Dublin’s traditional music scene is very much alive and kicking. Amongst its contemporary flag-bearers are Patrick ‘Paahto’ Cummins and John Francis Flynn, aka Paahto & The Bull, two musicians who have become significant players on the scene. While they notably helped form the traditional Irish band Skipper’s Alley in 2013, the pair began playing together back in 2011 and during COVID began looking at music as a duo. Patrick’s main instrument is the tenor banjo, but the project with John was focused partly on Patrick’s interest in bluegrass music and guitar flatpicking, so the pair decided on a guitar duet recording.
This angle immediately brings a transatlantic feel to the music, with the material present on The 123 very much from the Irish traditional canon. With the lack of banjo, fiddle, or percussion, the sound is very fresh and wood-sounding, with Patrick’s flatpick attack nicely balancing John’s softer strums and picks. This contrast can be heard beautifully on Nellie, Your Favour, I’m Afraid, I Will Not Gain / Tom Moylan’s Frolic, a tightly played piece the duo previously visited on Skipper’s Alley’s Oul Fip album. Whereas the band version saw the lead played on banjo, giving the notes a metallic sharpness and fiddle drones bringing a darker tone, here the guitars give the music a real warmth that lends the tune a different character.
The sparser and beautifully stark The Battle of Aughrim commemorates the 1691 battle and was probably originally played in the eighteenth century. Here John’s accompanying guitar is careful to keep its chords subdued, almost muted, while Patrick’s picks a precise, melancholy melody.
Just as quietly powerful is Eibhlín Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill, a mesmerising air that dates back to the 17th or 18th century. In the liner notes, Patrick mentions a version played on war pipes, as well as John Martyn’s own take from his 1973 Inside Out album. Whereas Martyn’s version is controversially played on effected electric guitar, giving the music a psychedelic feel, John and Patrick’s acoustic approach brings a simplicity and purity to the sound that better suits the love poetry of the source material.
There are plenty of juicy melodies to be found across this set, but one of the most pleasurable to listen to is Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, likely a Scottish song that found its way across the Atlantic into Old-time fiddle players’ repertoires. This is a very nifty tune that requires Patrick to perform some modest guitar trickery, with hammer-ons effectively linking some of the notes. A tightly written piece, it’s unsurprising that fiddle players favoured this one, but Patrick’s brightly flatpicked notes coupled with John’s quietly accomplished accompaniment bring a wonderful energy to the music.
The 123 is a tremendous debut that oozes confidence. Each of the ten tracks is performed with absolute technical precision and the lack of any superfluous adornments means that the tunes retain their core character and achieve a level of purity that is, to me, an intrinsic part of traditional music. With these two players at the controls, this music is in very safe hands. Excellent stuff.
The 123 (August 21st, 2026) Claddagh Records
Tour Dates:
Sat 1 Aug – All Together Now, Waterford
Thu 17 Sep – Dolans, Limerick
Sat 19 Sep – Clonakilty International Guitar Festival
Sun 20 Sep – Joe Lee’s Bar, Tullamore
Fri 25 Sep – The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon
Mon 28 Sep – Coughlan’s Bar, Cork
Tue 29 Sep – Róisín Dubh, Galway
Wed 30 Sep – Saltwater Festival, Bundoran
Sat 3 Oct – Paper Dress Vintage, London
Mon 5 Oct – Gullivers, Manchester
Tue 6 Oct – The Attic, Leeds
Wed 7 Oct – The Golden Lion, Todmorden
Thu 8 Oct – The Hug and Pint, Glasgow
Fri 9 Oct – Star And Shadow, Newcastle upon Tyne
Sat 10 Oct – Rise, York
Sun 11 Oct – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
Sat 17 Oct – Levis Cornerhouse, Ballydehob
Sun 18 Oct – The Green Room, Dingle
Sat 24 Oct – Pot Duggans, Ennistymon
Sun 25 Oct – Connolly’s of Leap, Leap
Mon 26 Oct – Prims Bookshop, Kinsale
Wed 28 Oct – Whelan’s, Dublin
Fri 30 Oct – Cleere’s Bar, Kilkenny