Hello, my name is Stephen McNally. I'm human (I think) and I live on an island on the edge of the continent. I stand at my window and look to the rest of Europe through a special bendy telescope and feast my eyes (and ears) on it's many diverse and beautiful sights. I try to visit some of these places and experience the festivals, fairs and gatherings that happen there.
I play traditional music from Scotland and other parts of our planet on various instruments including the mandolin, tin whistles, Galician bagpipes (gaita) and Jon Swayne's border pipes.
I do love to dance and the one downside about playing in a ceilidh band is watching all those lucky buggers dance all night! I call the dances for The Ceilidh Bandidos and occasionally for other bands too. I've been getting back into Scottish step-dance again which is just as well 'cause i need something to keep the waistline down since I'm no longer humping beer barrels about.
Sometimes musical notes leak out of my brain and my fingers channel them into new tunes. You can hear some of them on this page's music player (the first tune on The Mast Set and both tunes on Angie's Set). I have lots more here . I currently play in a folk band called Pigtown Fling and a ceilidh band called The Ceilidh Bandidos .
