Two of Ireland’s best-known traditional musicians, father and son, Breanndán and Cormac Ó Beaglaioch have undertaken a magical music tour from Kerry to the ancestral home of the Begleys in Donegal.
Button key accordion player, Breanndán and concertina-playing son, Cormac travelled the length of Ireland’s west coast Wild Atlantic Way in 'Beauty,' Breanndán’s 40-year-old campervan.
Along the way, they met up with musicians old and new to explore the regional trad styles of Clare, Galway, Mayor, Sligo and eventually Donegal.
Their journey also took in other distractions, including a visit to the house in Clare where Fr Ted was filmed with the father and son posing for the obligatory 'kick Bishop Brennan' picture. In another nod to Fr Ted, they played while an Irish dancer went through her steps in the campervan.
Their exploits were followed by TG4 in Slí na mBeaglaoich (The Way of the Begleys), which producers say will “sate” the appetite of any traditional music lover. As they set off from the family home at Baile na bPoc (Ballynabuck) in Kerry in January, Breanndán hoped he’d get to know his son as an adult a little better.
“We’ll spend time together, to talk to each other and maybe a few things will come out about me that he didn’t know and maybe something from his perspective that I didn’t know,” he said.
For Cormac, it was a chance to re-connect with his first teacher, his father.
“He’s a unique individual and I’m looking forward to spending this special time together.”
In episode one, which goes out on TG4 on Sunday (9.30pm), father and son are seen off from by family and music friends. As “Beauty” speeds through the backroads of south west Ireland, they meet fiddlers, pipers and singers.
