Switchback's "The Hibernian Mass"

"Enjoying your music CD, The Hibernian Mass. Your arrangements and original music are great, this CD will be a great tool to help me prepare to serve. What a great blessing." 
​- Steve Duitsman

After 25 years of writing and performing original Americana rock and traditional Celtic music, Switchback has turned their talents to liturgical fare.  No strangers to playing sacred music in their decades-long career, Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack set to work on what they have titled "The Hibernian Mass” after a visit to the island on which St. Patrick constructed his first church in the 5th century.

“The story of St. Patrick is one of courage,” says Brian FitzGerald. “Despite being banished to Inchagoill (meaning “Island of the Stranger”) by the Druids, he managed to reach the hearts and minds of the Irish people and brought them into the new faith. Through the music for this Mass, we want people to feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and able to explore their faith in a new direction.”

Indeed, the recorded version of the Mass has a distinctly Celtic sound. Switchback was joined by two of the finest Irish musicians in Chicago: bodhran (Irish drum) player Jackie Moran and uilleann piper Sean Gavin. Fiddler Paul Russell, FitzGerald’s godson, is also featured on the recording. The Mass was produced by former Oak Park resident Paul Von Mertens, who is the arranger for Beach Boy Brian Wilson. ​

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