whelans shanaglish

About

A short history about "Nights in Shanaglish", and how it was formed, by Vincey Keehan.

Whelan’s Pub is situated in the most southern part of Galway, in the village of Shanaglish, in the parish of Beagh. It was my last stop on the night before I left home, bound for America. I traded in my hurley stick for a mandolin and got involved in the Irish music scene in San Francisco. It was there I met and struck up a friendship with concertina player Paddy Egan, from Parkbridge, County Wicklow.

When I would return to Shanaglish for a few weeks every summer, Paddy Egan, myself and my long-time friend Colie Moran of Gort, would get together at Whelan’s. Many nights we were joined by other musicians we had met along the way. Mikey Whelan and later his daughter Kathy & Keith Murray always made us feel welcome.

It was these sessions that laid the ground work for this recording. I would like to thank all the people that made this recording possible, especially the patrons of Whelan’s Pub and the Whelan family whose kindness to me and fellow musicians is unfailing. ~ Vincey Keehan