Presenters

MONDAY NIGHTS - SONG BOOK

Presenter                Michael Goulding
Broadcast Time     22.00 – 01.00 hrs

A real ‘wind-down’ to Monday nights in the company of Michael Goulding.  This programme concentrates on playing songs that you’ve probably not heard on the radio for years.

With special emphasis on the musicals, one-hit wonders and featured artists that we thought we’d forgotten about its just one gem of a song after another.

Listeners play their part too as Michael tries to unearth the most unusual song request from listeners across the region.  With the odd jazz classic, TV theme tune and obscure Eurovision entry this programme is engaging! 

Michael  Goulding is 31, born in Manchester and moved to Mayo in 2000. 

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''Sea, bail ó Dhia oraibh agus fáilte go Ceol Agus Ealaíon! Joe Byrne here once again until 1am or beyond .. three hours le ceol, spraoi, siamsa, seanchas agus spleodar and maybe small bits seafóid spliced in anseo agus ansiúd ... but always the finest of music, song and poetry, with news and reviews of the arts, history and lore ... so fan linne má thig libh, mar beidh sé in a chraic idir seo agus siúd ... cluas eile is the password''

Those same words have introduced the music and arts programme Ceol Agus Ealaíon on Midwest Radio for the past 25 years.

Tradition:

Achadh Mór, my own native area, has a strong flute, melodeon and song tradition and so it happens that I play a long loud flute myself and also sing and make up the odd song. In fact, my first efforts at recording began in 1972 involving old style accordion and flute players of the locality.

One such flute player, Tom Coen of Cúigiú (1893-1990), had links to the Knock Flute and Drum Band from the early 1900's, and he also had lore about Piper Caulfield that went back to the mid 1800's. As a young boy, Tom had heard early cylinder/phonograph recordings played by a traveller to the locality. Her recalled how he and other youngsters had traipsed round after the cart in which the phonograph was being transported from village to village 'in wonderment at the voice coming from inside the magic box'.

Radio:

The radio programme, of course, brought further opportunities to meet, record and broadcast hundreds of other performers, historians and artists on a variety of recording machines. Since 1989 I've bought and used Morantz cassettes, DAT, mini discs and now digital discs. As the archive of recordings began to grow I decided to issue some regional collections of this material and to date 24 cd's, and 14 accompanying books have been brought out.

There have been many fine live studio programme performances, as well as magical field recording nights all over Mayo and beyond; day recording trips to the islands, schools, libraries, abbeys, arts and heritage centres, ... feiseanna, fleadhanna, summer schools and street busking.

Instrument makers, musicals artists, choirs, and orchestras, all have featured. There was a six week walking music collecting tour in 2004 through Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim. In the 25 years there has just been one expenses paid recording junket! That was to France at the invitation of Ragús, the Mayo based international trad show. Recordings were done on the tour bus and at Le Silo Theatre in Marseilles where Ragús starred before a packed house.

The recording discs turned full circle this Spring as I found myself back again recording old style melodeon. On Good Friday, April 18th, two lorras teenagers, Michael and Jason Keane, were introduced by sár ghaeilgeoir Pádraig S Ó Murchú in the Turas Siar Centre, and they went on to play beautiful gimpy music on a 100-year-old family melodeon.

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COSTELLO’S COUNTRY

Presenter              Philip Costello
Broadcast Time     23.00 – 02.00 hrs

If ever you need a question answered on the topic of American country music Philip is your man! In fact, he is probably the mastermind of the subject. His fascination for it came at an early age, somewhat by accident, when he bought an LP (there's a blast from the past!) of Hank Snow only because it was on the same label as Elvis Presley. Philip liked what he heard and and became a country music addict. 

He hails from Grange, Co.Sligo, but he's a much travelled soul. He's lived in Tipperary, Offaly and the UK and now travels to Midwest Radio every Friday night for his American country show from Ballymena, Co.Antrim.

''I probably hold the record for the longest distance travelled each week by a DJ on local radio but it's still great to be involved and I don't begrudge one single mile of the weekly trek.''

As well as a minefield of knowledge, Philip is a hoarder of sorts! He gets all the latest American country music magazines and he has a spectacular collection of American country music - both vinyl and CD although he says there's something magical about vinyl! His loyal listeners know all about his knowledge of both the old and the new and he still loves the RCA label best of all.

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TOP 40 AS GAEILGE

Presenter              Brendan Roache
Broadcast Time      22.00 – 23.00 hrs

Brendan Roache presents 'The Top 10 ag a Deich' chart show every Friday night at 10pm. The Dublin based national school teacher puts his love of the Irish language down to the wonderful teachers of Straide NS and St.Gerald's College, Castlebar. 

Brendan is unique in that he is one of only a handful of broadcasters that presents a bilingual chart show in Ireland. The show has a sprinkling of what he describes as 'Irish for everyone' and when the clock strikes 10 on a Friday night listeners to Midwest Radio are guaranteed to hear the 10 biggest tracks in the charts as well as new releases destined for the top and the very popular 'traic seanscoil'!

He got his first taste for radio when studying at St.Patrick's College, Drumcondra and has broadcast on Near FM and in more recent years was part of the lunchtime show 'An Bosca Lóin' on Raidió na Life.

Brendan loves radio almost as he loves his native Straide and says that anyone that has not experienced the home of Michael Davitt should visit and he'll be glad to take them for a spot of fishing on the River Moy - with the promise of a conversation in Irish thrown in!

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