Stolen fiddle's resurrection inspires Laois musician

Comhaltas music teacher and musician Patricia Clark is nearly finished her second album and, to help her get it over the line, Camross Comhaltas has issued a call out to local people to get behind her by supporting her kick-starter page.

This album will feature Patricia's own tunes and tunes that she has sourced in various collections. Most of them have never been recorded before, and there's a couple of unusual versions of better known tunes in there too!

Patricia is joined on the album by four incredible musicians - Cillian Ó Dubhchonna on guitar and banjo, Ryan O'Donnell on bouzouki, Alison Crossey on bodhrán and a long time member of ours hers in Camross - Conall Nevin on snare. The design of the CD sleeve features the photos taken by Paddy Tutty during the restoration of her fiddle - which is the inspiration behind the whole project.

Patricia, was brought up in England, with a significant grounding in music in County Clare and now based in Laois. Patricia wrote and delivered the syllabus for Music Theory, University of Limerick, 2009-2011, and was also Cultural Ambassador for Ireland to Japan, 2011.

She recently composed The Camross Jig for what she says are “the amazing people at Camross Comhaltas”. MORE BELOW.

Patricia, who is also involved with Spink Comhaltas, takes up the story.

“Restored is an album that has been several years in the making. It features tunes that I have composed myself, or those that I have found in collections over the years - many that have never been recorded before, and some that are unusual versions of more common tunes.

“I started this process several years ago, but in September 2019 my house was broken into and my beloved fiddle had been stolen. A few weeks later it was found by a local man in a wood just a few miles from my house, smashed to pieces. He kindly gathered the pieces that he found and returned them to me in a shoebox. One section of the front body of the fiddle was missing and, despite extensive searches, we never found it.

“Paddy Tutty took on the mammoth task of restoring the fiddle. The pieces had been outdoors, exposed to the elements for several weeks, so it was more than just a jigsaw puzzle! Paddy did an amazing job, managing to make a new section to replace the missing piece. There were tears, when he sent me a recording of the fiddle being played for the first time since its resurrection! MORE BELOW PICTURE.

“I got the fiddle back on 21st December 2019, and began planning this album. I wanted it to be representative of the tunes and styles I love, everything from tunes from the oldest collection of dance music on a solo flat-tuned fiddle, to newly composed tunes with amazing accompanists up in the lofty heights of Eflat! Then, of course, the next two years happened, and everything was, once again, put on the back burner.

“Finally, in 2022 I was able to push on with the album and am now nearing the end of the journey - I just need your help to get the project over the finish line. I am truly passionate about this album, it means a huge amount to me musically and personally and I'm so excited to get it out into the world!

“So far I have covered all of the costs myself, but I need your help to meet the final funding requirements, covering mixing/mastering and CD duplication costs, and to give the incredible musicians who join me on the album an additional thank you for their time, talent and kindness.

“As of January 2023 the album is very nearly ready to go. So far I have covered all of the costs myself, but I do need help to meet the final costs - mixing, mastering, CD duplication, publication and paying the fantastic musicians who feature alongside me.

“The timeline for release (the end of March start of April is realistic and I am confident that it will be ready at that point. Delivering rewards such as tune commissions and zoom lessons may take a little longer, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that they are all fulfilled within the month or two immediately after the album launches,” she concludes.

Anyone who wants to support Patricia should log on to the following site www.kickstarter.com/projects/patriciaclark/restored