Inis Oirr

As a fitting end to a week of music for St. Patrick’s celebrations, Bobby Gardiner, the renound button accordionist from Co Clare, joined Inis Oirr for two gigs in Abu Dhabi. His daughter, Fiodhna who plays the tin whistle in the band, was delighted to share the stage with her father.

“This has become an annual gig that I really enjoy,” says Bobby, “and I really like Inis Oirr’s arrangements and variety of instruments.”

Bobby has travelled the world over the past 40 years as a professional musician, playing traditional music from the Catskill Mountains in New York State, to the Great Wall of China. He has several recordings made over the years, including the popular ‘Memories of Clare’ album and The Master’s Choice. He can be found playing at the Bru Boru Cultural Centre in Cashel, Co Tipperary during the summer months. Check out this page on Wikipedia for more information about Bobby. For some videos of his music, check out this link to YouTube.

To whet your appetite, here is Bobby playing a selection of reels starting with Sporting Nell and finishing with The Maids of Castlebar. He goes on to lilt the Boys of Ballysodare.

Inis Oirr played at the St Patrick’s Festival of Music at the Irish Village, Dubai from March 14th-17th. They entertained the large crowds with their  jigs, reels and songs. The festival started with a sell out concert by Sir Bob Geldoff and culminated with large crowds attending the live music on St Patrick’s Day, the 17th of March.

This was Inis Oirr’s biggest gig to date and their music went down very well with the large and appreciative crowd. Dave Cattanach, the manager of the Irish Village, was thrilled with Inis Oirr’s music. ‘We’d love to have you back next year!’, he said after the last set of the night. A great end to a great week.

Here is a short video of the performance.The tune is Jenny Pickin’ Cockles

Inis Oirr recently featured in ‘m’, the Saturday magazine published as part of Abu Dhabi’s National newspaper. On a back page article, called ‘My… Band’, Inis Oirr chatted about a variety of topics related to Irish music, including the band’s name, how the group was formed, the band members and their instruments, regular and upcoming gigs and what it means to be part of the group.

Read the article online or download it here.

Final preparations are being made for five days of Irish Music at the Irish Village to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, as reported in The National on 13th March. The festivities will kick off on March 13th with Sir Bob Geldof. From the 14th to the 17th, Inis Oirr will be performing at different times in the village as follows:

Saturday 14th: 4pm, 7.45pm and 10.30pm

Sunday 15th: 8.15pm, 9.30pm, 10.45pm

Monday 16th: 8.15pm, 9.30pm, 10.45pm

Tuesday 17th: 5.15pm, 8.15pm, 10.30pm

Check out the Irish Village website for more information.