At The End Of The Day - Dervish

They carry Irish history with them You can feel the pain as the splendid Cathy Jordan sings "An Spalpin Fanach" you can sense the release and joy in the opening "Touching Cloth reels" you can almost touch the despair and isolation in "Lone Shanakyle" and you can picture the vibrant Sligo traditions inherent in their playing of the jigs on "The Killavil Set". They have truly absorbed the techniques and, more importantly, the soul that has driven Irish traditional musicians through the years and come out of it with all the freshness verve and timeless appeal associated with the great Irish bands of the 70s and early 80s. There's some outstanding playing, notably from the creative triumvirate of Shane McAleer on fiddle, Liam Kelly on flute, and Shane Mitchell on accordion, but there's inventiveness too in some of their arrangements. The use of a Polish mazurka in the midst of a flying set of reels and the idea of inviting Swedish band Vassen to play the intoxicating "Josefin's Waltz" as the tailpiece of "I Courted A Wee girl" was a masterstroke. Initially I thought they'd made a rare mistake by recording "Eileen Mc Mahon" in a church. But Jordan sings the song - a party piece of her recently deceased father - with such emotional fragility that the echoey effect of the church is so eerie it is almost shocking

Colin Irwin Folk Roots

Track Listing:
Touching cloth
Ar Eirinn ni neosfainn
Jim Coleman's set
An spailpin fanach
Packie Duignan's
Lone shanakyle
Drag her round the road
Peata beag
Trip to Sligo
Sheila Nee Iyer
Kilavill set
I courted a wee girl
Josefin's waltz
Eileen McMahon