The Baileys Traditional Irish Music Official Website
Reviews
The Baileys give us twenty lovely renditions of songs we have grown to love and cherish.
Irish Music Magazine
This is folk as it used to be played when I was a lad, folk without pretension or adornment-straight from the folkin'heart, if you like
R2 Rock ‘n’ Reel
it's an album for relaxing and listening to, perhaps with a pint or two.
FATEA Magazine UK
A Perfect Example of the Genre, 10 out of 10!...
Folkwax.com
From Jackie Sweeney's beautiful painting on the cover you should get the vibe that this album is something special...
Copperplate - London UK
‘A Song for Ireland’ - pure gold from The Baileys...
Folkwords.com
This debut release of twenty traditional favourites is a delightful revisit of some classic Irish tracks…
The Irish World
This generous 76-minute compendium will satisfy, to be sure
Netrhythms.com
Every time you record a well-known song there are of course the inevitable comparisons with other artists but The Baileys seem to have transcended that by going for simple, basic but tasteful arrangements and letting the lyrics and the melodies speak for themselves, and it works very well.
The Irish Post, 07.08.09
Latest News: New Album release
Attention music lovers everywhere. If you’ve been noticing a yawning gap in your current musical diet, worry no more. Irish folk singing sensation The Baileys are about to enrich your diet by unleashing a sensational new album onto the World stage. Brace yourselves for a taste explosion. The Baileys, all the way from the heart of Ireland, have a plethora of musical ingredients to dazzle the palate. And well they might. Life-long friends Michael Banahan and Anthony McDermott boast an impressive pedigree, steeped in the folk tradition since the embryonic stage. Now, to the delight of their ever-increasing fan base, they’ve put their unique energies together to create an album that perfectly encompasses the beauty and history of Irish folk songs. Make no mistake; this collection of 20 songs is a vital addition to the collection of any discerning folk song lover.
From the timeless ballad “Fiddler’s Green” and the sorrowful yearning of “Raglan Road” to the pithy and humorous “Colcannon” and the aching beauty of the sports anthem The Fields of Athenry, this new offering from The Baileys is an aural patchwork of all that is great about the Emerald Isle. Throw in the fast-paced “Rocky Road to Dublin”, truly a song with a rhythm of its own, and it makes for an album that is truly a balm to the music lover’s ears.
It’s a recording that has been stewing for a long time in the minds of these two talented troubadours. For over a quarter of a century, they’ve been honing their talents along the highways and byways of Ireland. From their childhood days in the midlands town of Roscommon, they eschewed fairytales and nursery rhymes in favor of learning some of the best folk songs their country has to offer. “Sullivan’s John” was one of the first songs ever carried by Michael’s compelling voice, accompanied by the pulsating chords of Anthony’s hard-working guitar. Of course, no self-respecting Roscommon musicians would reach adulthood without their own well-practiced rendition of “The Mountains of Mourne”; the lilting ballad penned by the county’s most famous writer Percy French.