“With each outing they make, this pair continue to amaze and stun with their sparkling virtuosity and incredible tightness. Guest musicians include Máire’s sister Nollaig Casey on fiddle and Simon Mayor, who contributes a characteristically virtuosic solo in the swinging finale, on mandolin.

The album title perfectly sums up the way Máíre’s harp and Chris’ guitar interact with each other. Perhaps the most stunning example of this is the foot-tapping, bluegrass style Twinkle Little Star, which is guaranteed to bring some sunshine into your life.

As well as all these wonderful instrumental tracks, Máire also contributes several songs and her harp solo, Gol na mBan san Ár - an example of Ireland’s older harp music - has a spare, stark beauty about it, reminiscent of her performance of Carolan’s Farewell to Music. She plays with passion and admirable restraint—just listen to the bass notes of her Camac harp resonating boldly without interruption.

Dialogues is a rich and breathtaking album, in which the various styles and instruments discourse together with consummate ease, grace and joy.”

Delyth Jenkins

“Chris and Máire are off on another journey of musical discovery with this latest CD. Thirteen tracks of music and song with long-time collaborator (well, she is family) Nollaig Casey, fiddles, viola, backing vocals; Liz Hanks on cello, Roy Dodds, percussion; Ian MacFarlane, fiddle on track eight and the educated mandolin of Simon Mayor on track thirteen.

If I didn’t like instrumental music this review might be a horse of a different colour, but I do, I love it, and this is its apogee. There are songs here also, sensibly scattered throughout the disk. The gaelic ones are helpfully translated in the sleeve notes, where there is help with pronunciation also. Máire’s voice is pure and light with a subtle vibrato that suits the Irish style of singing and is at its best when singing in Erse.The music is so perfectly played that a picky person might say that it could become sterile and mechanical… but it doesn’t, it exudes warmth, passion and pleasure. You might say that Chris’ tunes don’t match up to the trad. arr. ones… but they do, in fact a reviewer with more musical knowledge than I, might say that they will be gathered into the arms of the tradition without a second thought.

Máire is on a one-woman crusade to update the Irish harp from the twee to its rightful place as the instrument able to take on any musical task with guts and fire. When I listen to a new CD from the Newman/Ní Chathasaigh stable I expect, and get, fireworks from the harp. It is truly wonderful to hear its many facets as it is accompanied by all the other styles of strings strutting their stuff on this CD. Track eleven The Hidden Pearl is the perfect example with cello, harp, fiddle and viola not getting slushy or melodramatic. Although a slow piece it tries to climb out of the box, as the restraint it is played with barely holds back the passion.”

“Two of the folk scene’s most respected musicians have put together a CD of what can only be described as beautiful music, if that is not too cheesy a phrase! A mixture of songs and tunes, all are played with wonderful control and really effective dynamics. No duff tracks here; it’s really a matter of picking out personal favourites, so pardon the subjectivity – here are a few highlights for me: the playing on Colonel Robertson, clean, light and devastatingly accurate; Banana Yellow with a tune that does bring the sun out (well, it did when I was listening to it); Twinkle Little Star bringing back memories of Chris playing at the Ironbridge Bluegrass Festival a few years ago, and holding an audience spellbound with a series of staggering solos; Swinging the Lead with perfect swing guitar playing; the atmosphere created by the harp and whistle especially in Gol na mBan san Ár, and so on, for virtually the whole CD.

What really holds much of this CD together is the understated rhythm playing; tight, never overpowering but providing a perfect background to the tunes and songs at the front.

As you may have gathered, this is quality stuff. The range of material is excellent, with a really broad appeal.

Right, get the guitar out, relax and try to play like this… ah yes, well… time for a pint then.”