Music from the Heart

Peggy Gordon by Lisa O’Neill & Colm Mac Con Iomaire is the second single taken from In The Echo: Field Recordings from Earlsfort Terrace, due for release on the Ergodos label on 30th September 2021. The eight-track concept compilation album was curated and produced by Ross Turner. Recorded in various locations in the historic National Concert Hall building in Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin – ranging from old lecture theatres to dis-used stairwells, to a former morgue – this record features collaborations between a number of diverse Irish musicians including: Lisa O’Neill & Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Katie Kim & Seán Mac Erlaine, Paul Noonan & Roger Moffatt, Eileen Carpio & Sean Carpio, Conor O’Brien & Cian Nugent, Brigid Mae Power & Adrian Crowley, Saileóg Ní Cheannabháin & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, & Lisa Hannigan & Crash Ensemble. 

Peggy Gordon is a beautifully arranged version of a Canadian folksong of the same name, dating from the 19^th century. Lisa O’Neill delivers the lyrics – about the despair of unrequited love – with poise and poignancy. Colm Mac Con Iomaire’s solo fiddle is elegant in its gentle understatement. There's always a haunting aura around these songs. Mac Con Iomaire's soulful playing adds the emotional layer to the track. The musicianship of these two shines through.

Producer Ross Turner remembers the recording session:

“The process of facilitating Lisa and Colm recording ‘Peggy Gordon’ together was a simple one, given the natural chemistry and history between the pair. Set up in the same room adjacent to the Hatch Street side of the National Concert Hall building, the triangulation between the musicians and the space fed into the microphones beautifully. In the quiet moments of the song elements of the stormy day that it was can be heard rattling and pelting the windows of the building. There is great comfort in the music, borne out of the stormy atmosphere in which it was created... The listener is invited in by the duo.”

Colm Mac Con Iomaire plays violin and sings vocals with rock group The Frames. Mac Con Iomaire has been involved with The Frames since 1990 and has been a touring member of The Swell Season since 2006 (albums Once and Strict Joy). Mac Con Iomaire's first solo album, The Hare's Corner (Cúinne an Ghiorria), was released in 2008. It was nominated for a 2009 Meteor Award for Best Traditional/Folk Album. His second solo album, And Now the Weather (Agus Anois an Aimsir), was released in April 2015 and his latest,  The River Holds Its Breath - Tost ar an Abhainn, came out in May 2019.

Over the years, Lisa O'Neill has quietly built a reputation for herself on the Irish and international scenes, and now has a growing following with her unique folk sound, strong song-writing and distinctive voice. Her debut release Has an Album was followed in 2013 by Choice-nominated Same Cloth or Not. Her third album Pothole in the Sky was released to critical acclaim and is filled with tension and emotion, contextualising themes of love, loss, heartache, and sorrow today through referencing tales from the past with beauty, honesty and defiance. Lisa’s last release on the Rough Trade imprint River Lea, Heard A Long Gone Song, has garnered huge acclaim both at home and abroad.

You can preorder the album here