Maura Begley Musical Evening

On the other side of the mountain, over Conor Pass, there is a very special musical event every Monday night starting at 8pm. The hostess is Maura Begley who opens her 200 year old thatched cottage for a musical happening. Maura creates an atmosphere that is warm and friendly and encouraging for even the shyest person to participate and everyone is asked to play something, sing a song, tell a story or recite a poem.


Maura is a member of one of the leading traditional Irish music families in Ireland. A couple of her brothers are famous box players but Maura herself is up there with the best of them. She plays mostly piano accordion and harp but I have seen her play numerous other instruments. She also sings, mostly in Irish, with a lovely voice.



We have a young woman visiting us from Germany and we took her to Maura's last night so that she could get a glimpse of the kind of social event that once was common all over Ireland but now is very rare. Being the height of the tourist season, the place was packed. There were several families with children and the talent was amazing.


A couple of old timers from nearby Tralee kept us laughing all evening with stories about the old days and the exploits of some extraordinary local characters.

If you are visiting Dingle, it is well worth the half hour trip over the mountain for some great Irish hospitality and entertainment.
As an extra bonus, the scenery on the way is spectacular.

Dingle Traditional Irish Music Maura Begley

John Benny's Pub Session

John Benny Moriarty's Pub, generally referred to as John Benny’s, is located on Strand Street in Dingle. They serve food all day and have self catering accommodation. It is one of the primary locations for traditional Irish music in town.

John Benny, a very good West Kerry style box player, frequently leads the session himself. And, if you are in Dingle on a Wednesday night, don’t miss his wife Eilis Kennedy. She plays whistle and timber flute and she has a beautiful voice with a texture that is unique. Eilis has her own website with biographical information, performance schedules and you can listen to selections from her CD’s.

Seán Briggs & Cillian O'Briain

There is a session every night during the season and on weekends and some evenings during the off-season. John Benny's also offers an opportunity to experience Irish set dancing every Monday night. All sessions begin at 9:30 pm.

Pub Session Dingle

Paudie’s Bar Session

Dingle Bay Hotel

A very friendly and social session can be found at Paudie’s bar in Dingle. There is traditional music most nights during the season and occasionally there is an Elvis evening. Paudie’s Bar is located within the Dingle Bay Hotel on Strand Street.

Rose, Gordon & Tomás

I particularly like Tuesdays and Fridays with Tomás Flahive, Gordon and Rose Saunders. This little group creates a warm, friendly and inclusive session. Tomás is a local box player with a very lyrical style. Gordon plays guitar and banjo and is the singer of the group. This session does have more singing than most others. Rose plays an assortment of instruments.

On Mondays and Thursdays there is a very lively session with Aina Davis, Eoin Knightly and Rob Lowther. The musicians themselves are half dancing as they play.

Eoin Duignan, uilleann piper, usually plays on Sundays. Eoin also runs the concerts at St. James’ Church.

Sessions usually begin at 9:30 pm.

Dingle Music Sessions Pub Sessions

Thomas Moore

You don’t hear the songs of Thomas Moore much anymore. I have been surprised when I played his tunes at the pub sessions that many people had never even heard them. So, I have been doing my bit to revive Mr. Moore. I try to play at least one such tune at a session with the result that one local musician now calls me Thomas Moore.

Thomas Moore was born in Dublin on the 28th of May 1780.
Goethe considered him to be one of the best poets of that time. Moore made a very good living from his writing.

According to the Norton Anthology for English Literature: Thomas Moore has a permanent place in literary history as the friend and biographer of Byron and as the preeminent "Irish melodist" He was a best-selling author for most of his career, rivaling and sometimes outdistancing Byron.

He wrote a long romantic Oriental poem called Lalla Rookh in 1817 for which he was paid £3000. This was the largest sum ever offered for a single poem up to that time. It was a good investment for the publisher, selling out more than twenty editions during the author's lifetime.

It seems that Moore was concerned that many of the old tunes were being lost and making them into songs kept them going and made them available to everyone.

I particularly like the song Avenging and Bright that was written in the early 1800’s and the words were put to an old Irish air Crooghan A Venee. On the surface, the song is about Deirdre and the sons of Usna and how they were betrayed by Conor Mac Nessa King of Ulster. The song expresses anger with the king . However it really expresses Moore’s anger with the then King of England, George lV for not supporting catholic emancipation.

Avenging and Bright

Avenging and bright fall the swift sword of Erin
On him who the brave sons of Usna betrayed;
For ev'ry fond eye he hath wakened a tear in,
A drop from his heart wounds shall weep o'er her blade.

By the red cloud that hung over Conor's dark dwelling,
When Ulad's three champions lay sleeping in gore-
By the billows of war, which so often, high swelling,
Have wafted these heroes to victory's shore.

We swear to avenge them! No joy shall be tasted,
The harp shall be silent, the maiden unwed;
Our halls shall be mute, and our fields shall lie wasted
Till vengeance is wreak'd on the murderer's head.

Yes, monarch! tho' sweet are our home recollections,
Though sweet are the tears that from tenderness fall;
Though sweet are our friendships, our hopes, our affections,
Revenge on a tyrant is sweetest of all!

The musical notes can be found at
Folk Info.org

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