IT was an exceptional year for new releases up in East Durham during the Catskills Irish Arts Week (CIAW), proving that the traditional waters are running very deep in the wellspring these days. No less than eight new recordings for artists and groups and one book (containing a companion DVD) were celebrated for their contributions to the cause in the past year.

At this juncture we would like to mention some of the CDs and the book/DVD that vividly capture the essence of what makes the CIAW tick and add so much to the week and the months that follow as the publications traveled away from the hamlet with the students and artists.

On the Wednesday night at Bernie O's restaurant, Catherine McEvoy shared the fruits of her second solo CD The Home Ruler on the Clo Iar Chonnachta label which had its Ireland launch the week before at the Willie Clancy Summer School.

One of the most respected flute player and teachers in Ireland, Britain or the U.S., any effort from her would be most welcome, and this latest recording will not disappoint her fans and hopefully draw many more to appreciate her exquisite flute-playing.

The tunes played in 15 tracks, including three of her own compositions (one written for the late Dermot Grogan from Mayo), are accompanied tastefully by Felix Dolan, Geraldine Cotter, Paddy McEvoy on piano, Steve Cooney on guitar and Joe Kennedy on bodhran. The liner notes from fiddler Seamus Connolly firmly establish McEvoy as a musician to be reckoned with from an early upbringing in the Irish scene in Birmingham, England. She also has roots in Co. Roscommon where she fell under the influence of people like Josie McDermott and Patsy Hanley.

Currently living in Co. Meath with her husband Tom McGorman and family, she has firmly established herself as one of Ireland's premier flute players and musicians who is often to be seen in the middle of any musical fray devoted to the pure drop at home or abroad.

Fittingly enough, the Bernie O's occasion also paid homage to her fiddling brother John's recording with fellow Roscommon flute player John Wynne Pride of the West (also on the same label) released late last summer. They can be ordered through www.cic.ie or through OssianUSA (www.ossianUSA.com).

It seems like fiddler Brian Conway has made a habit of dominating Darby's Pub on the Friday night with one release or another, and this year was no exception. He had his first solo release there, and participated in tribute CDs to Paddy Reynolds in 2006 and Andy McGann in 2007.

His second solo CD Consider the Source, also on the CIC label (www.cic.ie), is not only appropriately named for its content but also as the underlying theme for the CIAW in general. Like McEvoy, Conway has established himself at the very front ranks of traditional musicians since emerging from his more familiar New York roots back in 2002 with the issue of his first stellar solo CD First Through the Gates, which garnered worldwide acclaim on the Smithsonian Folkways label.

In the wake of further recognition beyond his native New York, Conway has elevated himself even further with this new recording which shows a more confident musician in his prime enjoying himself, whether he is taking a respectful look backwards or forwards in his music. His bowing is as clear and sharp as it is joyful, or in the case of the air "The Wounded Hussar" plaintive.

Appearing on the new CD is his principal collaborator these days, Brendan Dolan on piano, along with his Pride of New York Ceili bandmates Joanie Madden and Billy McComiskey, who appear with Brendan's dad Felix on the selected tracks here.

Also guesting are guitarists Gabe Donohue and Eamon O'Leary and two singers for whom Conway has a high regard in Dan Milner (Matt Highland) and Niamh Parsons (Highland Mary). This recording will be a classic in no time flat and deserves to be in every trad lover's library. It can be ordered through www.brianconway.com as well as through CIC.

Also on the Friday night out in the Freehold Country Pub, the lads from Fingal (box player James Keane, fiddler Randal Bays and guitarist/vocalist Daithi Sproule) were celebrating the U.S. launch of their self-titled CD to be officially released later this fall on New Folk Records (www.newfolkrecords.com).

Earlier this year, Daithi Sproule's excellent instrumental recording Crow In the Sun featuring his own compositions was released on the same label out of Minnesota where the Derry-born Sproule calls home. The Fingal recording was made mostly from a live concert out in Whidbey, Washington where Randal Bays lives.

Perhaps more than anything, it also reflects the best way to appreciate this veteran trio whose combined talents and varied backgrounds mesh in their live performances that allow for individual expression amidst the group dynamic. Before forming this band two years ago, James, Daithi and Randal made myriad contributions with other groups or in solo work as top tier entertainers in the trad scene.

Up in the Catskills, it seemed fitting to have another launch for Tony DeMarco's new CD The Sligo Indians on the Tuesday night at McKenna's Pub given his solid teaching credentials down through the years at the summer school and in sparking many a late night session or a virtuoso stage performance.

The star-studded release on Smithsonian Folkways Records (www.Folkways.si.edu) was dealt with earlier in this space, but the opportunity to have one of the participants on the CD, Kevin Burke, for some fiddle duos in East Durham was too much to pass up spotlighting two of the Sligo style of fiddling's greatest exponents.

Also released for publication was a major booklet created by accordionist Damien Connolly from Killaloe, Co. Clare who lives with his young family in Fairfield, Connecticut.

His father, Martin is one of Ireland's finest accordionists and also makes the Kincora brand of accordions, and his uncle is Seamus Connolly, who was on hand for the book launch at Gavin's Resort on the Thursday evening.

Based on his experience teaching in the Catskills for two previous years, he developed The Irish Accordion Tutor: Volume I: Reels, Jigs and Polkas for the B/C Accordion as a step-by-step teaching tool for learning the box with the graphic assistance of Roxanne O'Connell enhancing the project which also comes with a "show-me how" DVD.

It proved to be very popular with his intermediate or advanced students to learn techniques that guided their pushing and pulling the squeezebox and make music instruction easier to take away with them. Books can be ordered through www.theaccordiontutor.com.