This album has now been deleted from the Tara Music catalogue

"To beginish at the beginishing ... have you ever seen Beginish? Beginish the island, that is, not this outfit - it's the lowest and least distinguished of the Blasket islands. Now our bards here could have played on our emotions by calling themselves after one of the more famous islands: "Tearaght" would have suggested lonely crags soaring to great eminences from fathomless depths; "Inishvickillane" brought to mind thoughts of the púcaí or little people; or they could have scared us all with the sense of danger and awe inherent in the name "Inish-na-Bró". None of this: "Beginish" it is, with all the humility that connotes - here we are, they seem to say, everyday musicians doing a job of journeywork, nothing too outstanding ...
Don't be fooled! For this is a highly polished performance from a group of accomplished individuals who are already highly thought of in their own right. Brendan Begley, for instance, enjoys considerable repute as both accordionist and singer, and his talents are here augmented by those of Paul McGrattan (flute), Paul O'Shaughnessy (fiddle) and Noel O'Grady (bouzouki). Their musical roots are at the two extremities of the west of Ireland - in Donegal and Kerry - and the sources of the tunes reflect this fact, many of them coming from the great Sliabh Luachra box player Johnny O'Leary, whilst others derive from master musicians of the north such as the late Johnny Doherty.
Their collaborators, too, are a mix of north and south, and their names give us an inkling of the high regard in which the players of Beginish are held. To have Arty McGlynn and both Tríona and Mairéad Ní Dhomhnaill on your record is quite a coup; and, if it's a bodhrán player you're after, where would you find one better than Colm Murphy? The inclusion of Tríona reinforces a resemblance to the Bothy Band that is already quite marked. It's to be heard not only in the geographical mix (though, curiously, the Bothies never had a member from Munster in their ranks, but that never seemed to stop 'em from playing polkas and slides), but also in the mix of dance tunes, slow airs and songs (in both English and Irish), in the arrangements, especially the use of keyboards, and in the remorseless drive of the playing.
Put crudely, Beginish are inclined to be something of speed merchants - but then, what harm! Wasn't Johnny Doherty one too? And they carry it all off with great polish and never lose the swing. So thoroughly polished, indeed, is every performance that it is impossible to single out a particular set of tunes for commendation, though the trio of jigs "A Night at the Fair", "Bill the Weaver's" and "Síos Chun na Trá can" stand for all, and the closing medley brings us out with a classic bang and a Bothyish change of time signature. As regards the personnel, comparisons are likewise invidious, though Paul McGrattan is particularly outstanding here: he contributes a couple of fine tunes of his own composition, and his playing shows that he can take his place alongside the Molloys and Kennedys. Turning to the songs, Brendan Begley does a superb job on the unrequited love song from Kerry "Iníon an Fhaoit ón nGleann"; his rendition of "The Rose of Aranmore" is rather too schmaltzy for my taste, but sounds as if it would find a ready welcome on the other side of the Atlantic. And for fans of the O Domhnaills, Tríona and Mairéad do "I Courted a Wee Lass", a song from their native Rannafast. In short, there's something for everyone here, as Beginish take their place in the list of the supergroups, following in the footsteps of Altan, Dé Danann and the Bothy Band. Christy MacHale - The Living Tradition

"A sense of connection matters in Irish Traditional music. Among musicians completely comfortable and in sync with each other, it often manifests itself nonverbally - a nod, a glance, a shoulder dip -and the players instantly know what to do and when to do it. Such a connection can be heard to impressive advantage on 'Beginish' the self-titled debut recording issued last year by a quartet comprising accordion/singer Brendan Begley, fiddler Paul O'Shaughnessy, flutist Paul McGrattan, and bouzouki player Noel O'Grady. O'Shaughnessy and McGrattan often play together in the thriving session scene of Dublin, and in 1997 they cut a superb duet album, 'Within a Mile of Dublin'. Begley and McGrattan share a different but no less important background - that of teacher and pupil - demonstrating there's a fourth R to be pursued after reading, riting and rithmetic: reels (and other dance tunes).
In a marvelous mix of mostly Kerry and Donegal repertoires and styles, Beginish, who are named after one of the Blasket Islands off the West Kerry coast play with exceptional verve and touch. It's impossible to remain still when the band leans into the reels 'The Plough and the Stars/The Kilfenora/Maids of Galway/McGoldricks' or 'Miss Patterson's Slippers' the most visceral and stunning performances on the album. Accordion, fiddle and flute spark off each other in a dazzling display of tight, hard-driving musicianship, with Colm Murphy's bodhran adding spot-on percussion underneath.
Kerry-flavoured slides come bounding out of Begley's box on "O'Keeffe's no. 1/O' Keeffe's no. 2/Thadelo's' all learned from the playing of Maulykeaveane, Kerry accordionist Johnny O'Leary. The forceful, Scots-tinged style of Donegal fiddling can be heard in the expert playing of O'Shaughnessy, ex-member of Altan, on the march/reels medley of 'Kitty in the Lane/The Hawk/The Templeglentaun'. Some tasty barndances written by McGrattan, 'The Taylor's/Ansty's are played at a tempo and with a lift that are exemplary, as are the jigs 'A Night at the Fair/ Bill the Weaver's/Sios Chun na Trá'.
This initial recording by Beginish, one of the most talented bands to emerge from Ireland in recent years, will provide plenty of mile-wide smiles."
Earle Hitchner - Irish Echo

"With such a proliferation of instrumental based bands playing Irish music at present, Beginish had a hard battle on their Belfast concert debut to stand out from the crowd. But they soon showed why they are so popular with dancers: no histrionics here, just neat, precise rhythms as the poured out a succession of delights. They played perfectly."
The Belfast Newsletter Nov. 24rd 1998 - Geoff Harden

"Every now and again you hear a group with tremendous potential and no, it isn't some bunch of up-and-coming whizz kids this time, but some experienced old hands who play together regularly and socially. Beginish are one such group, who may not see thirty again, but are all top notchers with track records in traditional Irish music which show them to be a bit special. Their debut album of the same name shows not only brilliant music played with a rare zest, but songs sung the way you'd hear them in a pub. Brendan Begley from the West Kerry Gaeltacht does the singing and the box playing and this Kerry influence is strong on the album, though there is a balance with Paul O'Shaughnessy's fine Donegal fiddling and the Dublin flute playing of Paul McGrattan. Noel O'Grady's bouzouki accompanies carefully, usefully. The album is aided and abetted by Arty McGlynn on guitar and Maighread and Triona Ní Dhomhnaill on songs. A rich dish indeed and one of those albums that heralds a group that will head straight to the top of the premier division of Irish Music."
Joe Crane - Folk Roots

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