Grafton Street’s a wonderland…
Jun 8th, 2007 by Shardul
Once I was walking through Dublin and ended up on Grafton Street — as you do when walking through Dublin. Anyway, it was a particularly sunny day in July and Dublin’s famous mall was teeming with people; office workers out for lunch; tourists shopping, snapping, absorbing the sights and sounds; packs of ebullient Spanish youth that seem to descend upon Dublin during the northern summer; the best dressed beggars in the world carrying chubby babies and trying to look pitiful; street vendors and performers — all the fun of the fair and all the colours of the rainbow! And the music — ah yes, the music…
“Grafton Street’s a wonderland, there’s magic in the air…”
— from Dublin Saunter by Noel Purcell
There was a young guy playing an electric violin that who had a large crowd around him. He was a real entertainer and had his audience eating from the palm of his hand. “Yer man’s hat is full of coin!” the fellow standing next to me observed. And it was… He was telling funny stories and playing classical music on a wild looking violin — a dark blue hybrid of some kind that was unencased and skeletal looking. And boy could he play that thing — he was really good! He reminded me of the great Victor Borge with his special blend of piano music and comedy.
Moving up Grafton Street I came across another audience. People had gathered around a group of Irish traditional musicians. I could hear the sweet music but couldn’t see the musicians and assumed they were seated. As I moved around the crowd for a better view, I discovered that they were not actually seated but just young. The oldest seemed to be about 14 or 15 and the youngest was maybe 10 or 11. Five young musicians playing Irish flute, bodhran, banjo, tin whistle and fiddle. And their music was simply excellent.
In comparison to the violin player, they were quite reserved and humble. They let the music do the talking and for me their music said so much about the consciousness of Ireland — it’s history, culture, the pathos and joy of it’s people — the music carried the secret signature of the heart and soul of Ireland. “Where are you from?” someone called between tunes. “We’re from the west,” said the oldest quietly, “from the country.” Jigs; reels; airs; hornpipes; deeply traditional music that had the crowd mesmerised. Their hat was doing well too and I happily lost an hour or so that day just standing there — what a treat!
And speaking of young people, I came across and Irish traditional music clip on good ol’ YouTube. This little piece was put together by three youngsters on the Mediterranean island of Majorca and posted by PJ — aka TinWhistler. PJ comments:
My hobby is playing celtic music (traditional Irish, Scottish, Galician, etc) on all my instruments and recording it when I’m bored. Mostly with my brother accompanying me on his guitar, and on many other random things.
Not too bad for a hobby recording! It’s a jaunty little set of traditional tunes featuring Irish flute, tin whistle and guitar. It’s great to see young folk playing traditional music in different parts of the world. Hope you enjoy their efforts as much as I did…
And for lovers of music and comedy, here’s a treat from the great Victor Borge who performs the Hungarian Rhapsody with his friend Zhahan Azruni:
... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker 
Immortal stuff. Victor Borge what a hero.
Hi Tejvan. Victor Borge certainly was a hero — a good man. He lived a very interesting life and was a beloved working entertainer right into the sunset of his life too — very much in demand I believe. I used to watch him on the TV when I was a kid with the family and we would be in stitches. The way he would start to play a piece of music and keep interrupting himself with commentary on one thing or another. One would begin to wonder if he would actually end up playing anything — it was almost frustrating! But goodness, when he played. He was a world class pianist and a great improviser. And who would not find his ‘inflationary speech’ and ‘phonetic punctuation’ hilarious. I love that story where he played to a half filled hall in Flint, Michigan. At one stage he said, “Flint must be an extremely wealthy town — I see that each of you bought two or three seats.” Classic! Victor Borge was unique and will always be remembered as a gentleman entertainer of the very best variety. Men like him light up the world…
You’re so right! Grafton Street is a wonderland… the music around every corner, my favorite was the slide guitar… don’t know his name, but he was amazing.
I was there in Oct 2007 and it will forever hold a special place in my memory bank.
Colleen
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for stopping by… I am very much looking forward to visiting Dublin and the west of Ireland in April of next year - and Grafton Street is on my to-do list!
Best wishes, Shardul.