An Tobar Gle

The third album by Dublin piper Neil Mulligan is as excellent as one would expect from this master musician. There’s a splendid solidity and authority to his playing, particularly on slow airs like ‘A Stór Mo Chroí’, ‘Dónal Óg’, and the poignant ‘Caitríona Rua’, written by Mulligan after the death of his mother. Other originals include the title track, a rollicking jig in honour of a folk club run by Séamus Ennis at Slattery’s in the 1970s. Like its predecessors, the CD features pure unadulterated solo piping – which is just as well, as any accompaniment would have been rendered superfluous by Mulligan’s adroit use of his instrument’s full range, complete with drones and resonators. Extensive notes on the jacket tell the stories behind the tunes and reveal the writer’s affection for the music.