An Irish Girl / The Mountain Road - James Kelly, 1989

On fiddle, James Kelly performs two reels.

James Kelly and his siblings grew up in a musical home in Dublin City Centre.

His father John Kelly is a renowned fiddle and concertina player from west County Clare who ran a musical instrument and hardware shop in Capel Street. His mother Frances Hillard who is from County Wicklow plays the accordion.

At age 16, James Kelly recorded his first album with his brother John. In the 1970s he joined Éamon De Buitléir’s group Ceoltóirí Laighean with his father John who was a founder member of Ceoltóirí Chualann and involved in the establishment of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

James Kelly has also played with traditional music groups Planxty and Patrick Street and The Chieftains. He established fiddle classes at Na Píobairí Uilleann (The Society of Irish Piper) a few years ago.

James Kelly presented six episodes of RTÉ’s traditional music series ‘The Pure Drop’ broadcast in 1988.

Now living in Miami, he tours in the United States as a solo artist as well as with other traditional musicians and returns to Ireland regularly to record and perform in venues up and down the country.

This episode of ‘Cúrsaí’ was broadcast on 16 March 1989.

‘Cúrsaí’ was an Irish-language television magazine programme. It was first broadcast on 14 October 1986 with Neasa Ní Chinnéide and Seán Ó Tuairisg as presenters. It was originally billed as “iris-chlár le béim faoi leith ar chúrsaí reatha an lae agus ar chúrsaí na tíre i gcoitinne” (RTÉ Guide, 17 October 1986). But it covered a wide range of topics, including politics, current affairs, arts and entertainment. ‘Cúrsaí’ was broadcast four nights a week, from Tuesday to Friday, on RTÉ 2. It ended on 30 May 1995.