Tag Archives: Ronan Browne

Two Great Men Came A’visiting

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Asides from making great flutes and music, one of Martin Doyle‘s favourite pastimes is photography. Currently a little house-bound and in the arduous process of recovering from open-heart surgery, Martin has had regular visits from well-wishers and friends who come to offer their goodwill and encouragement. So what better way to celebrate a visit from great friends than to photograph them. Here is the result of one such a moment …

Christy Barry and Ronan Browne – photo taken by Martin Doyle

Christy Barry and Ronan Browne – photo taken by Martin Doyle.

A lovely moment between two good soul’s frozen in time by the click of the photographer’s shutter. Here are Martin’s comments regarding this portrait …

I am very proud to have got this picture, its probably one of the best I have ever taken. I would like to say this was a very special day in my recovery, to be in the company of two old friends who are great and authentic Gentlemen.

Some Music From Christy Barry And Ronan Browne

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Humour: Our Only Saviour!

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As our huge posse of true believers already fully know, most if not all of our posts are really, really serious – really! But this one is just for a wee chuckle, a throw away article as it were, and will certainly appeal to those among the thousands of people who pour through our really, really serious in-depth articles each day who are musicians. Are you with us so far – or still? Good, we shall continue then …

Our good and dear and recently one-year-older friend Ronan Browne, sent us a humorous little piece of cartoonery that has probably been floating around on the internet for centuries, but because we have never seen it before, to us it is completely new and well worth sharing. Perhaps Ronan thought that the boss needed a laugh after his recent really, really serious surgery, which is very kind of Ronan. I mean, a week after major controlled-death surgery, who wouldn’t want a good side-splitting laugh, right? Right!

Right so, here it is then … this is it … ready? …

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Happy Birthday Ronan Browne!

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Ronan BrowneOn behalf of Martin Doyle, who is a little incapacitated at the moment due to being in hospital for surgery, we at Martin Doyle Flutes would like to offer our dear friend Ronan Browne a very happy birthday!

The Doyle/Browne friendship goes back many years and they have always supported and encouraged each others endeavours. We have no idea what age Ronan is, but he seems at once ancient and ever youthful – a reflection of the man’s timeless soul perhaps, and his ever present sense of humour.

For the two or three people in the audience who don’t know him, Ronan Browne is an Irish musician and composer whose primary instrument is the uilleann pipes. He also sings and plays a raft of instruments including flutes. A lot can be gleaned about musicians from the music that they create. Have a listen to the following piece, entitled Critical Mass, that Ronan produced some years back …

And here’s a video clip of Ronan performing with Martin Doyle and others at a traditional music day during the 2008 Drogheda Arts Festival …

Thank you Ronan – your life and activities add a lovely hue to this world.

A Break, A Birthday, Some Tunes

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A BREAK

Martin Doyle will be unavailable for a few weeks from Sunday August 05 as he is going to hospital for an operation. Apologies for any inconvenience.

A BIRTHDAY

Martin DoyleSunday August 05 also happens to be Martin’s birthday – he has seen 67 summers and looks 50! Happy birthday and congratulations Martin! Thank you for the many good and great qualities that you offer to the world through what you do and who you are.

“When people play music, they offer people flowers. When people make flutes, they offer people seeds.” – Martin Doyle.

SOME TUNES

And what’s a birthday without some music? The following tune is called ‘King Of The Blind’ – a Turlough O’Carolan composition that featured in Nicholas Carolan’s facsimile edition of John & William Neal, A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes proper for the violin, German flute or hautboy that was first published in 1724. For this piece Martin Doyle is playing one of his own baroque flutes.


For more samples of musicians playing Martin Doyle’s flutes, kindly visit this page: Flute Music »

Here is a lovely rendition of King of the Blind played on harp by Ann Heymann – the instrument that Turlough O’Carolan played during his lifetime.

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Martin Doyle Interviewed on The West Wind

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The Willie Clancy Summer School

The Willie Clancy Summer School, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland.

July in Ireland means many things to many people, no doubt. It’s mid-summer for one thing and the sun brings welcome warmth to the land, so there must be some joy in most hearts. For the Irish traditional music fraternity though, July means only one thing: the annual Willie Clancy Summer School which is held in Milltown Malbay, County Clare.

For a week or so each July, the small coastal town near Spanish Point is swamped with music teachers, students, aficionados and keen lovers of the great Irish music tradition for master classes, music sessions, concerts and all that comes with such activities. Milltown Malbay is synonymous with the famed Clare musician Willie Clancy (1918—1973) who was a great exponent of the uilleann pipes specifically and Irish traditional music in general.

July and the Willie Clancy also means a busy time for the local instrument makers like Martin Doyle. Being a flute maker of renowned, he also attracts a fair bit of attention during the Willie Clancy without even leaving his property near Liscannor. The path to his home and workshop is well trodden each July with requests for flute purchases, orders and repairs. Old friendships are renewed and new ones forged over a cup of tea, some chin-wag and and, no doubt, a tune or two.

Claire Keville

Musician, music teacher and broadcaster Claire Keville.

A local radio station, Clare FM, is one of the foremost promoters of traditional Irish music broadcasting in Ireland today. They have a popular programme called The West Wind which has been interviewing all sorts of people who are involved in the Willy Clancy week. Musician, music teacher and broadcaster Claire Keville was live on The Clare FM Cruiser in Milltown Malbay on July the 4th where she interviewed Martin Doyle and his good friend Ronan Browne who is a renowned piper from Conamara in County Galway.

The two friends feature at the beginning of Claire’s set of interviews for that day. They talk about Martin’s flute making, and Martin and Ronan play a couple of tunes together on their Martin Doyle flutes. Well worth a listen, as is the rest of the programme. Click the play button below to hear the show …

November 2016 Music Picks

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To celebrate the Irish mid-autumn, we feature two video clips that have recently captured Martin Doyle‘s ear. The first is a video of Jana Semerádová performing a concerto in G major for the flute – Largo andante. Martin is a big fan of Jana’s flute playing and was very pleased to met her at the 20th Sligo Festival of Baroque Music in September, 2015.

The second is a video clip of the legendary Ronan Browne playing Uilleann Pipes. Martin and Ronan enjoy a friendship that goes back many years and they also share a mutual appreciation for each other as musicians. Martin recently commented that “Ronan’s music is as as honest as you’ll find”. Here’s Ronan’s latest video clip which was recorded in Annagh in the County Clare.

The full version of this video, which includes Ronan’s introduction in Gaeilge, can be viewed here: HUP MILLTOWN Ronan Browne »

Much thanks to Jana and Ronan for their efforts and integrity – it’s a privilege to hear this music.

The Pipes, The Pipes Are Calling

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Here’s a couple of lovely video clips featuring two renowned Irish musicians playing the Uillean pipes. The first is a duet featuring our good friend Ronan Browne performing with Jimmy O’Brien Moran at the Morpeth Chantery Bagpipe Museum in Northumberland, England.
The second features Ronan Browne performing solo on his James Kenna pipes that date back to the 1780s. This clip was recorded in the Chapter House of St Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny, Ireland, and includes some explanation about the Kenna set in the context of the evolution of Uillean pipes. Hope you enjoy these wee treats …