A new CD, ‘Under the Stairs’ has been just released by the well known Cork musicians, Eoin Ó Riabhaigh and Johnny McCarthy. The album contains many of the tunes and arrangements they play at their longstanding regular session, under the stairs, in the famous ‘Corner House’ in Cork, a pub greatly admired for its traditional, bluegrass and blues sessions.

Johnny plays the fiddle, flute, tin whistle and sings on the album. He is a member of the group ‘The Four Star Trio‘ and together with Con ‘Fada’ Ó Drisceoil and Pat ‘Herring’ Ahern they released the albums ‘The Square Triangle’ (1997) and ‘Magnetic South’ (2014). Johnny has been a Lecturer in Traditional Music in the MTU Cork School of Music for many years.

Piper and pipemaker Eoin, is the son of the late, well known Cork piper and teacher, Mícheál Ó Riabhaigh. He began his piping career at the tender age of 9 under his father's watchful eye, and continues to play regularly. Eoin has enjoyed a very varied career as a piper, having performed and recorded with, among others,  Dolores Keane, Mary Black, Iris Demente (US), Tom Russell (US), Matt Cranitch, Frankie Gavin, The Xenia Ensemble (Turin) and Tim O Brien.

This beautiful album features a number of compositions by both Johnny and Eoin, including a really beautiful piece by Johnny, titled Küsnacht (Goodnight Kiss) and dedicated to his wife Ger, to remember a time they spent living near Lake Zurich, many years ago.

Eoin and Johnny are joined on the album by their friends, Pat ‘Herring’ Ahern, Garry O’Briain, Cormac McCarthy and Macdara Ó Faoláin.