Peter Laban

It's early on the Sunday morning and the use of tanzbar, Tanzbär and Tanzbar is frying my brain. Am I wrong thinking tanzbar is like the Dutch dansbaar, danceable, Tanzbär is the bear and Tanzbar is a bar where people go to both drink and dance?

Aaww, and it's only just starting to live up to its original title... 🤤

This kind of thread always leaves you wondering if things turned out as hoped. Also : Just in case anyone was planning on going, the Liam O'Brien gig on Friday has been postponed until November 15th.

Juicy? You may want to read up on that, the wiki for Hector MacDonald would be a start. It is generally accepted now that rumours and accusations made against him were false. But true or false, driving someone to take their own life is tragic, to say the least.

Scott Skinner, however, had a different Hector in mind when he composed the tune : From wiki: "Hector the Hero" is a classic lament penned by Scottish composer and fiddler James Scott Skinner in 1903.[1] It was written as a tribute to Major-General Hector MacDonald, a distinguished Scottish general around the turn of the century. MacDonald, a friend of Skinner's, had not long before committed suicide after false accusations and charges against him.

It is a very fine site, set up and maintained by his granddaughter, webdesigner and concertinplayer Aoife (and I am pretty sure a post was made here shortly after it was launched five years ago). While at it, the Kelly family's recent(-ish )recording, 'a family tradition' , celebrating old John and their family's music is worth looking at too.

Edel Fox and her husband Neil Byrne played their concert last night. It was a wonderful night. Great selection of tunes, loads of compositions by the Dwyers, Charlie Lennon , Joe Liddy and others. Complex, notey music on some level but the affinity between the two players providing great heart and warmth. Liam O'Brien and Deirdre Hurley are on next, on 1 November, but that may be outside the timeframe requested by the OP. The concert after that will feature yet another concertina player : Méabh Mulligan, who will appear with Andtew Hendy.

Some mainstream interest in the concertina: My ancestors could have heard these songs

I have heard more than a few very fine players say that the cross row system gave them the freedom they previously lacked. So there is that too. My son went to Noel Hill for a few years when he was in his mid teens, that approach taught a lot of options and solutions to certain patterns. Whatever else you may feel about the style or approach it does open up the instrument and offers the player considerable freedom. And for that reason it's best not to dismiss it too lightly.

The concertinas on display are a part of the collection of a forum member here. I am not sure I'd call it a 'Museum', it's more a visitor's centre but YMMV. The music makers is part of Oidreacht an Chláir and supports the work of that organisation. OAC, among other things, is responsible for the Concertina Cruinniu. They do the odd Friday night song and tunes concert as well but I am not sure that has started again, I often miss them because I am not a Facebook user. The ones I do catch are always worthwhile. [Just to add: I looked it up, there's a songs and tunes night on coming Friday but no concertina involved. Last Friday of the month is probably right, for future reference] Glór in Ennis is starting a series of monthly duet concerts, 'Just the two' on 4 October, that may be earth checking when in the area. Edel Fox and Neil Byrne are starting off this run. Liam O Brien will be in a later concert. Check glor.ie

But it makes sense the concertina was sold more or less locally.

As is the OP.

It is a whole group of tunes really. Cucanandy is named for the song Bess Cronin sang to it. The name was connected to the tune by the recording The Gloaming did of it. Or so it seems, we used to know it as 'My mind will never be easy' before that. 'She didn't dance and dance..' is a slide version of the same melody. And there is Samuel Lover's 'The Whistling Thief', that Séamus Ennis and Sean 'as Donncha used to sing, using the tune as well. I tried to get to the origins of all that but never quite managed to untie that knot.

Or see them here:

There was a discussion about the tune on thesession: https://thesession.org/tunes/7028 in it, it was stated : I don't have Sullivan's book although I read it some thirty years ago so can't comment on that any further. I wouldn't rule out there's more than one Planxty Reilly either. Yes Hills of Coore, a bit and several others too like The Stream of the Cats/Humours of Tullycrine, Tuamgraney castle, Napoleon crossing the Rhine (or was it the Alps?) and all of those.