Boys of the Lough

The only constant member of Boys of the Lough is Cathal McConnell. He comes from a family of flute players in Co Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. He won all-Ireland championships in flute and tin whistle in 1962 at the age of 18. In 1967 he joined with Tommy Gunn and Robin Morton to form the first incarnation of the group. Robin remained with the group for 10 years and is now best known as a record producer and manager of the label Temple Records. Tommy left and the duo recorded "An Irish Jubilee" in 1969. Meanwhile the Scottish half of the group was coming into being. Shetlander Aly Bain was playing fiddle as a duo with guitarist Mike Whelans on the Scottish folk circuit. The two duos met each other at Falkirk folk festival. In 1971 they became a quartet. Aly had taken up the fiddle at age 11, taught by Tom Anderson, a respected exponent of the Shetland style of fiddling. Put simply, this involves holding back the tune and then letting it run forward.

So far, there was no obvious singer, but this changed when Dick Gaughan arrived, replacing Mike Whelans. Dick was from Leith, near Edinburgh, and sang very much in the Ewan MacColl mould, muscular and with a pronounced accent. They recorded the first official album in 1972, called "Boys of the Lough". Dick left the following year. He went on to record with the "High Level Ranters", and then with folk-rock band "Five Hand Reel". As Dick the accountant left, Dave the molecular biologist arrived. Dave Richardson was the first member from England. He has been on every album since then, bar one or two. He plays mandolin, cittern, banjo and concertina, and writes new material. This line-up toured widely in Europe and America, building their reputation for playing authentic traditional Irish and Scottish tunes plus the occasional song.

Four albums later they gathered their friends for a party. Some consider "Good Friends ... Good Music" (1977) to be their best album; others say it is their worst. The tight ensemble playing that they had previously displayed is gone, but a loud joyfulness appears. Notable in the one-off line-up is Aly Bain's fiddle teacher, Tom Anderson.

On "Regrouped" (1980), Robin Morton has left, and John Cockley has arrived. He had studied music under the renowned Sean O'Riada at University College Cork. While researching and collecting music in the Sliabh Luachra area of the Cork/Kerry border John had absorbed the Sliabh Luachra style into his fiddle playing. He remained with the group for 12 years. Also on this album was a new sound. Christy O'Leary from Kerry brought uilleann pipes to the group. He had previously toured with De Dannan. He remained for 14 years, to be replaced by Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell in 1999. After 32 years, Aly Bain is not on the most recent album! He has been pursuing a career promoting music on TV, and playing with Shetland fiddlers and in a duo with Phil Cunningham. Boys of the Lough remain the finest group to showcase Irish and Scottish traditional music in equal measure.

Discography - Boys Of The Lough (1972) - Second Album (1973) - Live At Passim's (1974) - Lochaber No More (1976) - The Piper's Broken Finger (1976) - Good Friends ... Good Music (1977) - Wish You Were Here (1978) - Regrouped (1980) - In The Tradition (1981) - Open Road (1983) - To Welcome Paddy Home (1985) - Far From Home - Live (1986) - Farewell and Remember Me (1987) - Sweet Rural Shade (1988) - Live At Carnegie Hall (1992) - The Fair Hills Of Ireland (1992) - The Day Dawn (1994) - The West Of Ireland (1999) -Lonesome Blues and Dancing Shoes (2002)