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Kevin and Ron speak with Caoimhín Mac
Aoidh and Glenn Hendrix, co‑authors of Islands of Fiddlers, a book documenting the musical and historical ties between Donegal and Beaver
Island. The conversation explores how the Donegal fiddle tradition crossed the Atlantic, how it endured through players like Patrick Bonner, and how two scholars — one from Ireland, one from Michigan — came together to preserve that story.

Throughout the episode, both guests share
tunes that illustrate the tradition they’ve spent years studying. The show
concludes with a short bonus segment following the credits.

Link for Book: donegalfiddlemusic.ie

Caoimhín Mac Aoidh is a fiddle player and uilleann piper with a strong focus on the Donegal fiddle tradition. He was fortunate enough to meet, play with and collect from many of the older generation of master Donegal fiddlers. He is a founding member of Cairdeas na bhFidléirí, the award winning organisation which has been promoting Donegal fiddle music for nearly half a century. Caoimhín has written eight books on Irish fiddle music, again mainly focussed on the Donegal tradition. He has toured, lectured, taught and broadcast widely. He was a regular columnist with Fiddler Magazine. In his studies of the Donegal fiddle tradition he came to be aware of the playing and history of Patrick Bonner of Beaver Island and Patrick's important Donegal connections. Arising from that he had the pleasure of working with Glenn Hendrix on publishing Islands of Fiddlers.

Glenn Hendrix is a fiddler interested in Michigan’s rich fiddle traditions. He has played for square and contra dances all over Michigan and for dances at Holy Cross Hall on Beaver Island. Glenn has collected many Michigan fiddle tunes and co-wrote Michigan Jamboree, a book of these tunes. He also wrote Songs of Beaver Island, an article with background stories and transcriptions of over twenty songs composed on or about Beaver Island.

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On a cold, wind-driven Saturday at Rannagh Park, it’s easy to mistake what’s happening on Arranmore for just another football match.

It isn’t.

In this episode of The Tides That Tie, we trace the story of Arranmore United—a club built not just to compete, but to help hold a community together.

From its beginnings in 1987—when three rival island teams set aside differences to form one side for one island—to the present day, where players travel hours and cross open water just to make kickoff, this is a story about commitment, identity, and belonging.

You’ll hear from past and present voices of the club, including:

• Founders who helped bring the team into existence
• Players from the 1989–90 era that set the standard early
• Current players navigating emigration, distance, and modern challenges
• Young voices hoping to carry the club forward

At the center of the episode is a powerful moment from 2019—a cup final that captures everything the club represents: pride, loss, community, and resilience.

This isn’t just about football.

It’s about what happens when a place decides it needs something to rally around—and refuses to let it disappear.

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In this episode of The Tides That Tie, Ron Gregg brings us into a time when life on Beaver Island was shaped entirely by Lake Michigan—its rhythms, its risks, and its rewards.

From the height of the 19th-century fishing era to the quiet work of winter, this story captures what it meant to live in constant relationship with the water. Guided by the distant lights of Whiskey Point and Skillagalee, we follow the early crossings between Beaver Island and the mainland—journeys made by sail, skill, and experience alone.

More than a story of travel, this is a portrait of island life—of resilience, adaptation, and the enduring connection between people and the water that defined their world.

Links:

Skillagalee Lighthouse and Chart: Skillagalee Island

Woods Hole Historical Museum: Tools for Harvesting the Ice

Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail: A Good Boat - The Mackinaw - Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Tr