Scully’s Sliabh Luachra Charm

By Pat Fleming, Sliabh Luachra Musician

If you ask a traditional musician about their local sessions, you’ll have names, places, and times for every day of the week and regular newcomers to boot. But for me, the place that embodied the Sliabh Luachra music experience was Scully’s in Newmarket.

They started off over 40 years ago. It was a handy meeting spot for a bit of practice, but as it wore on, after one great session, Jackie Daly suggested a regular session; “the beauty of it is you know if you go in there on that night, you’ll meet a few musicians.” Between the jigs and the reels (Mick Scully’s words, not mine), Monday was the only free night for everyone, and the rest, as they say, is history.

All sorts have come through the door to Scully’s – musicians from all over, step dancing groups, awards, you name it. It was a hive for that Sliabh Luachra feel. Unfortunately, like so many more, the sessions ended when the first bar restrictions of Covid came in and they never came back. There are still sessions in the area – Wednesdays in the Rock Bar is my usual haunt – but there’ll be nowhere like Scully’s. The energy it captured, that bottle of old Sliabh Luachra charm, there’ll be nowhere like it. For many, it’ll live on as a fond memory for musicians with more than a few happy stories to share.