Other traditional and folk music uploads on CHTM
Liam Weldon
Dominic Behan
The Furey Brothers
Seamus Ennis (on pipes)
Seamus Ennis (Mrs. McGrath)
The Liffey Banks- Claddagh Records
The Liffey Banks
I remember the first time I saw the image above. It was over on Niall McCormacks blog, and the image just grabbed my attention. In truth, I hadn’t heard of Tommy Potts before. The image is striking but, a man completely content and in his element at one of the most iconic spots in Dublin. Bord Fáilte would ruin it if they tried to capture something like that again. It’s completely natural, a moment caught perfectly.
Anyway, it turned out that Tommy was a Dublin firefighter, and I heard mention of him from my father. Based at Tara Street fire-station, he was injured in the Pearse Street fire of October 6th,1936. Three Dublin firefighters died in the fire, including a 1916 veteran named Robert Malone, and two other firemen- Tom Nugent and Peter McArdle. The three men are buried at Glasnevin Cemetery, side by side.
Sibéal Teo, a television production company, deserve massive credit for their ‘Cérbh é….‘ series on Tg4 exploring some of the key personalities of traditional music in Irish history. Among the figures studied in the series was one Tommy Potts. It opened my eyes not just to his own music, but an entire hidden scene in Dublin, centered around the (sadly gone) Lavin’s pub. The show was presented by Paddy Glackin, a fiddle player himself, which no doubt added to the character of the show.
Here, we have two tracks from 1972s ‘The Liffey Banks’. From the voice of Liam Weldon to the pipes of Seamus Ennis, it’s posts like this I most enjoy.
You can purchase The Liffey Banks from Claddagh Records online for only €13
My Love Is In America
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
I have The Liffey Banks in my 12″ vinyl LP collection! I don’t recall ever seeing him playing in person, but you never know he could have been playing in O’Donoghue’s small back room in Merrion Row when I was unable to get through the crowd and stayed in the front bar with a jar chatting with a few comrades perhaps after college, a march or meeting. Paddy Glackin mentioned above was at school with me, I believe he came to live in Dublin with his family from Donegal. He was a founder member of the Clontarf Branch of Comhaltas (later renamed the Sean Treacy branch) that held monthly sessions on a Sunday evening in the basement of the Old Moran’s Hotel on the corner of Lower Gardiner Street/Talbot Street.
http://www.seantreacycce.com
http://seantreacy.blogspot.com/
Nice to see grandad getting some recognition. As a child i thought he owned the bridge. I make sure i cross it every time i am in the city.
I remember my Grandfather leaving the house and going for the photo shoot at 5 am…. I remember his modesty, his genius. I had the greatest privilege of all that knew him….. whenever I came to see my Grandparents he would take his fiddle down from the wall by the fireplace play a reel for me to dance to….
Bought this LP in 1972. Opened my eyes to fiddle music, especially Tommy Potts. He didn’t get any recognition at the time. Now my prize possession.