Traditional Music On Fiddle Banjo And Harp

The tide of burgeoning traditional music talent is rising so high these days that we're in danger of drowning in it. Not a bad way to go, I'd hazard, especially when it rises as many boats and sailors as it has lately.

Oismn Mac Diarmada (fiddle), Brian Fitzgerald (banjo) and Micheal S Ruanaigh (harp) are yet another trio of young Turks whose grasp of the music is firmer and stronger than many who went before.

With roots in Clare, Limerick and Monaghan, these boys make full use of their gene pool, tapping into a rake of tunes by everyone from Ed Reavy to Willie Clancy, and more contemporary musicians such as Peadar O Riada.

A democratic spirit suffuses their debut, with fiddle, banjo and harp trading centre-stage, observing all the finer points of proportional representation. Banjo and fiddle partner cosily on the set of jigs 'Bmmms Ag Sl/The Lark In The Strand', while Micheal S Ruanaigh shines with an air of his own composing, 'Aghaidh Jhanuis'. With echoes of 'Bruach Na Carraige Baine' whispering at its edge, it's a piece all at one with the past and yet comfortable enough to let go and navigate its own path too.

Ultimately there's a restraint and parlour room courtesy that somehow muzzles the full potential of these three. But as a whistle-wetter, it admirably serves its purpose. Technical prowess, musical fortitude by the bucketload; all that's left is for MacDiarmada, Fitzgerald and S Ruanaigh to spread their wings a

little wider and take a flight path of their own choosing. Something hints that that might not be too far away.