The Three Jacks: Music

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)
• MP3 short clip, lo-fi play (modem)

Turlough O’Carolan is the most famous of 17th/18th Century Irish folk/baroque composers. O’Carolan was blinded by smallpox in his teens. He was then taken in by a rich lady who had him taught music and equipped him with a harp and horse. This enabled him to make a living, traveling from one great house to another as an itinerant harper, playing for his food and board.


Many of O’Carolan’s melodies were “planxties,” or songs named after the various wealthy patrons who gave him food and shelter. This piece was dedicated to one of his hosts: “Captain O’Kane.” It is a lovely romantic piece, where we spotlight Jack Stamates’ violin. We usually use this tune to open our shows – picking up with following number, which introduces the whole band: “Faery Castles.”