Doras
Last
updated
July 16, 2009
Julia
Clifford, 1914-97
Julia Clifford was born on June
19, 1914, into a musical family at Lisheen, Gneevgullia in the Sliabh
Luachra area north of Killarney, Co Kerry. The travelling fiddle teacher
Padraig O'Keeffe tutored both Julia and her brother, the renowned fiddler
Denis Murphy
. At age 14 she
won ten shillings for her playing at a travelling show in Knocknagree.
In the late Thirties she emigrated to Scotland and then London where
she worked as a hotel maid before marrying John Clifford in 1941. He
was an accordion player, also from Kerry, and they had two sons, John
and Billy. In the Forties they played the Irish dance halls in London.
In the 1950s they returned to Ireland for a time, living in
Newcastlewest in Co Limerick. They performed in the Star of Munster
Ceili Band with which they made radio recordings.
Back
in London Julia enjoyed greater popularity with the onset of the Sixties
folk boom. In 1963 she won the All-Ireland fiddle championship at
Mullingar. In 1968 Claddagh recorded herself and brother Denis Murphy on
an album of Kerry music, The Star Above the Garter.
Rediscovered by the British folk club scene of the
Seventies, Topic in 1977 issued an earlier recording of herself with
brother Denis and Padraig O'Keeffe, Kerry Fiddles
(Music from Sliabh Luachra). This was
followed by two LPs featuring a range of music from various periods
played by Julia, her husband and her son Billy, a flute player.
The wider appreciation of the music of Sliabh Luachra - particularly
its Kerry slides and polkas - came late in life for Julia Clifford.
They lived in a small council flat in Hackney before being rehoused in
Thetford in the late Seventies.
In the Eighties and Nineties her reputation grew, being invited to
perform at folk clubs and festivals. She performed on trips back to
Ireland and was introduced to TV audiences. She also visited America.
Many young players who sought her out to learn tunes and styles from
her Kerry repertoire found her generous and encouraging. Her husband
John died in 1981. Julie Clifford died on June 18, 1997, and is buried
in Norfolk.
Discography
The Humours of Lisheen, Julia and John
Clifford, Topic (LP)
Kerry Fiddles, Julia Clifford, Denis Murphy,
Padraig O'Keeffe, Topic (LP)