AMY SALISBURY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

When I was 11, I went to my first real St. Patrick’s Day party.

As a child growing up in Texas away from all of my Irish extended family, I half expected green cupcakes and Mardi Gras beads with all the gold and purple strands taken out of the pack. Well, I think I still expect St. Pat’s parties to have at least one of these things. At this point in my life experience, I was innocent enough not to know of the most sinful of alcoholic beverages: green beer.

But, I digress. The point here is that at the “Clan Keefe” party, there was literally no green foodstuff anywhere in sight. There was corned beef, potatoes and cabbage (that I’m sure was once green but definitely was not anymore). There was plenty of beer, yes, but in the form of Harp and unique, syrupy Guinness.

And the music was unlike anything I’d ever heard. At least three guitars, a mandolin and a fiddle played Irish folk songs until everyone was too full or too tired to keep singing. That fiddle sounded much different from its only auxiliary incarnation I could think of—in country music. I suspected the Irish heritage of my second cousins had something to do with that distinctive strings sound, and I never heard its equal for a long time.

Enter Colm Mac Con Iomaire, the fiddle player for The Frames and Swell Season, two Irish bands, whose members include Glen Hansard, star of the film “Once” and Oscar winner for Best Original Song from that film, “Falling Slowly.”

Officially, Mac Con Iomaire is Irish—and I mean Irish. If his name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, his first solo album, “Chúinne an Ghiorria,” is from an Irish folk tale. Translated, chúinne an ghiorria means “the hare’s corner,” referring to the tradition of leaving a corner of a field uncut for the hares to escape to.

Although there are no lyrics to the music on “Chúinne an Ghiorria,” every accoutrement to the album is in the Irish language. Mac Con Iomaire wrote on his MySpace, “Thankfully the linguistic uniqueness of the ‘Gaeltacht’ still endures. But our language is still in jeopardy.” Gaeltacht refers to Irish speaking nations, a microcosm Mac Con Iomaire deeply values.

His sound is entirely reminiscent of those fields “Chúinne an Ghiorria” takes inspiration from. It’s like this: try to imagine the mood of a Dropkick Murpheys song. Find its complete opposite, and Mac Con Iomaire will be nearby, gently pulling a bow across strings.

Eleven years later and nothing has sounded quite like that first real St. Patrick’s party. The closest thing, though, exists in the violin-tinged swirls Mac Con Iomaire draws around pure tradition and ancient inspiration.

I doubt you’ll hear “Chúinne an Ghiorria” at any St. Patrick’s Day party you attend stateside. Considering the aim of most themed parties, somehow, I’m quite alright with that.

Mac Con Iomaire is currently on an Australian tour with his supporting band members. “Chúinne an Ghiorria” is available for purchase through the website theharescorner.com and iTunes.

Photo courtesy of breakthrhuradio.com