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386

sparkline

Tuesday, July 28th, 2026

The core musicians: fiddles, concertina, whistle, bodhrán, guitar, and more. A row of musicians including a cheeky young lad playing my mandolin. A pub literally packed to the rafters with musicians playing. The fiddles alone are beyond count. Connor Caldwell on fiddle and Joanne O'Connor playing my mandolin.

Tuesday night session in Belfast

Sunday, July 26th, 2026

Me with my mandolin and a cup of tea having a chat between tunes. A little child taking great delight in my mandolin that I'm encouraging him to strum. Jessica playing her fiddle with her eyes closed. Jessica with her fiddle smiling between tunes.

Today was a good day for sessions in Belfast!

Sunday, July 19th, 2026

Me standing on a path high on a green hilltop. The view down into a valley and a beach. Sinewy trees growing above a mossy stone wall. A neolithic structure in front of green hills under a blue sky.

Walking from glen to glen.

Sunday, July 5th, 2026

A plate which a huge piece of of grilled tuna steak and some chips. Looking down at two cats looking back up at me. One is black, the other is speckled grey. They’re both adorable.

My tuna brings all the cats to the yard 🐟🐈

Saturday, July 4th, 2026

Me standing in front of the harbour. The water is blue and the foliage is bright green. Green foliage frames blue green clear water with a large boulder near the shore. Me sitting casually at a table in the shade outside a restaurant with cute little buildings in the background. A sheltered harbour with crystal clear turquoise water showing a rocky seabed.

On Paxos

Friday, June 26th, 2026

Two men sitting on stage in front of a microphone, one playing mandolin and the other accompanying on guitar. A young man and a young woman sitting on stage in front of a microphone, both playing mandolin. A woman smiling and playing mandolin with a young man playing bouzouki on stage in front of a single microphone. Three mandolin players and one guitar player sitting and playing together on stage.

Mandolinists assemble!

Friday, June 19th, 2026

Me standing in front of the railings of the headquarters of Na Píobairí Uilleann. Me sitting down with my mandolin in an elegant room in front of a screen that reads; The Session. Me playing mandolin in a pub corner with a fiddler, flute player, and box player.

Slán, Baile Átha Cliath!

Friday, June 5th, 2026

Me on stage in a loud red paisley shirtt with a microphone in one and a clipboard in the other. Four passengers on the mocked-up London bus that reads: I heart UX London. I'm one of the faces poking out; we've all got beer bottles in our hands. Nine other Clearlefties and me, all lined up for a group photo; everyone's wearing black Clearleft T-shirts except for me in my blue denim shirt.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable three days of hosting UX London this week and met such lovely people at the event—thank you to everyone who came!

Saturday, May 23rd, 2026

Me posing like a chef outside the Irish Embassy in front of the Irish language sign. Me in a short-sleeved shirt a pint of Guinness on the roof of the Devonshire.

Londoning

Friday, May 22nd, 2026

Me dressed in a summery shirt posing next to a screenshot of The Session behind glass. The label reads: The Session, digital print, with permission from Jeremy Keith, The Session.

At the Royal College of Music Museum, where the new exhibit features thesession.org!

Sunday, April 19th, 2026

A row of fiddlers playing in a pub. An accordion player and two fiddlers playing in a row.

Sunday session

Monday, April 6th, 2026

Close up of Chris singing and playing guitar with me rocking out on bouzouki. We're both wearing sharp-looking suits. Salter Cane on stage: the guitar player is front and centre, flanked on one side by me on bouzouki, and on the other by Jessica on bass.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Salter Cane gig on Saturday night—that was fun!

Sunday, March 15th, 2026

A man on bodhrán and another man on banjo. Two women playing fiddle in a pub.

Sunday afternoon session

Wednesday, February 25th, 2026

A man playing fiddle while a woman fiddler listens and smiles. A flute player and a piper.

Birthday session

Monday, February 2nd, 2026

A bowl of mussels topped with some bread. A half dozen oysters, straight up.

Carlingford mussels and oysters

Wednesday, January 21st, 2026

A man playing banjo, lost in the music. A woman playing fiddle, lost in the music.

Wednesday session

Friday, January 16th, 2026

Two fiddlers, a man playing and a woman listening. A woman playing fiddle and a man playing banjo.

Rob’s farewell session

Saturday, January 3rd, 2026

Three fiddlers. Flute and two fiddles. Fiddle and two concertinas. Guitar, flute, fiddle, and another flute.

Playing tunes in a kitchen on a Saturday night.

Thursday, January 1st, 2026

A modern hand-crafted oval-hole mandolin made in Australia. A classic bowl-backed mandolin from eastern Europe. A red wall covered with Italian bowl-backed mandolins of different sizes. A classic F-5 mandolin from Gibson with its distinctive scroll.

More mandolins

Wednesday, December 31st, 2025

A mandolina from Lviv hanging up against a yellow background. A beautiful mandolin from Naples made in 1764 hanging up against a red background. A style 4 mandolin from 1903 hanging up against a blue background. A black 10 string F-4 mandolin hanging up against a grey background.

Found myself unexpectedly with a day to spend in Phoenix, so I went to the excellent Musical Instruments Museum and ogled the mandolins.