The Sliabh Luachra (trans. The Rushy Mountain or The Mountain Of The Rushes) is the ancient gaelic name for the area on the Cork/Kerry border surrounding the upper reaches of the river Blackwater. Geographically, the region could be defined as anywhere within a five to ten mile radius of Ballydesmond, where the bridge over the river marks the actual county line. Musically however, the region could be said to include whichever areas of counties Kerry, Cork and even Limerick where Sliabh Luachra "sets" (dance sets of quadrilles, the basic configuration of which is two couples facing each other) are danced mainly to polkas and single jigs (locally referred to as "slides" because of the slide figure in the sets which are danced to such jigs) as opposed, for example, to Clare sets, which are danced mostly to reels and hornpipes. The fact that Cork and Kerry sets are often danced at great speed has affected the style in which the music is performed, ie, the melody is played in a relatively simple, mostly unadorned fashion with the emphasis rather on a particularly strong driving rhythmic feel. The set dancing has also been the main influence on the choice of repertoire of Sliabh Luachra musicians who tend to favour polkas and slides rather than (but not to the exclusion of) reels and hornpipes. The region could be said to extend to the surrounding areas which share this attitude to the dancing and music as far west as Dunquin and the Blaskets, north to Listowel in Kerry and over the Limerick border at least as far as Abbeyfeale (a great stronghold of Sliabh Luachra set dancing to this day) and possibly as far north as Newcastle West where John and Julia Clifford's celebrated Star of Munster Ceilidh Band were based during the mid 50s; south to Dunmanway and Ballyvourney (although it is difficult to argue against the inclusion of much of West Cork where the other mainstay of the Sliabh Luachra repertoire, the song air, is particularly popular); and east as far as Mallow and even on to Fermoy ("the jewel in the crown of the Blackwater valley). At a recent session of traditional music at the Buinnean Bui in Fermoy, the musicians were in great form and the capacity crowd were wildly enthusiastic, yet there was no sign of dancing until a set of polkas was played, and then, as if by magic, the floor was instantly packed with dancers forming sets! Since the introduction of wax cylinder and flat disc recording in the early part of the century, traditional Irish music has slowly but very surely been moving further and further away from regional styles and repertoires toward a kind of pot pourri standardisation. Aspiring young musicians who would previously have evaluated their progress by local standards (compared to the local fiddle teacher or members of their family who played), now have ready access via cassette, CD videos etc to the most famous players of today. Consequently almost every young traditional flute player tends to sound like Matt Molloy, while pipers take after Paddy Keenan or Davy Spillane, box players - Mairtin O'Connor, Jackie Daly or Sharon Shannon, and fiddlers after Frankie Gavin, Tommy Peoples, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, Cathal Hayden or some such virtuoso. The end result is that the generation of young players which will take the music into the 21st century, while remarkable for its technical ability and eclectic repertoire, will be sadly lacking in regional character. Hence, it has become increasingly urgent that in-depth studies/recordings of the various regional styles are made while the few remaining musicians of the old school are still with us. Extensive work of this kind was carried out by Radio Eireann in the 50s and 60s under the expert supervision of Ciaran MacMathuna, but most of it remains buried deep in the archives ...we can only hope that it will all be made available to the public at some time in the not-too-distant future.