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“Those in power write the history
and those who suffer write the songs, and
given our history we have an awful lot of songs!”
Frank Harte

An Góilín Traditional Singers Club

  1. Jerry is one of the organisers
  2. An Góilín is reckoned to be the foremost singing club in Ireland
  3. He has acted as M.C./Fear A’ Ti at all of the major singing festivals in Ireland

Teaching Irish Set Dancing

  1. Jerry teaches Irish Set Dancing
  2. Paris, Association Irlandaise, since 1988
  3. Willie Clancy Summer School since 1984
  4. Wadebridge in 1998; Sidmouth in 1999
  5. Whitby every year since 2000
Image of Jerry Relaxing by the rocks

Jerry O’Reilly’s
News & Diary

Songs of History

Image of Robert Emmet Bold Robert Emmet

Robert Emmet, a leading member of The United Irishmen, the last man to be hung drawn and quartered

Image of Bold Jack Donohue Bold Jack Donohue

Jack Donohue was born in Dublin in 1804. He supported Irish nationalism and at the age of 20 was sentenced to be transported for life to New South Wales

Image of Spanish Lady Spanish Lady

The Spanish Lady has attained mythical status with generations of Dubliners. The ramblings of a young man through the city, naming the various places he visits are evocative of my youth

Image of chaingang in Australia Jim Jones

Describes the daily drudgery and degradation of life in the penal colony, and dreaming of joining the bushrangers and taking revenge on his floggers

Folk Icons : Laochra

Image of Tom Munnelly Tom Munnelly
Encountering the traveller John Reilly in Boyle very early on Tom quickly realised how important John’s songs were 		Image of Frank Harte Frank Harte
He believed passionately that those songs which documented and commented on local events were the unwritten history of the Irish people

Image of Johnny O’leary Johnny O’Leary
Johnny’s reels, jigs and hornpipes are generally part of the broader national store of music

Breandán Breathnach
Hugh Shields

CDs & An Góilín recommendations

‘Where Linnets Sing’ Image CD cover: Where Linnets Sing

Produced in 2001 this album features four of the better known singers at An Góilín at that time: Grace Toland, Jim MacFarland, Antaine Ó Faracháin and Mairéad Ní Oistín

‘The Cascades of Song’ Image CD cover: Cascades
the CD of the Clare Festival of Traditional Singing, which was released earlier this year to popular acclaim

‘Around the Hills of Clare’ Image CD cover: Cascades

The production of double CD of archive recordings from the Jim Carroll and Pat MacKenzie collection.

This has been described as an inestimable resource by reviewers

‘The Spoons Murder and Other Mysteries’ Image CD cover: Spoons Murder and Mystery

A book and CD of the songs of Con ‘Fada’ Ó Drisceóil, which has been a best seller, and produced by Terry Moylan

Some Recent Events

Image of Robert Kelly at frank Harte festival 2009

Frank Harte Festival September 2009

An Góilín Singers’ Club presented The Fourth Frank Harte Festival on Friday 25-27th September 2009 at The Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1

and the latest Gallery of Images

Image of Rosie Stewart and Jerry O’Reilly danciing at Whitby 2008

Whitby Folk Week August 2009

Whitby Folk Week (August 2009) is the most traditional of English Folk Festivals with an almost mind boggling programme of in excess of 600 events, covering all aspects of music, song, dance and other traditional activities

Jerry O’Reilly and CD recordings

Jerry’s CD
recorded in 2003

Image CD cover ‘Down from your pulpits,
Down from your thrones’
Jerry’s first solo CD has been received enthusiastically.

Jerry is currently in the process of recording his second album

Jerry O’Reilly
more recordings

Image Jerry at the rocks in Dublin Jerry has also been involved with the production of several fine CDs of traditional singing in English and also the Irish language

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Folk Leads Publications 2008