''Junior Crehan'' (born Martin Crehan, 17 January 1908 – 3 August 1998) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

fiddle player who composed a number of tunes that remain popular within the

Irish Traditional Music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

community.

Biography

Crehan was born and raised in Bonavilla, Ballymackea Beg near

Mullagh, County Clare Mullagh () is a village in County Clare, Ireland. It lies not far from the Atlantic coast, some 5 km southeast of Quilty and 6.5 km south-southeast of Spanish Point. Nearby towns include Milltown Malbay (7 km to the north) and ...

on the West coast of

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

. While his father was not a musician, his mother played the

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 ...

. The Crehans frequently opened their home for social occasions, so live music and was a fixture in their home. Junior first took up the concertina himself, but took an interest in an old fiddle in the house, and took up the process of restoring it himself. When established fiddler Thady Casey heard Crehan play in a pub (having taught himself initially), he offered to tutor him - as a result, Crehan learned the fundamentals of fiddling from Thady, and learned stylistically from both him and his brother, Scully Casey, who was also a respected fiddler. Subsequently, Junior became a sought-after musician for country house dances until their decline in the 1930s (exacerbated in particular by the Public Dance Halls Act of 1935). According to

Muiris Ó Rócháin Muiris Ó Rócháin (1944 in Dingle – 17 October 2011 in Milltown Malbay) was a teacher, director of the Willie Clancy Summer School, president of Oireachtas na Gaeilge and folk collector. Ó Rócháin was a qualified teacher who taught mathe ...

Crehan was also influenced by

Uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from thei ...

-player

Johnny Doran Johnny Doran (1908 – 19 January 1950)Sleeve notes compiled by Jackie Small and published with ''The Bunch of Keys'' audio tape, Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann (CBÉ 001), 1988 was an Irish uilleann piper. Life and family Johnny Doran was bo ...

. Crehan was encouraged by the folk revivals of the 1950s and later, and involved himself with Comhaltas Ceoltoíri Éireann, at one point serving as president of its Clare branch.

Playing style

Crehan's peers have described his playing as "sweet" and "emotive," and his bowing as "economical." He is said to have relied more on rhythmic variation than on ornamentation, and relying heavily on long rolls when he did use ornamentation. He made extensive use of double-stops, and music writer Barry Taylor suggests this may result from the influence of his friendships with uilleann pipers Willie Clancy and

Compositions

A number of tunes currently popular within the Irish Traditional Music community were written by Junior. These include Poll an Mhadra Uisce (The Otter's Holt), written with reference to some otters near his family home that would approach when music was played. A further and even better-known example is "The Mist Covered Mountain", inspired by Mount Callan which can be seen from his home in West Clare. It has been recorded by

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

, Kevin Burke,

Kevin Crawford Kevin Crawford (born in Birmingham, England) is an Irish flute, tin whistle, low whistle and bodhrán player. He was born in England to Irish parents from Milltown Malbay, County Clare. He later moved to West Clare to improve his music and becom ...

, and numerous others.

Discography

Crehan did not record as a featured artist, but did play on individual selections on these recordings: *Ceol an Clair, Vol. I (Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann CL 17) *An Irish Dance Party: The Laichtin Naofa Ceili Band (Dublin Records LP 1007)

Trivia

Crehan often played in ''Gleeson's Pub'' in

Coore Coore (also known as Coor) () is a village in the parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane, near Mullagh and Milltown Malbay, in County Clare, Ireland. It is made up of two communities: Coore East and Coore West. Coore West is split into two parts: * Coor ...

. He did this for about 70 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crehan, Junior Irish male fiddlers 1998 deaths 1908 births Musicians from County Clare 20th-century Irish fiddlers 20th-century Irish male musicians