Growing up in County Tipperary in Ireland, accordionist Murty Ryan played in the rock band Merciful Hour with guitarist and banjo player Martin Byrnes in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, but after Ryan moved to County Clare, it took the annual Wichita Falls St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival to bring the two together again to play traditional Irish music.
In 2018, Iron Horse Pub co-owner Danny Ahern asked Ryan to play the St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival with his old friend, Byrnes, and the two played together for the first time in years, and it’s become an annual thing for them. On Saturday, both musicians will play from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on the event’s outdoor stage and from 7 to 8:30 p.m. indoors at the Pub.
“This will be our third time to play St Pat’s and I am looking forward to it,” said Ryan in a phone interview in his Irish home. The two fly into Wichita Falls Monday, will do a series of outreach programs into the community on Tuesday through Friday and then play downtown on Saturday.
Ryan is a full-time musician living in Ennis County Clare, where he frequently performs with fiddle player Siobhan Peoples. They made a record 18 years ago of traditional Irish melodies.
When Ryan and Byrnes perform, the accordionist does not sing, but rather plays the melodies behind Martin who plays guitar, banjo and mandolin. The two will be accompanied on parts of their set by Hanna Belle Lecter fiddle player Brooke Whyrick
Ryan also plays banjo, but not out in public, he said with a laugh.
He came to accordion at the age of 9, while Byrnes came to music at age 10. “That’s normal for us here,” he said. “Many of us have had a pennywhistle at a younger age, but most of us wouldn’t get a proper instrument until you are 9 or 10. I started playing in 1981 and nothing much has changed.”
In addition to playing full-time, Ryan also teaches. When Byrnes is not playing out or doing sessions, he works as a diesel mechanic. “A very good diesel mechanic,” Ryan said.
Ryan said his father was a big fan of Irish accordion music. “He used to listen to all the Irish greats growing up. Because of that, I took an interest – there was always accordion music at the house. It was like the songs rubbed off by osmosis you know. He just bought me one day and it took off from there.”
While Ryan plays almost daily, he doesn’t compose music. “There’s so much traditional Irish music and you could travel the country and never get to the end of it. Composition is not something that comes to me naturally. I like to play the music. Composing is like a different discipline almost.”
But the beauty of traditional music, he explained, is that even though it has structure, the musician puts their own stamp on it, as well as their own individuality and style. “And that’s the beauty of it, it’s not as rigid or as regimented as other types of music.
“You learn the melody, you sit down with other musicians, you play the tune together and you meet somewhere in the middle. You do your thing; he or she does their thing. That’s where the magic is created, that’s where the magic is created.”
When he and Byrnes first played at St. Patrick’s Day in 2018, he said, the two really picked up where they had left off in the 1990’s. And he really appreciates how traditional Irish music continues to be popular in America.
“The Scots brought their music to America, the Irish brought their music and the French brought their music, and it bonded together. You have Appalachian music and bluegrass music and you have Tennessee Nashville music. It’s not a million miles away from what we are doing over here in Ireland.”
Both enjoy being in America for St Patrick’s Day. In a previous interview, Byrnes told me, “It’s a big festival in Wichita Falls.
For one day, it’s huge. I play to 3,000 to 5,000 thousand people outside and then 300 people in the Pub. You won’t see a festival like that in Boston or New York.
“Boston and New York City are full of Irish,” Byrnes said, “and you won’t see a one-day festival like the one in Wichita Falls.”
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March 13, 2020 at 01:00PM
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Traditional Irish musician Murty Ryan adds holiday touch to festival - Times Record News
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