Julia Clifford (19 June 1914 – 18 June 1997) was a fiddler and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
traditional
musician.
Julia Murphy was born at Lisheen,
Gneeveguilla,
County Kerry, part of an area in
west Munster known as
Sliabh Luachra
Sliabh Luachra (), sometimes anglicised Slieve Logher, is an upland region in Munster, Ireland. It is on the borders of counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, and bounded to the south by the River Blackwater. It includes the Mullaghareirk Mounta ...
. Her father Bill played
flute,
fife and
fiddle, and had a fife and drum band. Both she and her brother
Denis Murphy, also a musician, were taught the
fiddle by the noted travelling fiddler and fiddle teacher from the same area,
Padraig O'Keeffe.
Clifford, her brother, O'Keeffe, and other musicians from the Sliabh Luachra area are regarded as a significant influence on
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
and have given rise to the term ''Sliabh Luachra style''.
In the late Thirties she emigrated to Scotland and then to London where she worked as a hotel maid before marrying John Clifford in 1941. He was an accordion player, also from Kerry, and they had two sons, John and Billy. In the Forties they played the Irish dance halls in London. In the 1950s they returned to Ireland for a time, living in Newcastle West in Co Limerick. They performed in the Star of Munster Ceili Band with which they made radio recordings.
Back in London Julia enjoyed greater popularity with the onset of the Sixties folk boom. In 1968 Claddagh recorded herself and brother Denis Murphy on an album of Kerry music, ''The Star Above the Garter.''
Rediscovered by the British folk club scene of the Seventies, Topic in 1977 issued an earlier recording of herself with brother Denis and Padraig O'Keeffe, ''Kerry Fiddles (Music from Sliabh Luachra)''. This was followed by two LPs featuring a range of music from various periods played by Julia, her husband and her son Billy, a flute player.
The wider appreciation of the music of Sliabh Luachra - particularly its Kerry slides and polkas - came late in life for Julia Clifford. The Cliffords lived in a small council flat in Hackney in East London before being rehoused in Thetford, Norfolk in the late Seventies.
In the Eighties and Nineties her reputation grew, being invited to perform at folk clubs and festivals. She performed on trips back to Ireland and was introduced to TV audiences. She also visited America. Many young players who sought her out to learn tunes and styles from her Kerry repertoire found her generous and encouraging. Her husband John died in 1981. Julia Clifford died on June 18, 1997, one day before her 84th birthday, and is buried in Norfolk.
Discography
*''Kerry Fiddles''.
Padraig O'Keefe (fiddle), Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle). Topic TSCD 309, 1994. Reissue of Topic 12T309, 1977. Recorded by Seamus Ennis 9 Sept. 1952 in Castleisland, Co. Kerry.
*''Paddy in the Smoke''. Martin Byrnes (fiddle), Danny Meehan (fiddle), Bobby Casey (fiddle), Tony McMahon (
accordion), Andy Boyle (fiddle), Jimmy Power (fiddle), Jimmy Dunleavy (fiddle), Sean O'Shea (fiddle), Con Curtin (fiddle), Denis McMahon (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle), Tommy Maguire (accordion), Father O'Keeffe (
mandolin), Lucy Farr (fiddle), Edmond Murphy (fiddle), with Reg Hall (
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
), John McLaughlin (
spoons
Spoons may refer to:
* Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup
* Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons
Film and TV
* ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show
*Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos''
...
). Topic TSCD 603, 1997. "Re-mastered edition" of Topic 12T176, 1968, with "additional material and new notes." Some material from original LP is missing here. Notes to reissue by Reg Hall.
*''The Star above the Garter. Fiddle music from Kerry, played by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford''. Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle). Claddagh CC5CD, 1969. Recorded in Dublin.
*''The Humours of Lisheen,'' Julia and John Clifford, Topic (LP). Julia Clifford, 1914–97
*''Music from Sliabh Luachra''. Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle), Pádraig O'Keeffe (fiddle), Andy McGann (fiddle), Johnny O'Leary (button accordion) & Séamus Ennis (
uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from thei ...
) (RTÉ 183 CD - 1995)
*''Ceol as Sliabh Luachra''. Julia Clifford (fiddle), Billy Clifford (
flute), with Manus Lunny - (Gael Linn - CEF 092 - 1982)
*''The Star of Munster Trio''. Julia Clifford (fiddle), John Clifford (accordion), Billy Clifford (flute) - (Topic - 12TS310 - 1977)
From
The Voice of the People
''The Voice of the People'' is an anthology of folk songs produced by Topic Records containing recordings of traditional singers and musicians from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The series was first issued in 1998 as 20 CDs, compiled by Dr ...
series
*''
It was mighty - The Early Days of Irish Music in London'' (Topic Records - TSCD679T)
*''
It was great altogether - The Continuing Tradition of Irish Music in London'' (Topic Records - TSCD680T)
References
External links
RamblingHouse: Julia Clifford, 1914-97* https://www.juliaclifford.eu/
* https://katiehowson.co.uk/julia-clifford-project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Julia
Irish fiddlers
People from County Kerry
1914 births
1997 deaths
20th-century violinists
Women violinists
20th-century women musicians
Claddagh Records artists
People from Gneeveguilla