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Exclusive recordings
John Rooney
A Session with John and Larry Rooney at the Pointer in Leeds
A Session at the Pointer on the occasion of a welcome visit to Leeds by the Traveller Pipers, John and Larry Rooney April 7th 2005. Download mp3 files of the session from the column on the right.
Des Hurley writes:
I received a phone call from my good friend, Peter Saunders, Service manager of Travellers Education Service to see if I could arrange some local musicians to meet up on Thursday as the highly respected Travelling Piper, John Rooney, and his son Larry, were visiting the area and had contacted Peter.
A few phone calls later and the arrangements were made and all we needed was for John and Larry to turn up!
A terrific session and evening of traditional music took place until 1.15am the following morning with John and Larry in fine form.
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Utter concentration on the faces of father and son
Perhaps the most poignant part of the evening was the joint musical presence of Simon Topham and John Rooney, the connection relates to their friendship with the recently deceased pipe maker and musician, Dave Williams. Simon was a great musical friend of Dave’s and played regularly with him in Lincolnshire. John had introduced many Pipers to Dave, including Paddy Keenan, and they all wanted a set of his legendary pipes. Stories and memories of Dave were shared over a few pints and everyone shared the tragic loss of a great pipe maker to Irish music and a good friend.
John and Larry keep the tradition of the Travelling pipers alive in modern music today and it is always a great pleasure when they arrive in Leeds and we have the opportunity to hear their unique style of playing. We hope you enjoy listening to this great set of tunes, which have been recorded and edited with great care by Grahame Priestley.
The entire ensemble from left to right: Des Hurley on Fiddle, Simon Topham on Fiddle, John Wood on Cittern, Kieran O'Malley on Fiddle, Chris O'Malley on Guitar and John Rooney on Uilleann Pipes. Larry is just out of shot.
Contact Des Hurley:
Irish Arts Foundation,
West Park Centre ,
Spen Lane,
Leeds LS16 5BE
0113 275 5665
Exclusive downloads
Download these free and exclusive mp3 files
The Maid behind the Bar
Reels - 2.9mb
The Carracastle Lass
Reels - 1.6mb
The Hunter's Purse
Reels - 3.0mb
The Shores of Lough Gowna
Jigs - 4.8mb
Come West along the Road
Reels - 2.8mb
The Star of Munster
Reels - 8.2mb
Dr. Simon's!
Jigs - 5.2mb
The Banshee -
Reels - 2.6mb
Keiran and Chris O'Malley!
Jigs - 1.3mb
The Reel of Rio
Reels - 2.0mb
The Mountain Road
Reels - 8.7mb
The Green Groves of Erin
Reels - 3.6mb
Des/Ian/Simon Fiddles
Jigs - 5.0mb
John Rooney's
Jigs - 3.1mb
The Pigeon on the Gate
Reels - 5.2mb
The Bird in the Bush
Reels - 3.1mb
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Classical Admiration
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