The Rolling Wave podcast, Michael Harrison talks about the music of his grandmother Aggie Whyte - listen above.
Aggie Whyte (1920-1979) was an award-winning fiddle player who was described by Seamus Ennis as Queen of Fiddlers . She was one of the musicians recorded by Alan Lomax on his visit to Ireland in 1951, and a duet she recorded with her sister Bridie at that time again prompted Seamus Ennis to describe them as the ‘perfect fiddle duet’.
Aggie was the first woman to win the All Ireland Senior Fiddle Competition at the Fleadh in 1954. She also won numerous other All-Ireland titles in duets with Joe Burke and in bands, not to mention winning an Oireachtas Gold Medal for fiddle and the Oireachtas Duet Competition with Peadar O’Loughlin in 1958.