G'day ceilidhcowboy,

I must agree with TheOldMole, The Clancys were in there early, before any fashionable folk revival, without any mass of other bands to copy and emulate. I picked up a CD version of the old Tradition LP The Lark in the Morning ... expecting not better than something some publicity flack had subtitled Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem and Friends ... and found a wonderful collection of songs from Diane Hamilton's 1955 field recording trip, the story of Liam and Tommy's awakenings into their song culture and history - and a swag of wonderful traditional singers that relate far more to my own Australian heritage than anything from any modern "Irish Revival" band.

I still have fond memories of hearing the the Clancy Brothers perform in Sydney around 1963 and experiencing the sheer joy they brought to their music and the deep Irish resonance with the Australian-Irish audience ... free from the political rancour that saturates so much modern Irish material.

regards,

Bob Bolton