The Stores Page

 

Where to buy Irish traditional music CDs and publications


 

The number of actual record shops is diminishing rapidly as local retailers fall foul of online sales companies such as Amazon and an increasing number of rogue peer-to-peer sharing sites offering free downloads.

 

All recommendations for new outlets are welcome, especially for stores in countries not covered by these listings.  When recommending a store please supply its snail, email and web addresses plus information on any specialist services.

 

If you’ve found a broken link, please let me know –  brokenlink ‘at’ irishmusicreview.com (please replace the ‘at’ with the @ symbol).

 


 

Republic of Ireland

Northern Ireland       England            Scotland

Italy   Sweden   The USA

 


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Republic of Ireland

 

DUBLIN

 

Claddagh Records

Retail: 2 Cecilia Street, Dublin 2

Mail order: Dame House, Dame Street, Dublin 2
Tel: 01/677 8943
Fax: 01/679 3664
Website:
www.claddaghrecords.com
Email:
mailorder@crl.ie

The best traditional music shop in Ireland (and, possibly, the universe).

 

 

Co. CLARE

 

Custy’s Traditional Music Shop

Retail/Mail order: Cook’s Lane, O’Connell Street, Ennis

Tel: 065/682 1727

Website: www.custysmusic.com

A fine musical instrument shop with a grand range of CDs and lots of good advice about the best local sessions.

 

Doolin Music Shop

Retail/Mail order: Fisher Street, Doolin

Tel: 065/707 4911

Website:

A fine musical instrument shop with a grand range of CDs and lots of good advice about Magnetic Music

Retail/Mail order: Fisher Street, Doolin

Tel: 065/707 4988

Website: www.magnetic-music.com

Retail outlet for Peter Pandula’s Magnetic Music label, though stocks some other items; also has a café.

 

Co. DONEGAL

 

The Dunlewey Lakeside Centre/Ionad Cois Locha

Retail: Dunlewey

Small range of CDs, but often has local items hard to find elsewhere – note that the centre is closed from early November until St Patrick’s Day.

 

Melody Maker

Retail: Castle Street, Donegal town

Tel: 074/972 2326

A general record store with a good stock of traditional music.

 

Co. GALWAY

 

The Four Corners

Retail: Shop Street, Galway.

Tel: 091/562295

Otherwise known as Powell’s, this is a musical instrument, printed music, art supplies and recorded Irish traditional music shop and has all the right stuff in the line of CDs. (Thanks to Ronan Browne for this information).

 

Co. KERRY

 

Dingle Record Shop

Retail: Cook’s Lane, Green Street, Dingle

Tel: 087/298 4550

Website: www.dinglerecordshop.com

The best place in Kerry for locally-released albums.

A fine musical instrument shop with a grand range of CDs and lots of good advice about Lee Records

Retail: 11, The Mall, Tralee

Tel: 066/27589 (Tralee)

 

Siopa Ceoil an Daingin

Retail/Mail order: Main Street, Dingle

Tel/Fax: 066/915 2618

Website: www.siopaceoil.ie

Email: info@siopaceol.ie

 

 

Co. LONGFORD

 

The Lost Chord

Retail/Mail order: 16–17 Earl Street, Longford

Tel:  043/49907

Fax: 043/42077

Sells musical instruments and a range of CDs, books and tapes.

 

 

Co. TIPPERARY

 

McQuaid’s Traditional Music Shop

Retail/Mail order: 38 Pearse Street. Nenagh

Tel/Fax: 067/34166

Sells musical instruments and a range of CDs, books and tapes.

 

 

WEB-BASED

 

Irish Music Mail

Website: http://www.irishmusicmail.com

Reckons to stock more than 3,500 titles on CD, DVD and VHS.

 

Mad for Trad

Website: www.madfortrad.com/home.htm

Producers of innovative CD-ROM instrument tutorials.

 

 


 

Northern Ireland

 

BELFAST

 

Cultúrlann MacAdam Ó Fiach

Retail: 216 Falls Road

Tel: 028/9096 4180

Small range of CDs and music books but often has hard to find items.

 

Co. ANTRIM

 

Glens Music
Retail/Mail Order: 86 Knocknacarry Road, Cushendun, BT44 0NS

Tel: 028/2176 1291 or 028/9094 8240
Website:
www.glensmusic.com
E-Mail: sales@glensmusic.com

Stocks a small, but perfectly formed range of CDs by Northern Irish traditional musicians and singers, mainly from the Glens of Antrim, and is run by accordionist Seán Quinn.

 

 

Co. DERRY

 

Sounds Around

Retail/Mail Order: 22/22a Waterloo Street, Derry.

