The Cook in The Kitchen / The Yellow Wattle - Micho Russell, 1983

The Clare musician Micho Russell plays two jigs and sings a song in Bunratty.

Micho (Michael) Russell (1915 - 1994) the musician and singer from Doolin is credited with establishing that village as the centre of traditional music in Ireland.

From a musical family in Doonagore, his brother Gus is a highly regarded concert flute and tin whistle player, while his late brother Pakie was a renowned concertina player.

This unassuming Clare man has performed internationally and is introduced by presenter Tony MacMahon as,

One of the few people who has a unique, very personal, simple, comfortable direct style of playing.

Micho Russell performs two jigs on the flute, ‘The Cook In The Kitchen’ and ‘The Yellow Wattle’, and sings a song.

This episode of ‘Bring Down The Lamp’ was broadcast on 19 January 1983. Presented by Tony MacMahon it was recorded in the Bunratty Folk Centre, County Clare.

The series ‘Bring down the Lamp’ ran between 1982 and 1983, presented by Tony MacMahon and produced by Niall Matthews, both from County Clare. It was filmed on location and showcased different regional styles of Irish traditional music in fifteen episodes.

Musician and broadcaster Tony MacMahon explained to the RTÉ Guide that “The object is to show what a wealth of solo traditional musicians there is all over the country. They form the backbone of our traditional music and yet they remain almost anonymous.” (RTÉ Guide 12 November 1982, p.17).

A successful series of the same name had been broadcast in 1968, which had also visited different areas in Ireland, gathering the local talent into a kitchen set. The title came from an old country saying, referring to the beginning of a ‘do’ in a local house.