Rattling Ark – O’Regans, Dublin – Live Review – 18/06/25
by Killian Laher

The last of a three-date residency saw Kevin Murphy, Thomas Haugh and Lizzie Murtough perform as Rattling Ark in the basement of O’Regan’s pub.  Murphy has been playing under various iterations – Seti the First, Slow Moving Clouds, Blind Stitch and now as Rattling Ark, with long-term collaborator Haugh and the Californian cello player Murtough.  They played 2 sets of highly immersive cello-based music with hints of ‘trad’.  Tracks like Coleraine Jig and Hare in the Corn featured both Murphy and Murtough on cello, with Haugh chiming in on what looked like a zither.  Top of A Mountain was more of a traditional-sounding ballad, with an eerie vocal from Murphy.

The very sad Ann Lovett’s lament was truly music to get lost in, but it wasn’t a night of doom and gloom.  The Rat Watches Us From Afar was inspired by an incident from the previous week’s set (!), and Monty In Macroom kept the audience entertained.  The ensemble was joined by Michelle and Bernard on violin to play a couple of pieces, including a Finnish tune, Reel Downer.  Later, Murphy and co played a request, Three Lovely Lassies from Bannion, and Murtough chimed in with Same Old Man.  The set finished with a version of Ultan O’Brien’s Omos, which featured a bit of everything, zither, cello, and a blast of noise here and there.

It was a night that showed the quality of music that exists in Ireland in the margins.  Do your best to catch Kevin Murphy, Thomas Haugh and Lizzie Murtough in a small, off-the-beaten-track venue near you.