of distractions. Changes in the environment effect our behaviour, so while we might be able to play a tune easily sitting in the same spot in the same room where we always practice, if someone walks in or we move to a different room things can fall apart. I used to experience this when I would practice in one room but record myself in another one - when I started practicing and recording in the same location things went much smoother. To get used to playing around distractions it can help to make things easier for yourself by reverting to a slower playing speed or working on a simpler tune etc. Basically if you're going to change one variable then make another one easier to balance it out and then gradually work back up to playing faster in the presence of distractions or playing more complex tunes in the presence of distractions. Busking is also a great way to get used to playing around distractions because most of the people who pass by aren't paying attention to you. For help memorising tunes it can help to listen to recordings of the tune enough so that you can hum it from beginning to end without problem. Backward chaining is another technique that can be used, where you learn the last few bars of a tune and then work your way backwards from there - when I was learning jazz drumming years ago my instructor used to have me do this when learning transcriptions of other drummer's playing. It means that as you move through the tune you keep moving towards familiarity.

If you're still in Dublin there should be a session at the Cobblestone this afternoon, always a bit of craic.

Would you consider shipping this to Ireland?

Just a heads up that we've a Bank Holiday on Monday here in Ireland so McNeela might not get back to you until Tuesday.

Heard back from The Irish Concertina Company - though the website states that the Clare is being made now with brass accordion reeds, when ordering one you still have the option to choose the professional accordion reeds from Italy. Didn't clarify whether "brass" refers to the plates or to the reeds themselves (which I asked about).