Quin Heritage Group were delighted when Barry Conroy very kindly donated his store of cassettes of the ‘Ballykilty sessions’ to us and we immediately asked our friend James Feeney to digitise them. Enjoy the dulcet tones of the singers which carried warmly across the oak floor of Ballykilty.
During the 1980’s, Ballykilty Manor held a special place in the social life of the Quin area and parish. The house itself, a substantial dwelling with origins from sixteenth century had once belonged to John MacNamara as an inscription on the kitchen mantlepiece stated, ‘1614 John MacNamara and Onora Clanchi bilded theis cheimneis in the Year of our Lord’. Other owners were the Creaghs, MacMahons, Davorens and eventually the Blood family. In 1968 the house came under the ownership of Maura and Tommy Conroy and operated as a hotel, ‘Ballykilty Manor’. In a sense, the old manor house had come full circle, becoming a place where local people gathered once more.
It was but a few short steps to a large door with a heavy brass knocker. The entrance hall opened out to a sweeping staircase, with antique furniture arranged along the walls and a large fireplace to the right that gave the house an air of warmth. To the left, was the door to the bar and beyond it, as if by magic, the music and singing would lift and carry. Nothing was ever planned – it simply happened.
The Conroy family were hosts to many Americans, or ‘Yanks’ as they were referred to, who had a deep interest in Irish music and song. They were often struck by the ease at which these offerings were central to an ordinary evening in Ballykilty.
Some brought recording equipment which was a novelty at the time, and thanks to them, a number of sessions were preserved on tape and sent back to the Conroy family from the USA. They provide an invaluable record of the music and atmosphere of these nights. The voices of the visitors can be heard expressing delight at the stories shared – how much truth and lies blended is anyone’s guess. Box player John Lyons and his brother Tim were often present, as well as the Smullen family – all gifted musicians (Teresa Smullen was Tommy’s sister) and his brother John a fiddler.
At weekends in particular, the bar became the meeting place for people from Quin, Newmarket, Clarecastle and further afield and all were warmly welcomed. Amongst those who were regulars were much loved local singers Pat Reynolds and Tom Fahy from Ballyhannon, Mary Clune from Newline and Shamie Conroy from Ballykilty.
Have a listen to the recordings, they include the following: Patti Casey, Flan Enright, John Twomey and John Enright. Looking back, it is the ordinary nature of it that now seems so remarkable. The door was always open, the fire always warm and the sound of voices and music carried far beyond Ballykilty Manor walls.
The recordings can be found at the bottom of our web page at quinheritage.ie