Conor Byrne

Flautist Conor Byrne's musical pedigree is excellent - a nephew of Christy Moore and Luka Bloom, his mother, Eilish Moore, is also a well-known singer. And playing to a packed house in Whelans, Byrne showed himself to be a formidable talent.

The concert opened in relaxed style, with Byrne and accompanist Neil O Callanain (bouzouki) playing some tunes. Byrne has a fine technique, phrases beautifully and always allows a melody space. His tone is warm and totally free of that irritating breathiness which one so often associates with the flute.

An early highlight came with his wonderfully sensitive version of the air Padraig the Fiddler, which segued neatly into a fast dance. At this point he was joined by the young fiddler Tom Morrow, and the pair worked well together - particularly well on an intricate set of hornpipes.

The special guest for the evening was the ubiquitous fiddler Maire Breathnach, who contributed a brief but excellent solo set, then switched to viola and joined Byrne for a fine set of slow reels. (These reels, and, indeed, many other tunes in the concert were composed by Byrne and his melodies are strikingly well constructed and memorable.)

Other highlights included a powerful rendering of The Emigrant's Farewell (with some perfectly judged slides and bends) and a jig performed unaccompanied as an encore. He even sang at one point - a decent version of the Tom Waits song Shiver Me Timbers. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.