THE western wall of this magnificent venue overlooks the River Suir, the roar of those waters emphasising the castle's situation on an inland island. Perhaps a metaphor for a new co ordinate in the River of Sound TV series in which fiddle player and composer Maire Breatnach was again seen over the holidays?

Flying in the face of ESB sponsorship, this Music Network Tour gig was an acoustic one: the ancient banqueting hall, which dates to the 13th century and was rebuilt through a famine relief scheme in the 19th century, demonstrated the tonal adequacy of generous space enclosed by stone and wood.

These superb musicians opened gently on Breatnach's typically restrained and "noodling" reels, moving through hornpipes and, via a broken string, to a flute/bodhran solo and a fine Emigrant's Farewell one part air from Conor Byrne on flute. This, the only "old fashioned" sound of the night, gave all of the music a sense of place, while many of the other tunes - even the neat play with key change in The Goban and Hallowe'en jigs - seemed restrained. It was, therefore, Breathnach's theme pieces from her Voyage of Bran work that held up best, their internally regulated tension inviting audience curiosity.

Absence of vocals, too, put tremendous pressure on the players and their mainly dance music; Steve Dunford's bodhran seemed a trifle dominant and Niall & Callanilin's bouzouki under heard despite its creative, but brief, introductions.

Nevertheless, by the time of the final encore, things were up and running. The opening concert tension blew away as the fiddler relaxed into her stop start emphatic breaks, octave jumps, heavy and light bow calculated to the last millimetre, all matched flawlessly, note for note, by flute and bouzouki, and exhibited terrifically on the Hop, Step and Jump slides.