The Anglo-Saxon invasions of England in the fifth and sixth centuries are very poorly documented. So much so that we barely know what happened at all. It’s up to the linguists and archaeologists to try to put together the picture as The Dark Ages descend and the incumbent inhabitants – ‘Celts’ or ‘Britons’, for want of a better description – were pushed back to the hills and mountains of Cornwall, west wales and the Highlands and islands of Scotland.
But the Celtic tradition is a continuous one in the island of Ireland. And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to suggest this episode celebrating Irish music stands at the end of that long Celtic tradition.
Vigorous, splenetic young bands like Murder Capital, Girl Band and Fontaines DC here rub shoulders with songs of sheer beauty from Rosa Nutty and Seamus Fogarty, contributing his own distinctive brand of haunting melancholy. Classic eighties indie is represented by bands such as Ash, Stars of Heaven, Whipping Boy, Something Happens and The Blades. There’s innovation in the form of My Bloody Valentine and their descendants Newdad (none of whom, as far as they are aware, is a new dad), and original post-punk from The Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers. AE Mak look outside Ireland to the world outside, while The Pogues commemorate the Irish contribution to old wars. Stump supply the humour.
My wife and I love visiting Ireland, whether it be the backstreets of Dublin, the wild peatlands and craggy peaks of County Donegal or the peninsulae of the southwest. We’ve had many marvellous encounters with strangers who, several Guinnesses later, felt like ancient friends. The live music that accompanied those nights will long live in the memory.
We hope to return before long.
Tracklist:
Kung Fu, Ash
When we were young, Whipping Boy
Slowly, Newdad
Lose my breath, My Bloody Valentine
Chequeless reckless, Fontaines DC
Sacred heart hotel, Stars of Heaven
Charlton Heston, Stump
Ducks and drakes, Seamus Fogarty
Fizzy, Rosa Nutty
Here comes the only one again, Something Happens
I can feel it in my bones, AE Mak
More is less, The Murder Capital
The last riddler, Girl Band
Downmarket, The Blades
A pair of brown eyes, The Pogues
Wednesday week, The Undertones
Alternative Ulster, Stiff Little Fingers