I am going to post song notes, etc. here over the next few weeks. Here is the dedication to the new CD which will be released about December 1, 2009. It is called the Cannonsburg Sessions.

There are these places, scattered around the North American continent, that are special to the grandchildren of Ireland. These are the places where the people of the Irish Diaspora, chased from their beloved homeland by the Great Hunger and centuries of repression and discrimination, settled in and created a new life,yet clung stubbornly to their identities as the children of Ireland. One of these very special places is the area in and around the parish of St. Patrick, located in Parnell, Michigan. The Irish came to these green rolling hills of hardwoods and fertile land, and the place names reflect their pride in their heritage. The village is named after a famous Irish orator, Charles Stewart Parnell. The township is named after the famous Irish Nationalist, Henry Grattan. It is the place that remains the spiritual center of the Irish in West Michigan, and a stroll through its graveyard is like a stroll through a graveyard in Ireland. You will see old Celtic crosses, and names like Byrne, McGee, Malone, Verlin, Doyle, Driscoll, Gahan, Hefferan, Nugent, and so many more. This is the place that spawned The Conklin Céilí Band. It is to this place, and to the descendants of those that risked all to come here, that we dedicate this recording. It is fitting then that we would come together on the banks of Bear Creek at Cannonsburg in the parish of St Patrick's - Parnell, in the heart of Irish America, to hold the sessions that would become this CD.

The music of The Conklin Céilí Band is rooted in the "songs and stories, and heroes of renown"** of the Irish and the Irish around the world. We attempt to take songs and tunes, old and new, written by and about our people, and present them in a unique way. One man who books many Irish acts described our music as follows; "I listen to a lot of Irish music, I know the music you play, but you are different from anything I have heard….. and I love it". We hope you will love it too.

Mick Lane
October, 2009
**From the lyrics to "Dublin in the Rare Old Times, copyright Pete St. John.