Tel: 028/7128 8890

Mostly second-hand vinyl and CDs, but well worth visiting – often has very hard-to-find LPs by musicians from the Derry and Inishowen areas at very reasonable prices and regularly sells on eBay.

 


 

England

 

LONDON

 

Copperplate Mail Order

 

Mail order: 68 Bellevile Road, SW11 6PP.

Tel: 020/7585 0357

Website: www.copperplatemailorder.com

Email: copperplate2000@yahoo.com

Copperplate specialises in hard-to-find independent releases or those issued on small labels, so you can find albums such as John Vesey’s Sligo Fiddler, Tommy Peoples’ The Quiet Glen  and releases from Bowhand, Veteran and Cló Iar-Chonnachta. Prices are usually £12.99 for a single album and p&p charges are very reasonable.

 

Ray’s Jazz at Foyles

Retail/Mail order: 113-119 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0EB.

Tel: 020/7437 5660

Website: www.foyles.co.uk/

Often stocks releases unobtainable in the chain stores.

 

 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

 

Kane’s Records

Retail/Mail order: 14 Kendrick Street, Stroud GL5 1AA.

Tel: 01453/766866

Website: www.kanesrecords.com/

 

Musical Traditions Records

Mail order: 1 Castle Street, Stroud GL5 2HP.

Tel: 01453/759475

Website: www.mtrecords.co.uk

Offshoot of the Musical Traditions magazine which releases “music which might never achieve commercial publication to the small audience which values it”, including the collections From Puck to Appleby and The Hardy Sons of Dan.

 

Sounds Good

Retail/Mail order: 26 Clarence Street, Cheltenham GL50 3NU

Tel: 01242/234604

Website: www.soundsgoodonline.co.uk

 

SHROPSHIRE

 

Fish Records

Mail order: PO Box 148, Shrewsbury SY3 5WQ

Tel: 01743/231546

Fax: 01743/354354

Website: www.fishrecords.co.uk

 

SUFFOLK    

 

Veteran Mail Order

Mail order: PO Box 193, Stowmarket, IP14 3WZ.

Website: www.veteran.co.uk

Releases its own CDs and cassettes of English, Irish and Scottish traditional music and song as well as offering the works of other specialist labels and publishers.

 


 

Scotland

 

Coda Music
Retail/Mail Order: 12 Bank Street, Edinburgh EH1 2LN.

Tel. 0131/622 7246

Website: www.codamusic.co.uk

According to the person who submitted this entry, Coda is “an excellent shop for Irish traditional music, as well as Scottish, Country, blues, jazz, etc.”

 

Tradmusic.com

Mail Order: Flat 1, Ellangowan House, Cunninghame Terrace, Newton Stewart DG8 6LX

Tel: 01671/401 363 

Website: www.tradmusic.com

A web-based site which sells not only Irish releases but a range of music from other countries.
 


 

Italy

 

La Boutique della Musica

Retail/Mail Order: Via Terrasanta 69, 90141 Palermo, Sicilia,

Tel. (+39) 091/306912

Stocks plenty of Irish music.

 


 

Sweden

 

MultiKulti
Retail/Mail Order: S:t Paulsgatan 3, SE-118 46 Stockholm
Tel. / Fax: (+46) 864/36129
Website:
www.multikulti.se

Email: multi.kulti@swipnet.se

A world music specialist with a range of Irish material.
 


 

The USA

 

Celtic Grooves Imports
Retail/Mail order: 170 Fleetwood Terrace, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 301-565-0648
Website:
www.celticgrooves.com
Email:
philvar@erols.com

If it’s available, Philippe will have it, and if it’s not available, he’ll still probably find a copy!

 

Down Home Music

Retail/Mail order: 10341, San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, San Francisco Bay area, California

Tel: 510-5250-2129

Website: www.downhomemusic.com

Excellent stock of Irish recordings, including many used CDs. They also sell used LPs and cassettes.

 

Elderly

Website: www.elderly.com

The person who submitted this entry wrote to me that he had purchased from the store on many occasions and “They have a surprisingly good selection of lesser-known pure-drop, and their prices are without question the best of any online retailer. Shipment and service are always first-rate.”

 

Ossian USA

Retail/Mail order: 118 Beck Road, Loudon, New Hampshire, NH 03307.

Tel: 603-783-4383

Fax: 603-783-9660

Website: www.ossianusa.com/

Wide-ranging stock at reasonable prices.

 

Two stores based in the Chicago area:

 

Rampant Lion Celtic Traders


Website: www.rampantlion.com/rlhome.htm
 
Paddy's on the Square
Websites: www.longgroveonline.com/merch-pages/paddys/paddys.html
Large, deep stock.  Prices commensurate with their station as an Irish
boutique shop.


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