Executive Overview
Dublin’s vibrant traditional music ecosystem continues to thrive, continually balancing a profound reverence for historical repertoire with fearless, contemporary reinvention. Among the most compelling flag-bearers of this modern renaissance are Patrick “Paahto” Cummins and John Francis Flynn, who perform together as Paahto & The Bull. Long-established figures within Ireland’s underground and contemporary folk circuits—most notably as founding members of the acclaimed traditional ensemble Skipper’s Alley back in 2013—the duo’s creative partnership actually stretches back to 2011.
However, it was during the forced stillness of the global COVID-19 lockdowns that Cummins and Flynn began to reevaluate their collaborative identity, shifting away from full-band dynamics to explore the intimate, laser-focused configuration of a musical duo. While Cummins is widely recognized as a master of the tenor banjo, this new venture was born from a mutual, deep-seated fascination with American bluegrass music and traditional guitar flatpicking. The resulting project discarded standard ensemble instrumentation in favor of a bold, uncompromising acoustic guitar duet.
The culmination of this artistic pivot is their stunning debut album, The 123, slated for release on August 21, 2026, via Claddagh Records. Comprising ten masterfully executed tracks, the album strips away the familiar metronomic clatter of bodhráns, the metallic sharpness of banjos, and the soaring drones of fiddles, replacing them with a warm, wood-rich, twin-guitar dialogue. By wedding Appalachian flatpicking techniques with the deep well of the Irish traditional canon, Paahto & The Bull have engineered a transatlantic sonic bridge that feels both startlingly fresh and profoundly historic. To celebrate the release, the duo has announced an extensive tour spanning Ireland and the United Kingdom through the autumn of 2026.
Detailed Chronology: From Skipper’s Alley to a Transatlantic Acoustic Dialogue
To understand the sonic weight and historical positioning of The 123, one must trace the developmental trajectory of its creators. Cummins and Flynn first locked musical horns in 2011, navigating Dublin’s notoriously rigorous session scene. Their shared sensibilities eventually catalyzed the formation of Skipper’s Alley in 2013—a firebrand traditional outfit celebrated for its raw, high-energy approach to old tunes. Over the next decade, the band toured internationally, releasing celebrated records like 2020’s Oul Fip, on which Cummins and Flynn honed their respective instrumental voices.
Yet, the unprecedented disruptions of 2020 and 2021 offered a unique window for introspection. Stripped of touring obligations, Cummins leaned further into his longstanding love affair with American bluegrass guitar traditions and flatpicking mechanics. When he and Flynn began jamming as a duo, they consciously stepped away from the expected instrumentation of Irish trad. They deliberately sidelined the tenor banjo, the fiddle, and percussion, opting instead to build an entire sonic architecture using two acoustic guitars.
This conceptual shift fundamentally altered their approach to arrangement. Without the percussive drive of a bodhrán or the high-register piercing notes of a fiddle, the dynamic interplay shifted entirely to the friction and harmony between Cummins’ aggressive, articulate flatpick attack and Flynn’s warmer, more meditative strums and fingerpicks. This stylistic evolution is chronicled across the ten tracks of The 123, showcasing a maturation of two musicians who have spent over a decade dissecting the DNA of Irish folk music and reassembling it on their own terms.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Deconstructing The 123
The brilliance of The 123 lies in its radical economy of sound. By relying exclusively on two guitars, Cummins and Flynn invite listeners into an intimate acoustic space where every nuance, string scrape, and micro-tonal inflection is laid bare. This minimalist framework throws the historical weight and technical brilliance of the source material into sharp relief.
The Reimagining of Familiar Repertoire
A prime example of this methodology can be heard on Nellie, Your Favour, I’m Afraid, I Will Not Gain / Tom Moylan’s Frolic. Fans of Skipper’s Alley will recognize the tune, which the band previously recorded on Oul Fip. On that earlier recording, the lead melody was carried by Cummins’ tenor banjo, imparting a metallic sharpness complemented by the dark, sustained drones of a fiddle.
On The 123, however, the guitar duet framework transforms the piece entirely. The metallic edges are sanded down, replaced by a rich, resonant warmth that reframes the narrative arc of the tune. Cummins’ razor-sharp flatpicking balances exquisitely against Flynn’s softer, more atmospheric chordal backing, giving the traditional suite an entirely new emotional gravity.
Historical Resonance and Melancholy: The Battle of Aughrim
Among the album’s most arresting moments is The Battle of Aughrim, a sparse, haunting composition commemorating the pivotal and bloody 1691 battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. Originally circulating as an instrumental piece in the eighteenth century, the tune requires immense restraint.
Here, Flynn’s accompanying guitar treads with utmost caution, keeping chords subdued and almost muted to create a solemn, hushed atmosphere. Against this sombre backdrop, Cummins executes a precise, melancholy melody that evokes the tragic historical context of the source material without resorting to heavy-handed theatricality.
