OTHERLANDS COLLABORATION #8
Location: Dingle, Ireland • Date: November 22, 2019
*To learn more about Tommy and Saundra, please visit: https://tommyandsaundra.com/*
Back in 2013, I was headed down the west coast of Ireland on my way to play the Baltimore Fiddle Fair. My mother was traveling with me and we had just left Doolin, where if a jogged memory served correctly, Blackie O'Connell and Cyril O'Donoghue recommended we make a stop at the Courthouse Pub in Dingle. [See my pub session collaboration with Blackie & Cyril here.]
As I order a drink at the Courthouse Pub, the man behind the bar asks, "Do you play the fiddle?" Yes. "Is your name Casey?" Yes. I remember being quite shocked at the moment, this happening in a random pub in a random town. This man is Tommy O'Sullivan and he runs the pub with his wife Saundra. It turns out that Tommy and I met years before this at the North Texas Irish Festival when he was there with his band Sliabh Notes. We end up closing down his pub with great tunes and stay in touch. For our family travel adventure, we're trying to visit places where we might know someone. So, when planning the Ireland leg of our Otherlands journey, a return trip to Dingle was a must.
Over the course of our four days in Dingle, Tommy and I played music together on each one. Most occasions were sessions with local friends he introduced me to, and the pub basically became my home. On our second day though, we met at the pub before opening time and carved out an afternoon which started with the two of us and finished as a trio with Saundra.
Tommy has accompanied many a stellar instrumentalist (Paddy Keenan, Donal Murphy, Matt Cranitch) but I wasn't focused on playing tunes with him today. All my musical exchanges up to this point had been tunes (and I love a good tune), but I was excited to be with someone that I knew to be a singer. Once I got set up and Tommy got the pub fire started, our hang unfolded quite naturally.
I requested to hear a few of his current favorite songs as well as his own writing. Over the course of the afternoon, we played five different songs. At this point in time, the first three are all considered traditional — "She Moved Through the Fair" (traditional Irish), "The Maid of Culmore" (traditional Irish), "Peggy Gordon" (traditional, of possible Canadian origin) — and Tommy had added his own harmonic cycles and beautiful fingerpicking interpretations to each.
He played them for me. I tried to play along. We played them again. I zeroed in on the verse cycles. We played them one more time...and then moved on. We were exploring and trying things. I will say that often in a jam session, when I play a great song/tune for the first time, I just about start to understand or "get" it by the end...and wish that I could play it one more time. But, unwritten jam law that states you shall not repeat material. We're jamming here, but we're breaking the rules...and happy about it.
The song I included here is the third one we played, "Peggy Gordon." It's one that Tommy confessed he originally thought of as Scots-Irish in origin, but someone mentioned to him that it was from Canada. I did some investigating online and found reference to this song being documented in print by an American publisher and recorded early on in Canada. However, in this very cursory searching, I did not find evidence that it originated in either Canada or America—or Ireland or Scotland for that matter. I'm guessing there's a good chance it comes from the Scots-Irish (or their descendants) that emigrated to those areas, but we'll likely never know for sure. It certainly has that flavor.
After a rendition of "Peggy" we're both excited about, we put it to rest. Tommy invites Saundra to their pub and we play two more. It's great to have another voice in the mix. The first song is an original of Tommy's titled "Make Me Believe" and the second is a traditional English song called "Lord Franklin," both of which they perform in their duo.
After the requisite three takes of each, it's time to pack up. The pub is set to open and we have dinner plans back at the O'Sullivan's. When dinner is through, we return to the pub and spend the rest of the night jamming with a great crew of musicians. This was Day Two of Dingle for us.
We had such a great time with Tommy & Saundra and new friends over the next few days in Dingle that we drove back, one week later, from our stay in Cork to join them for Thanksgiving. It was a lovely way to feel at home and spend the holiday with friends and family.
Selfie with a non-cellphone camera saying good-bye in Dingle. Blurry, but I was lucky to get us all in! (L-R, Casey, Emmette, Molly, Tommy, Saundra)
CREDITS
Song: Peggy Gordon (Traditional)
Music Arranged by: Casey Driessen & Tommy O'Sullivan
Vocal & Guitar: Tommy O'Sullivan
Fiddle & Audio/Video: Casey Driessen
Additional Musical Excerpts: The Chapel Bell (Intro, traditional, w/ Sean Smyth on fiddle); The Maid of Culmore (Outro, traditional)
Special Thanks: Saundra O'Sullivan