Further to Chris’s post, other recent losses merit a mention too – coincidentally, two legendary banjo players died within a couple of weeks of each other recently.

One is Barney McKenna, last surviving member of The Dubliners, whose quirky turns of phrase were almost as famous as his tenor banjo playing, the instrument which he introduced into Irish traditional music.

<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/LM-IAlcq0uM” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

The other is Earl Scruggs, champion of the three-finger banjo playing style in bluegrass music (born in North Carolina as it happens, not far from where I am at present).

<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/AJOIqmlI65Y” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

These two musical traditions are brought together every year in a festival in Ireland. And not coincidentally, for as Irish musician and broadcaster Philip King has documented in his TV series Bringing It All Back Home, they share common roots.