A Night at The Crane Bar

Last night I was at a pub called The Crane with some friends and their guests from other universities around Europe. The Crane is the most Irish pub I have been to in Galway and there is live traditional music played every night. The performers are not paid or asked to come, they just show up to have a few free pints of the black stuff, display their talents, and enjoy the company of the other patrons. No trip is Galway is complete without a visit to this amazing pub and it never fails to disappoint.
I have been there on nights where the whole music section is packed with amateur performers playing a wide variety of instruments, gleefully bringing the house down. Last night was more subdued however and there were only a handful of performers. There was a fiddler, two behran drummers, a man who switched of between the guitar and the Irish version of a banjo, and a final guitar player. They were all talented musicians and were fun to listen to. Our guests enjoyed it immensely but to be truthful, I have been there during more vibrant nights.


One noticeable absence was that of a traditional Sean Nos singer, or old style singer. When there is a Sean Nos singer the whole bar will become silent every so often to listen to him give a chilling performance. Sean Nos is traditionally sung by men and emphasizes story telling so there is no melody present- it is not music you snap your fingers to. Unlike singing we are used to, Sean Nos is sung from the throat and jowls instead of from the diaphragm which gives it a nasally quality to the sound and there is often dramatic shifts in volume. Listening to it is eerie but rewarding and I really wanted my new friends to experience it.
After a few pints no Sean Nos singer had yet come forward to perform. As I looked around though, I saw a group of older, white bearded Irishmen enjoying some good crack in the corner. One of them looked familiar but I could not figure out how I would know the man. Then it dawned on me that I think I saw him sing Sean Nos while in the small town of Doolin in County Clare. I was not positive but the more I stared the more confident I became. I wanted to hear the songs so I took a chance and when he was free for a moment, I approached him and asked him if he in fact was the singer I had seen. His face lit up in a smile and he replied that he was. I think he was pretty shocked and flattered that some punk American kid would recognize him. I think it is a testament to the music that after almost two months and plenty of travel I was able to recognize this guy though. We talked about his performance back in Doolin and I told him how much I enjoyed it and asked if he would perform tonight. He told me he would love to but it was up to the musicians and I should ask them if he could. I felt weird interrupting the musicians during a song break asking them if my “friend” could sing a song but of course they agreed and from his bar stool the man sang a song. It was dead silent and everyone’s attention was on him. When he finished he got a huge round of applause signalling that everyone enjoyed it. I gave him a pleasant nod of thanks and a raise of my beer and continued on with my night. Deep down though, I did feel a little proud that I was able to contribute to the music of the night, even if only in a very small way.