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If you play or have an interest in Irish traditional music join the session

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The Shamrock Inn: Irish Pub in Asquith Leagues Club,
Alexandra Pd. Waitara, NSW Australia. (Sydney's upper north shore). 2nd & 4th Tues 7.30-10.30pm
Train from Central Station on North Shore line. Alight at Waitara. Exit left and turn left into Alexandra Pd. 100yds.

7.30pm - 10.30pm

All musicians are welcome.

Contact us- email 

shamrockseisiun@optusnet.com.au

Merrigan's Session links page - click for all the best Irish sessions in Oz

Please Note: NO SESSION IN JANUARY

Available Recordings

Music at the Shamrock Live CD

The Railway Session CD.

Click here for more info.

What's a Session!!!

The session is part of the social culture that grew out of rural Irish village life and is a gathering where playing, listening and dancing to music are communal, participatory activities. Traditionally sessions are held in private houses or in pubs and the format is just a group of people getting together to play tunes (jigs, reels, hornpipes etc.) or to share songs and enjoy the "craic". Tune sessions pretty much feature mainly tunes though sometimes dancers and singers are involved, and sometimes not. A session  is not a concert, but it's not "a free for all" either. You should always be mindful of your fellow musicians, especially if you're not a regular, and sympathetic to the aims of the night. 

About our Session:

The Shamrock Session has been going for about 3 years and before that we used to session every Tuesday at the Railway Hotel in Hornsby (next suburb down the line) for about 4 years until the noise of the pin-ball machines and pool players drove us away. Since we moved to the Shamrock we get together every 2nd & 4th Tuesday each month (except January) and our focus is predominately for playing tunes: jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and other types of tunes which make up the vast collection of traditional Irish (and Celtic based) music. It’s a friendly, informal gathering where playing, listening and dancing to music are all part of the night and all those interested are very welcome.
The Shamrock Inn where we session, is a great space. It’s an Irish theme bar attached to a leagues club but, on Tuesday nights it’s closed and so we have it all to ourselves. We can still buy drinks (very reasonable prices & Guinness on tap) from the club bar but the only ones who turn up are the musos, sometimes some dancers and anyone else who wants to hang out and listen, and we don’t have to complete with external noises such as TV’s, pokies, juke boxes etc.
We try to be as inclusive as possible and the regulars who come along vary from quite experienced musos with a pretty good repertoire of tunes to beginners who want to learn and who might only have a few tunes. With this in mind we try to keep the first hour (7.30-8.30pm) at a steady pace and the tunes not too difficult. And oh yes bold sessioneers, we dare to go where many would never venture – we do play polkas and even the occasional waltz. We sometimes have focus tunes and encourage session players to learn these for the next session. When we had the session at the “Railway” we even did a tune of the week and compiled a couple of tune books with sets as an aid to playing. The tunes from these two books along with a few others we’ve added form the core session tunes we now play. That doesn’t mean we only play those tunes. We’ve added lots more since then and when new or visiting musos turn up there is always a healthy exchange of tunes as well. What you can be assured of is that if you come along to the session and play any of the tunes listed below there will be a core of people to join you.
Do we like songs? Well, we don’t not like them, and are happy to have a few peppered throughout the night but our session is really for the “tunesters”! In other words it’s tunes, tunes, tunes that are focus, the driving force, the life blood!
Playing in a session is a valuable experience and a chance to improve your own musical skills, as well as lots of fun. Sessions however are not free-for-alls and you should always be mindful of your fellow musicians, especially if you're not a regular and, be sympathetic to the aims of the night. Whether it’s the Shamrock or any of the other great sessions that happen around the greater Sydney area it’s a good idea to keep in mind some basic session etiquette.
• If you’re not a session regular it’s a good idea to listen and get the feel for the session before you start to play if you’re unsure about the sessions focus. Chat to the regulars during the breaks between tune sets.
• Don’t know a tune: either don't play or, play very quietly, as your wrong notes can distract and/or irritate others around you.
• If you play a percussion or rhythm instrument don't play too loudly or out of time as this is very irritating to the melody players. In the music we play, the melody is FAR more important than the backing. A good rule of thumb is only one bodhran and/or guitar at a time. The accompanists should know the tune as well as the melody players to be sympathetic to the tune and get a good feel for it.
• Playing too fast and/or too loud so that you take over from the person leading the tune set is considered highly discourteous and can alienate you from others in a session. And remember, the person who starts the set calls the tunes and the tempo.