Electronic Mail

We can be contacted on a range of email addresses:

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Band Members

Claire
	Claire learned the violin from an early age, and played at orchestral level throughout her school years. She teaches violin and repairs instruments; and learned the Celtic fiddle technique from her father. Claire joined the group in 2011, and very quickly established herself as a significant member of the group. She plays the fiddle as her first instrument, her second is the bodhran. Claire's most recent endeavour is learning to play the whistles. Claire's instruments: Fiddle - Guarneri style             made by John Sherar (1830 - 40) Bodhran - 16 inch tuneable made by Eoin Leonard                 Belgarth Bodhrans,  Orkney Islands Whistles - Dixon and Ormiston
Bob
	Bob's first instrument was the piano, but it wasn't very portable! He learned the guitar in his teenage years too. Now he plays 6 and 12 string guitars - the 12-string is one that he bought while at university in the mid-seventies; and his current 6-string is an instrument that he made himself. In 2007, Bob began to learn the tenor banjo, and enjoyed playing it more than he enjoyed carrying it around. The progression to playing mandola and cittern was natural and enjoyable in all respects. Bob's instruments: 6 String Guitar - self made - based on Martin Dreadnought style 12 String Guitar - Eko Tenor Banjo - Gold Tone (short scale) Mandola - Celtic Star Cittern - Thomas Buchanan
O'Really
	O'Really is the band mascot. He doesn't play instruments - only tricks! If anything goes wrong during a set, he's the one to blame. "The Leprechaun made me do it!"

Tribute

David W. Gifford
01 May 1946 - 03 Aug 2013

It is with great sadness that we advise our friends of the untimely death of one of our founding musicians, Dave Gifford.
For many years, Dave and Bob played as a duo, and were synonymous with Muckle Flugga; however, we have been fortunate to have been joined by some other fine musicians during our melodic journey, and we were especially happy when we were able to recruit Dave's daughter, Claire, to perform with us in 2011.  Dave's delight was obvious as he saw Claire integrate and develop her role within the group.
Seldom have individuals enjoyed such a mutual rapport on numerous, extensive, and diverse topics - a key component of the group's cohesion.

Dave was our inspiration, musically, and his talent on fiddle, whistles and flute shaped the style that we adopted as our own.
He loved performing, and was always delighted to play for an audience - whether it be small or large.

Dave battled strongly against the cancer that gave him such a hard time in his last years.
He had an infectious optimism - his 'glass of life' seldom went below "half-full"; and his absolute love of music and performing did so much to sustain his spirits during some of the darker times when he suffered the pain of this condition.

We offer our thoughts and support to all his family.

Undoubtedly, the world has lost a great musician.
Principally, however, a great many of us have lost a very, very dear friend.

We miss you so much, Dave.

Lasting Memorials

This page will remain on our web-presence as our tribute to Dave.
His (and our) friends in Galway have paid their respects to him also.  A large group of musicians gathered at Killorans Bar, Salthill, Galway on the evening of his funeral to honour him in a way which was both fitting and moving.  They toasted the memory of a man who had touched their lives in a very positive way.  They played music which was dear to him and them far into the night.
The poster below was created to advise of the event, and the signatures on it are a record of the musicians who attended and played that night.

In September 2013, a photograph of Dave was installed on the wall of the Crane Bar, Galway.
This is a wonderful and lasting tribute to him, and one which his musical modesty could not have allowed him to imagine.
The Crane Bar is renowned within the Traditional Celtic Music community as a significant performance venue.  It also features in the Lonely Planet booklet "Great Bars of the World" - see the extract of the section on Music Bars.
The Crane Bar always held a special status for Muckle Flugga too.  From our earliest visit to Galway, it became a "spiritual home" within the city that was also a "spiritual home". This adds a dimension and significance to the inclusion of Dave's picture here - a place where we have enjoyed great times, playing good tunes, with the best of musicians.

Crane Bar Hall of Fame

Photographs on this section of the wall (L-R)
Paddy Fahey; Dave Gifford; Kevin Burke; Seamus Creagh

We were delighted to be present for the inauguration of the photograph.
        

About Muckle Flugga

Muckle Flugga was formed by Dave Gifford & Bob Crosbie in 2004.
Prior to formally creating the band, they had played in various traditional sessions around Edinburgh.  For a number of years, they played as a duo before being joined for a short while (2009 - 2010) by Abbie Patterson (Bodhran).  Other local musician friends occasionally expanded and enhanced the line-up.
In 2011, Claire Murdoch (Dave's daughter) joined the group, and brought a new dimension to the group membership.  The format was a good one, and was quickly adopted as a lasting arrangement.
Sadly, the membership changed again in 2013 due to Dave's untimely passing.  However, his spirit lives on within the group - in our music, and in our humour. 

Claire and Bob plan to continue as a duo.

The Band Members

There are two members in the current line-up, and they are listed on the Band Members page of this site.
All the members are multi-instrumentalists, and performances can include a wide range of instruments.

Our Music

Our first album (Northern Light) was produced in 2010.  It was introduced on Celtic Music Radio as their “Album of the Week”.  It has also been featured at various times on BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal; a number of independent local radio stations within Scotland; and on Celtic Music Radio Stations in Canada, USA, New Zealand, and Australia.
Our regular performances occur in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland.  Past performances include the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Ceilidh Festival, and the Currie Beer Festival.  We also play for private functions.
We collaborate with an Irish Dance Theatre Company (Siamsoir) to provide music for their shows.
Our music was included in part of the BBC2 documentary about the 1970’s; and we have been filmed during one of our performances for a travel documentary about Scotland which was commissioned by a television company in Japan.
Galway, in Ireland, is one of our favourite cities; and we regularly visit and perform our music there.

Our second album (Back to the Light) was released at the end of October 2012,and has received wide acclaim.
Both our albums were recorded at The Sonic Lodge Studio, Edinburgh

Please contact us using the email address on the Contacts page for a booking or for more information.
If you have previously heard our performances, and would like to remain in contact with us, please use the social networking sites shown on the foot of each page.

We look forward to hearing from you.