Jack Mulkeres passing, on June 18th 1982, marked a considerable watershed in the history of Irish traditional music and folk culture in this country.
Born in Castletown, Kiltartan, Gort, Co. Galway, on June 21th, 1898, Jack Mulkere was the third child of nine born to Pat Mulkere and Mary Tierney. Pat, a tenant farmer of the Coole estate was a much respected authority on Irish language and folklore and from the 1880s the Mulkere household became closely associated with the literary renaissance movement of that time. Pat Mulkere had the distinction of becoming the first president of a branch of the Gaelic League outside of Dublin, with the formation of a branch in Kiltartan, South Galway around 1893.
Jack ‘s earliest musical influences were in his home, his mother was quite proficient on concertina and his uncle Jack Tierney played a fife. Jack had an excellent singing voice which his father encouraged by teaching him many old Irish songs. This encouragement continued in Kiltartan National School where a teacher named Miss Barry seems to have played an important role in Jack’s musical development. According to Jack’s son Enda, Jack actually started playing the accordion but was encouraged to take up the violin by Ms Barry.
Soon after the War of Independence, Jack joined the ranks of a newly
formed Fife and Drum Band in Gort, under the direction of local Chemist
Jack Coen and Band Master Michael Corbett. Very little is known about
Jack’s musical involvement in the band, the instrument he played,
or how long he remained a member. However, a retired British Army
Band Master from Limerick by the name of Pat Salmon later took over
the Band and he is credited for teaching Jack the formal rudiments
of music including the playing of several scales and the reading of
staff notation.
It was the adaptation of these musical rudiments to the fiddle, and
the pedagogy of Salmon, that started Jack on what was to be a most
fruitful journey as both musician and teacher in the years that followed.
It is around this time also that Jack’s distinguished Teaching career started. Although consigned to the periphery of Irish music education by the ‘high art’ curriculum keepers of the time, Jack’s strong sense of Cultural Nationalism was the driving force behind his early music teaching career.
Despite the absence of records some of his early pupils include Jack,
Mick, and Joe Cooley, who later went on to become household names
in Irish music.
Soon, a whole network of classes were up and running, stretching from
Aughrim in East Galway, to Athenry in North East Galway.
He soon set up classes around Aughrim, in Cappataggle, Kilreekil, Mullagh, Kilconnell, and Killaghbeg House, home of gentleman farmer and musician Jack Fahey.
Jack Mulkere’s rise to national prominence came about as a
result of the formation of The Aughrim Slopes Ceili band in the late
1920’s and their subsequent legacy of regional and national
broadcasts on 2RN radio, and their 78 RPM recordings of the 1930s.
The history of the band begins with the formation of the Aughrim Slopes
Trio circa 1927. The Trio comprised of Jack Mulkere (fiddle), Paddy
Kelly of Aughrim (fiddle) and Joe Mills of Ballinasloe on accordeon.
It is believed that Mulkere first encountered Kelly and Mills at a
function in Kilreekil, Loughrea. Having struck up an immediate friendship,
they began playing together on a regular basis. The trio of Mills,
Kelly and Mulkere rehearsed regularly in Killaghbeg House where they
discussed music, swapped tunes and corrected mistakes under the watchful
eye of Jack Fahey.
Unknown to the Trio, Jack Fahey wrote to Dr. Vincent O’Brien
(Director of Music 2RN) for an audition. Within a short period of
time, Fahey received confirmation back that his application for an
audition was successful. Intent on making a good impression at the
audition, Joe Mills went out and bought him a brand new accordion.
An intensive period of rehearsing followed, and with the audition
date rapidly approaching, a meeting was called in Killaghbeg House
to select a name for the Trio. It was decided by the group to call
themselves The Aughrim Slopes Trio, the group taking its name from
Thomas Davis’ song The West Awake, which commemorates The Battle
of Aughrim 1691.
Details of the first broadcast such as date, time of performance,
the tunes played and so on cannot be verified.
Although performing officially as a Trio, the group had many more
musical acquaintances in their locality. Jim Drury, a flute player
from Sligo, but stationed as a Civic Guard in Kilconnell was the next
official member of The Aughrim Slopes. Having spoken to many people
on the matter, no one knows exactly when Jim joined, but he broadcast
with the group from the mid 30s. Drury brought a wealth of Sligo music
with him and many of his tunes were added to the repertoire of the
group.
The quartet expanded again soon after to include local school teacher
and pianist Josie O’Halloran whose father hailed from Crusheen,
Co Clare. Josie, who taught in Killalaghton National School, was a
cousin of the great fiddle player/composer Paddy Kelly, and a gifted
pianist. His virtuosity is clearly evident from the three recordings
from that era.
At the request of Father William Cummins CC, Josie put together a
few musicians to play for a fundraising Ceili in Harpur’s Hall
in Ballinansloe. It is likely that this particular line up were playing
together on an informal basis before this engagement. The line up
included Kelly, Mulkere, Drury, Mills, and O’Halloran. According
to Joe Mills, they were joined by the famous Leo Rowsome on the same
night.
According to Mills, an engagement at the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis is deemed to be the first official public performance of the Aughrim Slopes Ceili Band.
With their popularity still rising, the possibility of recording, (a rare occurrence in the 30’s) was discussed. Following negotiations with Regal Zonophone / Columbia Record Companies a contract was agreed. Following periods of rehearsal in Killaghbeg House and Geoghegan’s Pub in Gort, three albums were recorded between 1935 and 1937. The musicians on those three recordings are Paddy Kelly (fiddle), Jack Mulkere (fiddle), Paddy Fahey (fiddle), Joe Mills (Button accordion), Josie O’Halloran (piano).
Jack Mulkere continued to teach music and play with The ‘Slopes’ on a formal capacity up until 1938, at which stage he left his native Galway to begin a new life in Crusheen, Co Clare. From this point on, he scaled down his music career considerably, and concentrated on the propagation of music in his newly adopted county.
With his health failing him, Jack Mulkere’s teaching career ended in 1977, a career that spanned six decades. His health continued to deteriorate, and on the 18th of June 1982, Jack Mulkere died peacefully, in The County Hospital Ennis, County Clare.
During the Fleadh Nua festival in 2003, a commemorative statue was unveiled in the village of Crusheen.
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