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liestman
Oct-30-2012, 7:35pm
This weekend at the O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat in Waxahachie, Texas, we had 4 National RM-1 mandolins in one room at one time. Since, according to National, they have only made 463 of these, that is a pretty significant gathering. Irish traditional tunes sound SO SWEET on these (and pretty darn loud too)!

Left to right is John Liestman (who taught the mandolin class this year) and Ken Kuntz of Texas, then Rick Cunningham (who taught the class a couple years back) of Alabama, and finally Jack Haggarty of Ontario, Canada (with the electified version, as if the acoustic version was not loud enough).

A great time was had by all.
And please note the Mandolin Cafe baseball caps on the two gents in front!

(Thanks to Ken Fleming and TIMES for putting this incredible event on, including Louvain Guiomard who snapped the photo.)

Jake's Gig
Oct-30-2012, 8:47pm
What a good looking bunch of players! Thanks for Posting John

brunello97
Oct-31-2012, 10:19am
I like your icon image, John. Nice reso-conjunto as well.

O'Flaherty's? As in Liam O'Flaherty? I read quite a bit of him when I was a kid. (My grandfather didn't leave us any choice.) John Ford's version of "The Informer" was a pretty great film. I didn't realize those two were related...

Could be Bubba O'Flaherty as well, though, I suppose, like you find down in the CzechTex country. ;)

Mick

liestman
Oct-31-2012, 12:19pm
Nope, Jim O'Flaherty - he was an uilleann piper in the Dallas area Irish community and did a lot to promote Irish music there, so the event is named after him. Come on down for it next year!

brunello97
Oct-31-2012, 6:03pm
Nope, Jim O'Flaherty - he was an uilleann piper in the Dallas area Irish community and did a lot to promote Irish music there, so the event is named after him. Come on down for it next year!

Thanks, John. I may take you up on the offer. (I grew up down your way in a town just a bit south of Conroe ;)) My last name is Kennedy so the roots run deep. I've been up Waxahachie way any number of times going between Austin and Dallas. Very nice town. (Love the JR Gordon courthouse.)

Also been wanting to try my luck up in Shamrock with the beard-off. Some wimpy chin-slinkies this year it looks. Maybe I would stand a chance...

Mick