Seamus Begley, the man they used to call the Dingle Aborigine, has been recreating the old magic of box and guitar, ably accompanied by Jim Murray, for a while now. A decade after the release of Meitheal, that seminal Begley & Cooney album, the tiptoeing, high stepping West Kerry box style is back in top gear.
Now in the company of the very fine guitarist Jim Murray, this is a pair intent on taking the tradition by the scruff of the neck and breathing brand new life into it. Ragairne was branded Album Of The Year in Hotpress and Folk/Traditional Album Of The Year in the Irish Times.
A native of Cuas, at the foot of Mount Brandon, Begley seems to have successfully married all the wilderness of West Kerry with a sublime talent for the feather light touch, when required. Dancing eyebrows, a sense of humour that’s never less than surreal, and a penchant for wild tunes and magnificent songs makes this pair unmissable.
