Listen to Chulrua
Chulrua (pronounced cool-ROO-ah) is Irish for “red back,” the name and distinguishing feature of the ancient Irish hero Fionn MacCumhaill’s favorite wolfhound. It is also the name of an internationally acclaimed trio of some of the most respected and unique exponents of Irish traditional music.
County Offaly native Paddy O’Brien has collected more than 3,000 tunes, including many rare and unusual ones over the last 40 years and is regarded as one of the tradition’s most important repositories. A master of the two-row button accordion, he has been named Oireachtas champion four times, and was first named All-Ireland senior accordion champion in 1975. In Ireland, he played and recorded with the famed Castle Ceili Band and Ceoltoiri Laighean and since moving to the United states in 1978, he has been featured on many recordings on Shanachie and Green Linnet label. Paddy has taught at the prestigious Willie Clancy Summer School held in Milltown Malbay, County Clare, and three times served as a master artist in the Minnesota State Arts Board Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. The 500 pieces in the “Paddy O’Brien Tune Collection,” the product of a 1994 National Endowment for the Arts, have received accolades from players of Irish music around the world.
Pat Egan is becoming a recognized force on the contemporary folk scene. A native of Tipperary, Pat grew up singing and playing, and has been a professional musician since 1985. He served his apprenticeship with the Dublin groups Old Bawn and De Min, and has since been a member of Idle Wall and the Mayo-based traditional group Sheeaun. More recently, his performance on the internationally acclaimed recording “Music at Matt Molloy’s” brought his talent to much wider attention, and in 1994 he produced a highly regarded solo tape, “Songs for the Candle.” Now based in Baltimore, Maryland, Pat has made extensive tours of the United States, and has also performed in Sweden, Norway, Holland, Germany, and Scotland. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, in the US, Ireland, and abroad.
Chulrua’s regular fiddler, Patrick Ourceau, is taking a break from touring after the birth of his twins last spring. On this tour, he will be replaced by Dale Russ, whose playing is known for its balance of power and elegance. Originally a bluegrass guitarist, Dale discovered Irish music shortly after buying his first fiddle in 1973 and has never looked back. He has since played in bands with such luminaries as Kevin Burke, Mike Saunders, Mark Graham, Colin Manahan and Nick Voreas and although self-taught (and 100% Slovak), he was invited to perform along with 16 of the finest Irish fiddle players living in the States at the first Boston College Irish Music Festival in 1990. The concert was recorded and released by Green Linnet Records and won an award from the Smithsonian Institute as “Traditional Recording of the Year.”
This project is supported by the