The craic is an essentially Irish form of enjoyment. It embraces friendliness and hospitality, good conversation, music, dancing, the lively telling of jokes and stories, and the recitation of poetry. Above all, it is about people coming together.
The National Museum recorded The Craic Live at The Quiet Man at an Irish pub in Melbourne for the exhibition Not Just Ned: A True History of the Irish in Australia.
Jimeoin joins a group of talented musicians for a session recorded live at The Quiet Man Irish pub
Experience The Craic on YouTube
Click on the links below to visit the Museum’s YouTube channel, where you’ll hear talented musicians playing, and talking with comedian Jimeoin about their instruments and the influence of Irish music in Australia.
Listen to Miss McLeod’s reel as led by brothers Joe and Paddy Fitzgerald, who’ve been playing the box for 60 years
Jimeoin chats with musicians Ben Stephenson and Michael Moran
A group of young dancers brought together by Geraldine Ryan joins in The Craic
Ben plays a flute piece by legendary folk musician Sally Sloane, discovered in his research on the history of Irish music at the National Library of Australia
‘We’d sit down, have a cup of tea, have a yarn and just play some tunes together’
Nicki Kramer puts the groove into fiddling and explains how Irish music is learned through listening
Spot the hot shoe shuffle as this group of young Irish dancers swap from soft to hard toes
’Well, it’s very easy, you just hold ’em between two fingers and go rat-a-tee-tat,’ chancer Mark Wilson jams with Jimeoin, and John Blaney on the tin whistle
Martin Doherty plays the uillean pipes and explains how they differ to the Scottish bagpipes
Aidan McDonnell explains the finer points of playing the traditional Irish drum
Ben Stephenson on bodhrán joins Dale Gerner as she dances up a storm
Former Bushwacker Mick Slocum takes the microphone
Filming at The Quiet Man slideshow
The National Museum filmed and produced a 50-minute program, Live at The Quiet Man, in Melbourne for the exhibition Not Just Ned.
Presented by comedian Jimeoin, it features talented musicians and dancers sharing their passion for Irish music in Australia.
The images below show the Museum’s film director Jeremy Lucas with cast and crew, behind the scenes in late 2010. Visitors experience the film as part of the re-created Irish pub in the exhibition.
Explore more on Behind the scenes