"Kissing the Blarney Stone" doesn't sound very hygienic.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This festival isn't as big a celebration in the UK as it is in Ireland (or, indeed, America, a place where "Irish ancestry" can actually mean "quite likes U2"). Having been at war with the Irish on and off for several centuries can do that. Nevertheless, the British public never give up a chance to get horribly drunk and then blame someone else - an entire country, in this case. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to snoop around a bit for some suitable music to play while you can still stand reasonably upright.

Today's musical extravaganza is brought to you courtesy of SoundClick, a site which showcases independent artists. As with any site open to public submissions, there's a lot of rubbish on there, but with a minimum of sorting you can get some really pretty good stuff too. For example...

1. Somewhat Irish - St Anne's Reel
   This is a lovely, plinky little acoustic number. Not particularly threatening or raucous, it's just plain happiness wrapped in an Irish veneer. Nicely performed, too - oh, and it can be freely downloaded and shared thanks to its Creative Commons licensing.
   
2. Poitin - Carolan's Draught
   Turlough O'Carolan was a contemporary of Bach, so this is a pretty old tune. It's a great example of the use of the harp in Irish music, a tradition that's sadly been largely eclipsed by the use of mandolins and bouzoukis. This particular song isn't usually performed as slowly and gently as in this case, so it makes for a relaxing wind-down. Possibly between drinks.
   
3. Shenaniganz - Star of the County Down
   I've known this song for a while now, as my dad used to play it in his Irish band - which, coincidentally, was called Shenanigan. (Not this one. I'm not Canadian. Although I have been mistaken for an Australian before.) It's a classic tale of love, or at least of mostly-controlled lust, that dates back to at least the 18th century. This performance is catchy enough to dance to, and I love the lead singer's beer-and-cigarette-laden voice.
   
4. Poitin (again) - Congress Reel
   Yeah, two from the same band seems a little lazy, but I wanted to include this one anyway. No words apart from the odd "Hey!", just high-speed playing and an electric atmosphere. The bodhrán that introduces the song is an interesting instrument - according to Wikipedia it has its roots in war drums, and you can just imagine it leading the troops as they march off to fight...well, the English, probably. Anyway, it drives the song brilliantly, and if you're anything like me you'll need a bit of a sit down afterwards.

There's a whole heap more music out there on the web that's appropriate for today, and actually for any occasion - it's just a matter of knowing where to look. Of course, don't overlook the established musicians either, as they're capable of rocking extremely hard. To illustrate this point, I'll leave you with perhaps the finest example of Americans "doing" Irish music - Steve Earle's song "Galway Girl".


This video is not released under my CC licence. You know the drill.