__NOTOC__ Austin (Gussie) Russell (1917, Doonagore,

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in ...

– 18 May 2004, Ennistymon Hospital) was a

stonecutter Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using rock (geology), stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with Mortar (masonry), mortar ...

and a well known Irish traditional flute and whistle player out of

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was one of the three Russell brothers to earn fame as a musician, together with his brothers Micho and Packie. Gussie learned to play music at a very young age, learning most of his skills from his neighbour Patrick Flanagan, a

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

player. He and Micho got their first concert flutes from their uncle John Moloney in 1932, when he returned from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.Russell Brothers: Micho, Pakie and Gussie
/ref> Gussie and his brothers first got attention outside Doolin due to the work of the

Irish Folklore Commission The Irish Folklore Commission () was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland. History Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Delargy) founded ''An Cumann le Béaloideas Éir ...

. In the late 1930s Seamus O'Duillearga was active in

and recorded stories and music, including music of the Russell brothers. Later recordings by others also brought them a wider public.

Personal

He was born as one of five children of Austin Russell and Annie Moloney. He had two brothers and two sisters. Gussie Russell's main occupation was as stone cutter in the quarry at Doonagore. Besides being a gifted musician, he was also a gifted tradesman and mechanic.

Recordings

With brothers

* ''The Russell Family of Doolin, Co. Clare''; Micho, Packie and Gussie Russell. Recorded by John Tams and Neil Wayne in O'Connor's Bar, Doolin January 1974. Published in 1975 by Topic Records.

Anthologies

* ''Farewell to Lissycasey: The Traditional Music of County Clare''; 1995 * ''Treasure Of My Heart: Classic'', 1998Treasure Of My Heart
/ref>

References

External links

YouTube clip
Playing from left to right: Gussie's brother Packie Russel (concertina), Gussie Russell (concert flute), John Killourhy (

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

), Rory O´Connor (

whistle A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...

Stevie McNamara Stevie may refer to: People with the name Given name *Stevie (given name), a list of people People with the nickname or alias * Stevie B, American singer, songwriter and record producer Steven Bernard Hill (born 1958) * Stevie J, stage name of Ame ...

(

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

) and Willie 'Bheag' Shannon (fiddle). {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Gussie Irish male flautists Musicians from County Clare 1917 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Irish flautists 20th-century Irish male musicians