In the early 70’s, Irish traditional and folk music was continuing to twist and turn, shaking off assumptions and finding new and varied influences. The generation of musicians coming through was as likely to be listening to Joni Mitchell, The Beatles or Lonnie Donegan as to the greats of traditional music that came before. Songs and tunes were coming alive in the pubs and clubs and a new audience was enjoying each new group and their collections.
So it was that Mick Hanly and Mícheál Ó’Domhnaill came together to play songs they knew and ones they came across in their travels. It was a productive time, touring and refining arrangements and so, when they came on the studio, the arrangements and gathered musicians produced one of the great albums of the time: Celtic Folkweave. While they played together for just a short time in the context of their own careers, the album was a perfect amalgam of their special musical bond.
Due to ongoing interest and not a little investigative work from Mick, masters of the album – long thought to be forgotten – were found and a new remastered version has been released.
It’s a tribute to Mick and to the late, and much missed, Mícheál.
I caught up with Mick recently to chat about the making of the album and the times that created it. We pressed ‘record’ and I hope you enjoy what we chatted about during the hour the flew past!
