I have long been a fan of Celtic music. I love to listen to the Thistle and Shamrock on NPR when I can catch it. DJ Dana is spinning some Celtic music for you this week.

On the turntable this week:

• Molly Ban — The Chieftains. This is from a Country/Bluegrass/Celtic excursion entitled Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions. I love this album. Alison Krauss sings.
  
• Maggie — De Danann. This is from The Best of De Danann. I chose this one for the plaintive singing. That, and my daughter’s name is Maggie.
  
• The Iron Man — The Chieftains. This is from their album The Chieftains: A Collection of Favorites. I ordered it off the Internet, but it was one of those TV only offers.
  
• The Child Deirdre — Mychael and Jeff Danna. This is my favorite song off one of my all-time favorite albums, A Celtic Tale: The Legend of Deirdre. You can learn more about Deirdre here. The Danna brothers wrote this album with the idea that it would be like a soundtrack to the story. Mychael Danna has composed film music before.
  
• Ode to My Family — The Cranberries. I love Dolores O’Riordan. Our voices are in the exact same register, so I can sing along with her. This is one of my favorite Cranberries songs, and I think it sounds particularly Celtic. It’s from No Need to Argue.
  
• Katie Dear — The Chieftains. Another selection from Down the Old Plank Road. Okay, so this one isn’t as strictly Celtic as the others. More folk song-ish. But I love it. And it has the same theme as “Molly Ban” and “Maggie.” Gillian Welch and David Rawlings sing.
  

Enjoy!