The Columbia
Gypsy 
Michael McGoldrick & John McSherry
At First Light
Compass (2002)
http://www.compassrecords.com
Once Susan McKeown came onto my radio show and picked out the music. I had all my Irish CDs at the station that evening, no easy chore, and she pulled out the eponymous Lúnasa album I'd got from the UK and said "Play this one, these guys are really good." Months later, I played a track off their second album, Otherworld, and someone called to ask "WHO was that?" The principles in the all-instrumental At First Light, Michael McGoldrick and John McSherry, played on these albums, and in fact At First Light sounds a lot like Lúnasa, and so there you have it.
But to be more specific, both McGoldrick and Sherry play uilleann pipes and whistles and Michael plays wooden flute as well. Hence, this is an album that centers around wind instruments. I mostly remember Michael from the UK flute-heavy Irish band Flook! But he's also the piper on some of the tracks on Afro Celt Sound System Volume 2: Release. John played in an unusual family Celtic pop band called Tamalin. The Lúnasa sound is progressive, on First Light traditional with contemporary chords and an easy jazzy motif, much due to Manus Lunny or Paul McSherry on bouzouki and guitar, supporting but often prominent. At First Light sounds the way much contemporary Irish music sounds at present and the musicians are really good. The majority of the tracks feature the pipes so there are a lot of banshees flying around, but for the most part so quick you can't catch 'em.
One track which is truly slow and mournful and exceptional as well is "Doinna" or on the Compass web page I think "Dionna." John bends notes here in a continuous scale, one is reminded of a the sound of great sea mammals. "Doinna" also sounds like Afro-Celt. "Jimmy Batty's" is a pretty cheery little whistle duet (at least it sounds like a duet) going into pipes with a mostly traditional sound and contemporary rhythm. Paul's guitar ornaments are very nice on the pretty low whistle + set "The Braes Of Busby." "Donald Blue et al" is all guitar and low whistle (and keyboards...) and has that perky percussive sound, some nice ornament on the whistle that sounds like button box.
A couple of small problems I do have, mostly with the liner notes. Not only is this an all-instrumental album, but there are no notes to the tracks, so you have to make up your own stories. As a geologist I ask "Where? When?" The composition credits are on the next page: all traditional except for eight tunes. So where would you say "Jutland" by Tommy O'Sullivan is from? Another is the credits for bassist Ewen Vernal and Capercaillie's Donald Shaw on keyboards, which are also hidden on the page with the thanks to mom and dad. The keyboards are very discrete, but then you wonder why bother to put in one more light humming drone with there being so many pipes drones.
The instrumentation and tempo vary enough to keep the album rolling. However, as with very traditional Irish music, this contemporary style is very predictable, maybe just as predictable as the more traditional recordings. This may explain why some people listen to Irish music a lot and others listen only a bit, and why some put vocals and digeridoos on their CDs. But anyway great album, great musicians.
[I tried to listen to interplay between the wind instruments so I could say "Michael and John play like intertwining grape vines," but there is so much going on with the frets I can't pick much up with any ease]
The Columbia
Gypsy