P.J.& Marcus Hernon: Celebrating 50 years
Ag Ceiliúradh 50 bliain
with Breandán Hernon, John Carty, Carl Hession & Benny O’Connor

Celebrating fifty years of musical collaboration, the Hernon brothers—P.J. and Marcus—invite you on a journey through time with a brand-new album.
This release captures the essence of traditional Irish music, blending a rich heritage of tunes the brothers have played since childhood with fresh
interpretations and beloved compositions from friends and fellow musicians.

Their musical partnership began in the early 1970s when Marcus joined P.J. in studio sessions that soon became legendary. The brothers’ recording history includes their album Béal a’ Mhúrlaigh in 1989, along with later celebrated releases like An Chearc Fhraoigh and Rabharta.

Despite a long hiatus, the Hernons now return, joined by an ensemble of close collaborators, including John Carty, Carl Hession, Benny O'Connor, and Marcus's
son Breandán, bringing their shared passion for traditional music back into the studio

Audio

Track 1: The Hills of Coore

Track 2: An Buachaillin Bán

Track 3: Larry Redcan's Mother

Track 4: The Sandymount

Track Listing

1. Reels: Caught in the Surf / Reel of Rio / Corner House 3.26
2. Jigs: Gallagher's Frolics / Tae ar an bPortach / An Buachaillin Ban 3.07
3. Hornpipes: The Brown Coffin / The Liverpool / The Good-Natured Man 4.14
4. Reels: Speed the Plough / Traver's No. 1 / Traver's No. 2 3.35
5. Slip Jigs: Redican's Mother / Taim in Arrears / Hardiman's 2.27
6. Waltzes: The Auld Claddagh Ring / The Valley of Knockanure / Pull Down the Blinds 3.39
7. Reels: Father Kelly's No. I / Mulhaire's No. 9 / Father Kelly's No. 2 3.25
8. Marches: The Old Crossroads / The Centenary / Shane O'Neill's 3.20
9. Reels: Mulvihill's / Stone of Destiny / McGovern's Favourite 3.23
10. Jigs: The Hag's Purse of Money / The Coming of Spring / The Banks of Newfoundland / The Matchmaker 4.37
11. Hornpipes: The Kildare Fancy / The Shaskeen / The Hills of Coors 4.14
12. Reels: Reel of Bogie / Austin Tierney's / The Road to Ballymack / Saint Ruth's Bush 4.26
13. Set Dances: A  Súisím Bán / The Galtee Hunt  3.01
14. Jigs: Dominick's Farewell to Cashel / When Sick it's Tae you Want / Contentment Is Wealth / Johnnie Watt Henry's 4.11
15. Reels: Ballintra Lass / Colonel McBaine / Johnnie Watt Henry's / The Sandmount 3.25
16. Waltzes: The Flower of Sweet Strabane / Tipperary so Far Away / Flat-Water Fran 4.36
17. Reels: Within a Mile of Dublin / Ships are Sailing / Atlantic Wave / The Jolly Tinker / The Morning Star 5.20

Also available from Copperplate

Press Reviews

DAVE MCNALLY reviews Celebrating 50 Years by P.J. & Marcus Hernon for The Irish Post

The world keeps changing, and rarely for the better, but reassuringly the music is always there. The Hernon brothers, accordion player P.J. and flute player Marcus,  were brought up in Carna in Connemara. Feenish is a small island off the coast of Carna where their sean-nós singing mother came from and as youngsters they learnt much of their music in sessions on the island; they called their own label after the island. Feenish has been uninhabited since 1987 and Marcus has recently written a book about the families and music of the island. The music though continues with this new CD made 23 years since P.J. and Marcus last made an album together.

It is 50 years since P.J. was first in a recording studio. With multiple All Ireland titles between them, P.J. and Marcus’s playing can be found on a good number of recordings, including P.J.’s great 1978 eponymous debut solo album, which Marcus was a guest on, their duo albums Béal a’ Mhúrlaigh (1989),  An Chearc Fhraoigh (2000) and  Rabharta (2002), and Marcus from his time in London, on The Good Mixer, a fine recording of the group that played in sessions in pub of the same name in Camden Town in the late 1980s.

Celebrating 50 Years has a palpable sense of reflection on a lifetime of playing and accumulating tunes. P.J. describes the tunes as a “a mix of old tunes that Marcus and I used to play together years ago, along with tunes by various composers that we enjoy”, with compositions from Junior Crehan, Josie McDermott and Paddy O’Brien. The style of much of the playing is intimated by the number of tunes first heard from Céilí Band albums, mostly the Tulla Céilí Band, the sound made possible by additional players, Marcus’s son Breandán Hernon (fiddle), John Carty (banjo), Carl Hession (piano), Benny O'Connor (drums).

There’s no shortage of vibrant jigs and reels. Speed The Plough / Traver's No. 1 / Traver's No. 2 , a glorious set of a reels, has a short playful intro on banjo, after which P.J. and Marcus’s accordion and flute dovetail wonderfully before they each play a few bars without the other on the second tune.

The familial connections and continuities are uncovered in two delightful sets of waltzes – one set also adding Phill Cunningham’s popular Flat-Water Fran. P.J. and Marcus used to hear the tunes from their father, Páraic, “play[ed] on the melodeon in the kitchen and at informal gatherings called ‘timeanna’.”  Redican's Mother / Taim In Arrears / Hardiman's are a short but fabulous set of slip jigs, with Marcus’s flute soaring in tandem with Carty’s banjo on the first tune and a wonderfully a nimated rendition of Hardiman's.

On a final set of rousing traditional reels, accordion and banjo combine perfectly on Within A Mile Of Dublin, and Marcus’s playing is superb on Ships Are Sailing, aided by Breandán Hernon’s fine fiddle. Fifty years in P.J. and Marcus Hernon’s case makes for a lot of consummate musicianship, here channelled into seventeen sets of unfussy traditional music that is immediate, full of vigour, has top-notch ensemble playing throughout from all the players, and acknowledges their roots along the way. Available from: www.copperplatemailorder.com/shop/accordion/p-j-marcus-hernon-celebrating-50-years/