‘Brenda Castles – Indeedin You Needn’t Bother‘ album will be launched by Dr. Mick Moloney with guests Seána Davey on harp and Siobhán O’Donnell on guitar and others.
‘Indeedin You Needn’t Bother’, the debut solo album from concertina player Brenda Castles, is a fourteen track album of traditional Irish music on concertina, with accompaniment from guitarists Eoghan Scott, Tony Byrne and Paul Browne, and harpist Séana Davey.
Brenda comes from a rich background of traditional Irish music in Co. Meath. Growing up, there was plenty of music and dancing in the house. Her father Noel plays banjo and her mother Lily has been known to participate in the odd set dance. Younger siblings Emily and Paul play fiddle and uileann pipes.
At the age of five, Brenda was sent to learn music from neighbour Rena Traynor (née Crotty) from Kilrush, first on tin whistle and later on concertina. When Rena passed away in 1995, Brenda started lessons with one of Rena’s former pupils, concertina maestro Mícheál Ó’Raghallaigh. At the same time she took over Rena’s younger students and has been teaching concertina and tin whistle ever since.
‘I really wanted to play the flute’ says Brenda ‘but Rena lived only a couple of miles away so concertina it was. In fairness, my parents gave me a chance to play the flute at a later stage but I wasn’t very good so I think they made the right choice with the concertina.’
There is of course a story behind the name of the album. ‘I composed the slip jig ‘Indeedin You Needn’t Bother’ in memory of my granny Teresa Fitzsimons’ says Brenda. ‘Years ago my mother and aunt were going away for the weekend leaving her alone in the house. My sister offered to keep her company while they were away. “Indeedin you needn’t bother” was her acerbic reply! It’s not a phrase you’d hear anywhere else in the world apart from Ireland.’