Peat Sounds

Brownie Guinan

Peat Sounds is a collection of eleven tracks which include Brownie's own writings and some songs from the local archives which are given a new lease of life. The songs vary from the smooth opening track 'Shannon Harbour Read more

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01 Shannon Harbour Home 5:40

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02 The Turfman From Turraun 3:12

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03 That's Your Mouldboard Baby 3:29

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04 The Ballad of Barry Lowe 3:21

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05 The Fields Around Ferbane 4:19

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Shannon Harbour Home

Shannon Harbour was my mother’s homeplace. It is one of the most picturesque villages in Offaly. I have great memories of the place as a chap and I often wander out there for a stroll and a think. On one of those rambles this tune snuck into my head.

There’s a big old house still standing / So proud and so tall
And the ivy winds its way round / The old parlour wall.
And I can hear the echoes / Of distant days long passed
And as long as it’s still standing / These echoes they will last.

Shannon Harbour home / Your labouring days are done
The cargo barges gone / Now free your waters run.
Time to heal and mend / And as one journey ends
Another one just begins / Shannon Harbour home.

In this quaint and quiet place / Three waterways they meet
The Brosna and the Grand Canal / Their journey to complete.
The great majestic Shannon / Gives them liberty
Together they flow onwards / To the broad Atlantic Sea.

And when the Shannon river / Can’t hold back the flood
The lowly callow meadows / Does as a neighbour should.
And when the Springtime blossoms / A changing of the scene
Free from care and duty / Returns to pastures green.

Review of 'Peat Sounds' by Mark Lysaght, Irish Music Magazine, March 2023

''A really delightful album full of unexpected gems''

The title of this album is deliberately self-deprecating but did not prepare me for its undoubted quality. Ciaran “Brownie” Guinan is a member of a well-known musical family from Ferbane, County Offaly, and this is his second solo outing, consisting of a mixture of original material and songs from the local archives. It’s a very strong collection of songs, inspired by his deep connection with his local area. He has an attractive vocal style, always relaxed and never forced, and opens the album with Shannon Harbour Home, an ode to his mother’s home place. The music on this is contemporary and beautifully played, with saxophone and pedal steel to the fore. He also adapts traditional songs, either sticking faithfully to the original as on The Fields Around Ferbane or giving them a fresh treatment on The Turfman from Turraun with some bluesy banjo to the fore, or The Ballad of Barry Lowe, from a poem written by the late Tony Holleran with an up-tempo country-rock treatment.

He has assembled a fine collection of musicians with producer Des Sheerin at the helm. Some of the playing is really top-class, notably pedal steel and electric guitars (Jonathon Milligan), and saxophone (John Byrne), which adds a lot to the listening experience. The Boora Railway Line has some lovely lead guitar by Willie Kiernan, with more than a passing nod to Mark Knopfler. There’s plenty of humour in songs like Cloghan Traffic Lights and That’s Your Mouldboard Baby. The Town I left Behind breathes new life into the old Johnny McEvoy classic.

The Rose of Ballinahown is a lovely treatment of a poem by the late John M. Doyle, whose lyrics provided Ciaran with great inspiration; here, keyboards (Ray McLaughlin) and low whistle (John Byrne) intertwine beautifully. The closing track is an expansive homage to his hometown – The Town of Ferbane is a lyrical master class incorporating an international cast of characters. A really delightful album full of unexpected gems.

Mark Lysaght,
Irish Music Magazine

Brownie Guinan

Brownie Guinan is an Offaly-based songsmith who has been performing in various guises across Ireland, with occasional forays overseas, since around the time of Seamus Darby’s famous goal!

Brownie has performed with a plethora of combos. His illustrious CV includes (non)household names from Dismal Swamp, The Strong are Lonely, Na Síog, The Honeybears, Stars on P45, Whitegrass, Seven Shook Men, The Groomsmen, to The Briar Hotel Big Band to name but a few! In 2008 his debut solo album of self-penned songs Anything Is Impossible garnered significant airplay for an independent release and was widely acclaimed by those what know about these matters!