"Absolutely Irish" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Absolutely Irish" Soundtrack: Description.

Production Background

The night New York turned into a kitchen-session

• Set and shot at the Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, April 2007, then broadcast on public television the following year—right in time for green shirts and loud pubs.
• Directed by documentary veteran Paul Wagner; musical direction and curation by the late, beloved Mick Moloney, who basically knew everyone worth knowing in Irish music on both sides of the Atlantic.
• Released on Compass Records as a live album capturing the same sweat, grins, and stray shouts you hear in the film.

Concert Arc & Character Breakdowns (the “cast” are the band)

Who walks on, who steals the air, who keeps the engine running

• Mick Moloney — anchor and instigator; banjo/mandolin/good mischief. The connective tissue between tunes and players.
• John Doyle — guitar drive like a well-tuned engine; rhythm that snaps you upright.
• Susan McKeown — vocals laced with theater and warmth; can hush a crowd without asking.
• Karan Casey — luminous, earthy voice; story-first phrasing that refuses to rush.
• Séamus Egan — multi-instrument switchblade; flute, low whistle, strings—he’s the color wheel.
• Eileen Ivers — fiddle fireworks; joyful showmanship, razor intonation, and that grin that says “ready?”
• Liz Carroll — another fiddle titan; lines braided tight, then lofted with a wink.
• Joanie Madden — whistles and flute like fresh rain on stone; steady as a lighthouse.
• Athena Tergis — fiddle with a dancer’s sense of space; nimble, melodic, generous.
• Billy McComiskey — button accordion storyteller; phrases that lilt and laugh.
• Tim Collins — concertina detail work; the lace around the hem.
• Brendan Dolan — piano, the platform under the storm.
• Jerry O’Sullivan — uilleann pipes: fog, memory, and altitude.
• Niall O’Leary & Darrah Carr — dancers; the heartbeat made visible, sneakers tapping the snare parts.
• Rhys Jones, Mac Benford, Mike Rafferty, Jo McNamara — kindred spirits stepping in and out, the session’s shared language.

Does a concert have a plot? Here, yes—because the room breathes

• It opens like any good session: a cluster of jigs and reels to set the table. Smiles, nods, the quick eye-contact that says “you take it.”
• Ballads slide in—the air turns attentive, the phones (for once) stay down. Stories of leaving and return, old promises kept in the melody.
• Midway, the temperature rises: fiddle duels, accordion breaks, dancers carving rhythm across the floorboards. You can almost feel the dust lift.
• Finale time: everyone onstage, the sound bigger than the sum of its parts, that happy disorder when tradition lets its hair down.

Track Highlights & Scene Connections

Where the album really bites down

1. The House in the Glen / The Bohola Jig / Josie McDermott’s / Free and Easy — four-tune opener that works like overture and handshake; each switch lands clean, energy ratcheting without grandstanding.
2. The King’s Shilling — a hush-maker; the narrative sting of enlistment sung with restraint, the kind that hurts more.
3. Before the Storm / The Black Rogue / The Lass of Ballintra / The (Other) High Reel — the lift is unreal; flutes thread through double-time pulse and you suddenly realize you’ve been grinning for two minutes straight.
4. McNally’s Row of Flats — comic swagger and mile-a-minute lyrics; the band plays straight man, letting the words shoulder the wink.
5. The Green Hills of Tyrol / The Fermoy Lassies / The Pinch of Snuff — pipes step forward, the room turns Highland for a heartbeat, then barrels right back into session swing.
6. June Apple — a transatlantic handshake: Appalachian tune inside an Irish night. Border lines vanish; rhythm doesn’t care about passports.
7. The Flower of Kilkelly — letter-song tenderness; vocals sit close, you hear breath and distance in equal measure.
8. Planxty Miss Maxwell — O’Carolan polish, melody like carved oak—clean lines, deep shine.
9. Lark in the Morning / Cannabhan Bán / Humours of Ballyloughlin — last call for nimble feet; dancers and fiddles egging each other on, friendly rivalry at full tilt.

Musical Styles & Themes

Trad, but not dusty

• Core palette: trad jigs and reels; airs that invite silence; ballads with story-first focus; a little old-time/Americana slipping into the set like a cousin at the family reunion.
• Arranging: minimal amplification, maximum conversation—melody handed off like a relay baton, ornamentation used as seasoning, not a dare.
• Text and subtext: migration, work, enlistment, the archaeology of memory. No lectures, just songs that carry their history without blinking.
• Vibe: generous. Nobody grandstands for long; the point is the room—the way a tune can knit strangers into co-conspirators.

Production & Recording

How the sausage—sorry, the session—got made

• Recorded live over one intensely collaborative gathering; rehearsals were short, trust was long. The film leans in to the sense of friends meeting up and playing for the sheer craic.
• Audio leaves air in the frame: toes scraping, chair creaks, the kind of happy leaks you get from a stage crowded with humanity.
• Wagner’s cameras keep close without fuss—faces first, fingers second, the dancers’ feet when the story is rhythm.
• Compass’s release doesn’t sand the edges; this is a document, not a studio confection, and that’s exactly why it travels so well.

“A once-in-a-lifetime concert that brings together the brightest stars of traditional Irish music.” — Paul Wagner’s film notes

“A brilliant, exuberant and joyful celebration of the very best of Irish music, song and dance.” — album notes, Compass Records

Reception & Social Buzz

What critics clocked, what fans kept

• Public TV timing gave it a seasonal spotlight; St. Patrick’s week broadcasts turned casual viewers into accidental trad fans, the best kind.
• Reviewers flagged the musicianship (no surprise) but also the camerawork’s humility—there’s ego in the playing, sure, but not in the frame.
• Among players and dancers, the album became a reference point: “this is how you pace a mixed bill,” “this is how you showcase without showboating.”

FAQ

Is “Absolutely Irish” a movie or an album?

Both. It’s a filmed concert directed by Paul Wagner and a live album released by Compass Records, cut from the same joyful sessions.

Where and when was it recorded?

Irish Arts Center, Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, April 2007; broadcast across public television in 2008.

Who’s performing?

A rotating all-star lineup including Mick Moloney, Susan McKeown, John Doyle, Séamus Egan, Eileen Ivers, Karan Casey, Liz Carroll, Joanie Madden, Athena Tergis, Billy McComiskey, Tim Collins, Brendan Dolan, Jerry O’Sullivan, dancers Niall O’Leary and Darrah Carr, and more.

What are the musical styles?

Irish traditional at the core—jigs, reels, airs, narrative ballads—with old-time/Appalachian threads woven in on a few sets.

Do I need to watch the film to enjoy the album?

No. But the film adds faces to the names and the kind of small moments—glances, nods, dare-you smiles—that explain why the music feels like community in motion.

Technical Info

• Type: TV concert film and live soundtrack
• Recorded: April 2007, Irish Arts Center (Hell’s Kitchen, NYC)
• Broadcast: Public television (PBS/APT) in 2008
• Director: Paul Wagner; Curator/Producer: Mick Moloney
• Label: Compass Records
• Core performers: Susan McKeown, John Doyle, Séamus Egan, Eileen Ivers, Karan Casey, Liz Carroll, Joanie Madden, Athena Tergis, Billy McComiskey, Tim Collins, Brendan Dolan, Jerry O’Sullivan, Niall O’Leary, Darrah Carr, Rhys Jones, Mac Benford, Mike Rafferty, Jo McNamara
• Why it matters: a rare document of Irish traditional music in communal, big-hearted form—no gloss, just craft and crackle.

September, 18th 2025