Bridge of Portumna, The Item Info
- Title:
- Bridge of Portumna, The
- Sound Cloud:
- Description:
-
The town of Portumna in County Galway was a port of call for my father, Mick Connolly, when he worked on the River Shannon. During school holidays I often sailed with my Dad up and down the river and I always looked forward to docking in Portumna after the twenty-five mile trip on Lough Derg.
The bridge spanning the Shannon at Portumna always held a fascination for me, particularly when it was raised to let larger boats sail underneath. I loved to swim in the clear waters of the Shannon, and diving from the high bridge of Portumna was always a test of nerves and possibly a way of being a 'show off'. During one of my crazy show-off dives I twisted my back and though I lived to tell the tale, I carry a souvenir of that dive to this day!
I wonder if my good friend, accordionist and composer Martin Mulhaire, ever jumped or swam near the bridge. However, I do know that he composed this grand reel, which is masterfully played here by Liz Carroll on her fiddle. - Publisher:
- Séamus Connolly, Boston College Libraries
- Creator:
- Carroll, Liz Mulhaire, Martin
- Type:
- Some transcriptions are based on historical source recordings. More info.
- Subjects:
- Folk dance music Reels Fiddle tunes
- Playlist:
- Playlist 05
- Collection:
- Reels
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- Carroll, Liz ;Mulhaire, Martin, "Bridge of Portumna, The", The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music, accessed June 4, 2025, https://library.bc.edu/ds/connolly/document/618.html.
- Reference Link:
- https://library.bc.edu/ds/connolly/document/618.html
Rights
- Rights:
- This website was created through a partnership with Séamus Connolly and the Boston College Libraries (2016). All materials on this site may be freely shared and adapted according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.