Eleven years into these annual memorial concerts – and having already featured literally dozens of guests – his son Brendan is still finding first-time participants whose memories of sharing tunes and chats with Jimmy make the listener wish for the ability to eavesdrop retrospectively.
Concerts with formal rows of seats these may be, but their almost extended family-like feel makes for a forgiving atmosphere. If a singer offers to try a song that turns out to need a bit more work, nobody much cares. Because there’ll be something along shortly – Patsy Hanly’s rhythmically assured flute playing or Iain MacDonald’s excellent whistle and bodhran set with Martin McHugh, say – to knock your socks off with its perpetrator’s deeply ingrained knowledge of the tradition and/or sheer charm and character.
Fitting both categories is Tomas O Canainn, who 40 years ago was wowing Na Fili fans with his uilleann piping. These days, the piping is more of a backdrop to his gently authoritative singing and downright but loveable cheek. Like all good storytellers, O Canainn takes you right to the heart of the action and if his piping wasn’t always quite on the money, his humour provided a quick diversion.
Playing it more straight-faced, fiddler Vincent Griffin added further musical richness with a bitter-sweet tone, nimble accuracy and beautifully judged slurs and harmonies, and while the Four Provinces Ceili Band pumped out jigs, reels and hornpipes for their splendid dancers, Mairi Ferguson and Claire Bovill, Charlie Harris packed enough verve for a whole orchestra in his melodeon-piano duets with Deirdres McSherry and Mulholland.
