Shanaglish sessions brought together in new box set

NIGHTS in Shanaglish is a new box set album celebrating the sessions of Vincey Keehan and Paddy Egan in Whelan’s of Shanaglish.
The box set is the result of a community project involving many local people from North Clare and South Galway and has been independently directed and produced by Vincey Keehan and Paddy Egan, two Irish musicians, who live in San Francisco and London respectively.
Vincey plays the mandolin and Wicklow man, Paddy, plays concertina and the two have returned to Ireland to launch the album and the DVD set and will also play a number of sessions locally.
As part of the launch, there will be a film viewing of the Nights in Shanaglish DVD at Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery on Wednesday, October 24, followed by a session at 9pm. Meanwhile, the official launch takes place on Thursday, October 25 at Whelan’s Bar, Shanaglish, Galway. Further events include a further DVD screening on Sunday, October 28 at 3pm in Gort Town Hall, as part of the Cooley Collins Festival followed by a launch event that evening at 8pm.
Speaking about the album, concertina player Paddy Egan said the idea has been to create a traditional music album that is different to what is out there today, involving the culture of the local people in South Galway.
“I used to play sessions of music in Mike Whelan’s pub, Shanaglish with my friend Vincey Keehan over the last few years when I would return from London and Vincey from San Francisco. We wanted to record the atmosphere of the place, the characters and spontaneous nature of a night there when we would get together. So we recorded live performances of the songs, sean-nós dance, tunes and stories over three nights, in August last year and in June,” he said.
The result of these sessions is the foundation of Nights in Shanaglish, which is going to be on vinyl record, CD and also DVD.
“In early 2009, I was delighted to receive a call from Vincey Keehan to chat about the idea of celebrating the sessions we have had down through the years in Whelan’s. Three years later, we have seen this idea evolve way beyond what we could have thought imaginable during that conversation. The sessions in Whelan’s have always been spontaneous, with chat flowing in and out alongside the tunes, the foot tapping encouraging dance, a well full of songs and the odd yarn being spun. In silence, in shouts, with great performers and other times not, these nights have been powerful in bringing people together in a natural manner. For outside of this magical pub, I think regardless of the many albums on the various music circuits today, there is nothing quite like experiencing culture for its own sake. We present to you in this way. Simply straight up,” Paddy concluded. 
The album includes many locally composed songs by young and old performers and the music ranges from American Swing Country songs to contemporary arrangements of Irish music, Yiddish and Old-Timey waltzes to local yarn stories.
The DVD focuses on the process of recording live performances and includes interviews with performers and local people. The DVD aims to weave the connection between performers, pub owner, local characters, and the local area, a type of project previously unexplored to this extent in Irish music circles.
The scope of Nights in Shanaglish was to portray current rural life in North Clare, the West of Ireland, and culture in rural areas of the country.
Guests on the box set include Paul O’Driscoll who has toured with Sharon Shannon and Willy Nelson.