Through an amazing and serendipitous piece of luck, Cyril made a recording of a brand-new song shortly before he left us – on his phone!
The song, written by Mountshannon artist Cliodhna Donnellan, speaks of her deep-seated relationship with her beloved Inis Cealtra. The song is a final farewell and beautiful epitaph from this much loved and lauded Clare musician and serves as a mythic metaphor for his final solo voyage.
Employing the very same AI technology the Beatles and Peter Jackson used to rescue a 1970’s cassette tape recording for the bands final release ‘Now and Then’ (2023) – we have been able to take Cyril’s final phone recording into the studio and bring it up to release and broadcast quality whilst maintaining its original magic, simplicity and beauty.
Cliodhna Donnellan, a native of Mountshannon, steeped in the music and tradition of county Clare, has lived her whole life in the shadows of the magical island that was once the haunt of Brian Boru and is only reachable by boat – a place, when shrouded in mist, floats between this world and the other. This ancient pilgrim site cast its spell over her many years ago and the song reflects the power, meaning and influence it has had upon her life and her music.
Cli describes the moment the song came to her after swimming out to the island thus “…the words just landed on the page…Inis Cealtra has been a symbolic representation of the stages of my own journey.” She says the choice of Cyril as the voice of the song was easy, “only one voice kept echoing as the voice to sing this song – Cyril”.
Whether interpreting an old ballad or more contemporary material, or when paired with the dynamism of the “galaxy-class” Ennis piper Blackie O’Connell, Cyril embodied the tradition of the troubadour with his soulful vocals and dynamic and sensitive bouzouki or guitar playing – a true master.
Kieron is a producer, Uilleann Piper, ethnomusicologist, and CEO and co-founder of the UK Independent record label FDM Records. He was the subject, and producer of, the million selling JCB Song, written and recorded by his son Luke Concannon (Nizlopi). He also gave Ed Sheeran his first job in the music industry. He lives in Killaloe, County Clare with his wife Sue.