CHERISH the Ladies is their name and cherish them this enthusiastic

Glasgow audience did.

Not exactly a Glasgow audience; pockets of people from every corner of

Ireland appeared to be arranged around the hall roughly in, if my

geography serves, map order, identifying themselves every time their

home county was mentioned.

The Ladies (eight of them plus two chaps) are for the most part first

generation Irish-American with pride in their roots, a terrific sense of

fun and heaps of music in their fingers and toes. Especially the toes.

The music -- particularly a formidable tin whistle tour de force and

Kathy Ryan's singing of songs old and new -- would have stood up well

enough by itself. However, every time their quartet of dancers appeared

the atmosphere in the hall became charged.

Speaking as a fully paid up member of the two-left-feet brigade, the

techniques behind this stuff have me confused at the best of times, but

those casually slow sideward steps and the way they have of hanging in

the air during hornpipes until the beat falls really is something

special.

De Dannan this year will have survived 20 years, almost as many if not

more line-up changes, and even a couple of variations in spelling. Their

trademark, tight-knit ensemble playing and a talent for building

momentum almost unnoticed, is as reliable as fiddler Frankie Gavin's

penchant for old jokes.

They also have a tradition for bringing over great singers, which made

Tommy Flemming's task unenviable. How do you follow Mary Black and

Dolores Keane? In Flemming's case, simple. Sing Owen Hand's My Donald

with just Caroline Levell's cello for accompaniment. This beautifully

controlled performance and a set of quicksilver Kerry reels caught the

ear amid some tough competition.