Acoustic Purity Versus Psychedelic Experimentation: Eibhín Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill
Equally compelling is the mesmerising air Eibhín Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill, a piece of classical Irish love poetry dating back to the 17th or 18th century. In the album’s liner notes, Cummins contextualizes the tune by referencing a traditional war pipes rendition as well as John Martyn’s famously idiosyncratic interpretation on his 1973 landmark album, Inside Out.
While Martyn’s version famously utilized heavily effected electric guitars to induce a psychedelic, otherworldly aura, Paahto & The Bull take the opposite route. Their purely acoustic approach honors the simplicity and directness of the original love poetry, stripping away studio artifice to reveal the raw, beating heart of the composition.
Transatlantic Cross-Pollination: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps
The album is not without its fleet-footed pyrotechnics. One of the most exhilarating listens on The 123 is Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, a tune of likely Scottish origin that migrated across the Atlantic to become a staple in American Old-time fiddle repertoires.
The tune demands considerable technical dexterity, prompting Cummins to employ modest guitar trickery, utilizing hammer-ons to seamlessly link notes across the fretboard. While historically favored by fiddle players for its tight, cyclical construction, the track is revitalized here. Cummins’ bright, articulate flatpicking, coupled with Flynn’s quietly accomplished accompaniment, charges the old-time transatlantic traveler with an infectious, modern vitality.
Official Statements and Critical Reception
Early critical consensus positions The 123 as a watershed moment in contemporary Irish folk music. Musicologists and critics alike have praised the album’s refusal to pander to commercial production trends, noting that the absence of superfluous studio adornments allows the intrinsic character of the tunes to shine through.
"The 123 is a tremendous debut that oozes confidence," notes early critical commentary on the release. "Each of the ten tracks is performed with absolute technical precision, and the lack of any superfluous adornments means that the tunes retain their core character and achieve a level of purity that is an intrinsic part of traditional music. With these two players at the controls, this music is in very safe hands."
By refusing to dilute their acoustic vision with modern percussion or digital soundscapes, Cummins and Flynn have delivered an uncompromising manifesto on the enduring power of traditional instrumentation. The partnership between Claddagh Records—a label historically synonymous with the preservation and elevation of authentic Irish music—and Paahto & The Bull underscores the cultural significance of this project.
Future Outlook: Tour Dates & Live Performances
With The 123 set for official release on August 21, 2026, Paahto & The Bull are preparing to translate their intricate acoustic studio work into an immersive live experience. Translating a twin-guitar traditional set stripped of modern compression and electric enhancement requires absolute mastery, a challenge the duo is uniquely equipped to meet.
The upcoming autumn tour will take the pair across the length and breadth of Ireland, before crossing the Irish Sea for an extensive run of UK dates stretching from London to Glasgow. Fans attending these intimate venues can expect masterclasses in acoustic guitar interplay, where traditional Irish session mechanics meet the precision and syncopation of American flatpicking.
Complete 2026 Tour Itinerary
- Sat 1 Aug – All Together Now, Waterford, Ireland
- Thu 17 Sep – Dolan’s, Limerick, Ireland
- Sat 19 Sep – Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, Clonakilty, Ireland
- Sun 20 Sep – Joe Lee’s Bar, Tullamore, Ireland
- Fri 25 Sep – The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon, Ireland
- Mon 28 Sep – Coughlan’s Bar, Cork, Ireland
- Tue 29 Sep – Róisín Dubh, Galway, Ireland
- Wed 30 Sep – Saltwater Festival, Bundoran, Ireland
- Sat 3 Oct – Paper Dress Vintage, London, United Kingdom
- Mon 5 Oct – Gullivers, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Tue 6 Oct – The Attic, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Wed 7 Oct – The Golden Lion, Todmorden, United Kingdom
- Thu 8 Oct – The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Fri 9 Oct – Star And Shadow, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- Sat 10 Oct – Rise, York, United Kingdom
- Sun 11 Oct – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Sat 17 Oct – Levis Cornerhouse, Ballydehob, Ireland
- Sun 18 Oct – The Green Room, Dingle, Ireland
- Sat 24 Oct – Pot Duggans, Ennistymon, Ireland
- Sun 25 Oct – Connolly’s of Leap, Leap, Ireland
- Mon 26 Oct – Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale, Ireland
- Wed 28 Oct – Whelan’s, Dublin, Ireland
- Fri 30 Oct – Cleere’s Bar, Kilkenny, Ireland
As Patrick “Paahto” Cummins and John Francis Flynn step out to present The 123 to live audiences, they do so not merely as former bandmates embarking on a side project, but as two visionary architects reshaping the boundaries of Irish traditional music. Through careful curation, breathtaking technical execution, and an unyielding commitment to acoustic purity, Paahto & The Bull have ensured that the ancient melodies of Ireland and beyond will continue to resonate with vital, contemporary relevance for years to come.
