And from there it was but a hop, step and a jump to ricocheting all over the continent playing in sessions. Terry Moylan , step dance teacher, could almost qualify as an honorary Kerryman, now that he's devoted so much of his time to the collection and documentation of the music of Johnny O'Leary. He got many of his tunes from Tim O'Sullivan, a fine musician from Annabeg. Moylan was initially drawn to Kerry by the magnet of Sliabh Luachra set dancing. It's very accented.
Many people tend to turn their noses up at polkas.
In fact one man I know refers to them as 'those old nursery rhymes', but if you listen and look closely, they can make them as complex as reels or hornpipes. A Sliabh Luachra set that's also known as the 'Jig Set' was actually named the Jenny Lind set after the great Swedish opera singer of the 19th century who captured the imagination of the people then. Colette O'Leary , a member of the Bumblebees , has roots in Scartaglen, although she grew up in Dublin. A player of the piano accordion, she's a brave soul who manages to pre-empt any attempt to guffaw at that much maligned instrument by christening it the JCB herself. O'Leary is brimful of stories of life on the road, and of the power of the music to engender social contact like nothing else on earth.