Hurry the Jug

Leonard Barry, Declan Folan and Shane McGowan's long comradeship in countless live sessions pays crisp, spryly accented dividends aplenty in Hurry the Jug, their first outing together on disc. Immediately apparent is the relaxed reciprocity of their flexible, fluid and intimate ensemble signature. The dominant accent is that of Sligo, home to Folan and McGowan (Barry hailing from Kerry), introduced with easy-going charm in the inflectious opening title jig. Led by the nuanced partnership of Barry's gracefully articulate pipes and former All-Ireland champion Folan's lightly dexterous fiddle (a tongue-in-cheek joy on ‘Father Quinn's Favourites’), McGowan's guitar provides meticulous accompaniment throughout. His occasional spells in the spotlight, the gently pirouetting barn dance pairing of ‘Kitty Shand's/Bill O'Malley's’ not least, reveal him as fully the equal of his peers in technical dexterity and craftsmanship. Folan's whistle playing on the self-composed slow reel ‘The Carousel’ is pitch-perfect in its exquisite delicacy.

Closer ‘The Maids of Holywell’ is a flight of fancy for Folan's fiddle and McGowan's guitar, Barry's piped drone a warm thermal keeping both aloft. The absence of booklet notes is a minor cavil in a recording of consummate musicianship that sets this trio out as a force to be reckoned with.