Brand new edition of Paddy Tunney’s memoir relaunched in Derry

In conjunction with CCÉ Baile na gCailleach, The Tunney Song Tradition Trust relaunched the brand-new edition of Paddy Tunney’s memoir: The Stone Fiddle: My Way to Traditional Song in Studio 2.

The launch included a performance of readings and songs from this iconic book on traditional song and culture.

Originally published in 1979, The Stone Fiddle: My Way to Traditional Song is a dazzling evocation of Ireland in the first half of the 20th century, particularly the Donegal-Fermanagh hill country above Lough Erne – its political undercurrents, its people, culture, folklore and superstition. It is the perfect book for fans of Irish traditional singing and those looking to expand their own singing repertoire.

Coming from a wonderfully rich singing tradition, spanning back to the decades before the Great Famine, Paddy Tunney’s song repertoire has few rivals.

The Stone Fiddle features over 60 of these songs and Paddy, in his distinct and direct authorial voice, tells a tale for them all. With an uncanny knack for weaving a riveting yarn, Paddy brings these tales to life in lyrical detail and readers will feel as if they are right next to him at the hearth all along the way.

With the original foreword by Irish author and broadcaster Benedict Kiely and a new introduction from Paddy’s son, Dr John Tunney, The Stone Fiddle will enable a new generation of traditional folk singers to discover the oral sources of such gems as: ‘As I Roved Out’, ‘The Mountain Streams Where the Moorcocks Crow’, ‘The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee’ and even some songs that have never been recorded.

Members of the Tunney family, from left, Mary, Paddy, John, Maura, Cathal, Fiona and Aodhan were pictured at the book launch in Studio 2.

This new edition also features several additions intended to enrich the reader’s experience, including photographs, maps and a full index. The hardcopy edition will be complemented in due course by an eBook edition and an Audiobook version as well.

NEXT READ: County Derry MMA fighter Paul Hughes shares victory with Cristiano Ronaldo

The Tunney Song Tradition Trust will be providing recordings of all the songs in the book, sung by members of the extended Tunney family themselves.

This ambitious aspect of the project will be enabled through the generous support of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and the recordings will, in due course, be available on the websites of both the Trust and the ITMA.