This episode looks at the ballad Blackwater Side aka Blackwaterside aka Down by Blackwaterside and the journey that it took from a Traveller site outside Belfast in 1952 to the first Led Zeppelin LP. A winding river of a song, this episode looks at its multiple obscure sources as well as its many meandering tributaries.

Tracklist

Led Zeppelin – Black Mountain Side
Bert Jansch – Blackwaterside
Anne Briggs – Blackwaterside
Isla Cameron – Blackwaterside
Mary Doran – Down by Blackwaterside
Paddy Tunney – Blackwaterside
Harry Upton – In Wayward Town
Wash Nelson – Last May Morn
Spriguns – Blackwaterside
Landless – Blackwaterside

https://campsite.bio/firedrawnear

Blackwater Side

Hop jigs from the RTE Radio One Folk Awards 2025 nominated album.

Brogan’s Land / Don’t Go Away / The Promenade / The Boys of Ballisodare

Reels from the RTE Radio One Folk Awards 2025 nominated album.

Ted Furey's/ Athnuachan

A cherished traditional Irish folk song whose origins can be traced to the mid-19th century. The hauntingly beautiful melody comes from County Derry in Northern Ireland, while the poignant lyrics were penned by Sir Samuel Ferguson (1810-1886), an influential Irish poet and antiquarian who dedicated much of his work to preserving Irish cultural heritage.

The Lark in the Clear Air

A meeting of traditional Irish folk and contemporary electronica
Featuring :-
Moonbeams Kate Porter on Lead Vocal, Penny Whistle and Bohdran
Moonbeams Conrad Barr on String Drones, Modified Uilleann Pipes and Moog Murf
Recorded and Produced by Conrad Barr at Cloud Nine
Mastered by Paul Bennett at Waygon Music UK

She Moved Through The Fair

I Wonder When I Shall Be Married

“Bitter Island” is a folk-punk protest anthem that calls out the hypocrisy of unity in a land still haunted by sectarian ghosts. Driven by snarling guitars, stomping rhythms, and gang-vocal fury, the song pulls no punches — confronting the inherited bile, flags-as-weapons, and the bitter truth that as long as old hatreds lead our parades, no paper peace will ever hold. It’s loud, it’s raw, and it’s bloody fed up.

Bitter Island

Episode LXI is a lengthy heady blast through all of the amazing music that has come my way over the last month. There's so much really quality interesting stuff coming out in the wider traditional - folk - weirdo music scenes these days and this is just a taster. The draft is full and rich. Drink deep and be let contentment be your wealth. Artwork by Louis le Brocquy for the Thomas Kinsella translation of the Táin Bó Cuailnge.

Tracklist

Cormac Begley & Liam O Connor – Ryan’s Rant
Sweet William – Keep your Garden Clean
David Murphy – The March of The King of Laois
Duck Baker and Molly Andrews – Bad Girl
Current 93 (feat. Shirley Collins) – Idumæa
Gout – Newcastle
Mother's Favourite Tongue - Oidhche na mo Chadal Dhomh
Bridget and Kitty - The Cruel Mother
Ottilie Paterson – The Bitterness of Death
The Standing Stones feat. Alasdair Roberts – Twa Brothers
Ultan O’Brien – The Boyne Hunt
Tom & Ben Paley – Follow The Band
Junior Brother – Welcome To My Mountain
Milkweed – Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
Milkweed – The Milk-Fed Calf
Poor Creature – We’ve Run Out Of Tomorrows

https://campsite.bio/firedrawnear

FDN LXI

Bit of Craic with  a genre-blurring DJ mix - showcasing the cutting edge of Ireland’s electronic, rap, trad , and experimental scenes. Some hypnotic & euphoric rhythms, raw, bi-lingual lyricism, and immersive textures. Éire go brach !



Mo Blacks, Mo Dogs, Mo Irish, Mo Chara

This composition is a symphonic jig inspired by the legendary Irish pirate queen, Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O’Malley). I first heard her story years ago from an independent experimental film, The Cry Of Granuaille (Foreman, 2022)  and it has stayed with me ever since. Though I did not grow up playing traditional Irish music I have become fascinated by it in the past year – playing Lankum songs in a tribute gig, and learning the fiddle. With this project, my goal was to use my film score composition style to create a piece influence by Traditional Irish jigs. 
	Gráinne Mhaol, also known as Granuaille (anglicised)  was said to have been “born around 1530, the only daughter of Owen Dubhdara O'Malley, chieftain of a territory in Co. Mayo.”  After the death of her husband, “she returned to Clare Island to command her family’s fleet, launching pirate raids along the west coast and as far afield as Scotland.”  This earned her the title, “Pirate Queen” . This composition is supposed to evoke a sense of her daring raids, and represent the character sonically in the form of a traditional Irish jig-inspired piece played by symphony orchestra and trad band. 


The Pirate Queen - Audio Mock Up

Wolf of Borg – AI Music Without Limits

Alas its a sad day for me. Due to continued issues with soundcloud, I am moving to United Masters for all of my releases. Soundcloud have already warned me that they will be deleting all my music, but It will have been released before that happens. Honestly, if you are intending to release music, I'd look elsewhere, Soundcloud are prescriptive and stifle creativity. Their Customer service is virtually inaccessible, unhelpful, and unable to resolve issues. They actively hinder creators instead of supporting them.

Wolf of Borg... Still Creating... Still releasing, just not through SoundCloud... I'll just take my 200,000 streams elsewhere ;)

London born, Boscombe based singer-songwriter fronting a 9-piece collective of kindred spirits, looking to weave magic, referencing baroque pop, folk psychedelia & whatever else we fancy...x

Fire Draw Near is a monthly podcast and radio show which investigates Irish traditional music and song in all of its myriad forms.

https://campsite.bio/firedrawnear

New tracks tagged #TRADITIONAL IRISH