Leonard Ford

First met Maeve during a session in Edinburg. After being blown away upon hearing her play a few unaccompanied tunes on whistle, we spoke for a bit and she told me about sessions she visits (and hosts) in Dublin and how they differ from the more open-mic style of the Edinburgh sessions, with about 15 people playing at once. This seemed to stick with me after returning home and slowly I started to think of doing a photography project/musical expedition to Ireland.

When the time came I visited Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland in a relatively short period. By then the pandemic was still going strong, and Dublin had only begun opening up its pub doors again a few weeks prior, with many restrictions still in place. Masks when not at your table, keep your distance… You all know the drill.

During a session in Cassidy’s Pub I first heard Caty play as well. She hosts an open session there every Wednesday from 8pm until late, with Maeve often co-hosting and everyone is welcome for the craic and ceol. After only a few short days in Dublin, I took a train to Belfast to spend a few days there, before ending the trip with a visit to Glasgow.

Upon returning home, I had booked a small showcase of my project in het Neushoom cafe in Leeuwarden. After visiting Ireland, playing a show by myself felt like it wouldn’t do the music justice at all. Starting close to home, I asked my girlfriend Maaike to play along and even though she had never played folk or trad music before, she said yes. I also asked Maeve to fly over for the occasion.

Always looking for an excuse to travel and perhaps missing my company and sparkling personality, she quickly agreed to join. At her suggestion we invited Caty too, which completed our little group.
We only had about 2 days for rehearsals before our show. As chaotic as that show went, it was an absolute blast playing together.

For the weekend afterwards, I had booked us some studio time. We recorded as much as could in the two days we had, before Maeve and Caty flew off again. Maaike and I finished the remaining songs on this record in another 2 days, spread over a few months.