“A family that plays together, stays together,” the saying goes. So it is with the brothers

Walthall — Tim and Jeff and James — also known as The Flying Cows of Ventry. Without question, they are “Irish musicians.”

James Walthall, youngest of the trio, was first to take an interest in music. The family noticed when he hand-made a guitar. Twin brother Jeff Walthall was attracted to the drums but, when James Walthall moved on to the fiddle, he moved on to the guitar. The eldest by two years, Tim Walthall, now residing in Arlington, arrived last and in the role of principal vocalist, while doubling with the banjo. 

A musical foundation was laid within the family, particularly as the aunt from Cincinnati led sing-alongs around the piano in the McLean home. Irish tunes, certainly, but mixed with old ballads and folk songs when everyone knew the words. The brothers developed their skills beginning with the “garage band” stage playing together and with others of their age. An invitation from some “older guys” at Fairfax County’s Marshall High School was the first “pay for play.” Slowly stage sense was garnered at weddings, anniversaries, office events and appearances in local restaurants. After graduating from McLean High School, all went to Virginia Commonwealth University where they became known on the college circuit and across the Richmond area. 

Well into their 20s, the Walthalls performed whatever type of song appealed to their audience. They had begun with rock and roll, moved through surfer sounds into country western and arrived at rockabilly, without overlooking ballads from various sources. Irish music was there, but only incidentally. Around 1994 that changed.

VOCALIST Tim Walthall discovered a personal interest in singing Irish songs, and the other two went along. For one performance the program was heavily laden with such numbers and audience reaction was enthusiastic. “We figured that we had found something,” said Jeff Walthall. A year or so later, Irish music exploded thanks to Riverdance and with it came more performance venues in the form of Irish pubs, restaurants and song-and-dance festivals.

“We caught the Irish wave as it broke and happily have been riding it ever since,” James Walthall said.

Instrumental skills honed over the years were adaptable to the new sound. Playfully, a hint of brogue was developed for the vocals. The trio found much to love in Irish music and playing it came naturally. They also could see that much more needed to be learned. They were no longer once-a-year-St.-Patrick’s-Day players. They were in competition with growing numbers of musicians attracted to the Irish scene. Thus began visits to Ireland to absorb the sounds in the cultural settings of the source.

Doolin in County Clare and the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry are known around the world for festivals and gatherings and schools of Irish musicians. It was on the latter the brothers found themselves a name. Ventry is a small village some few miles east of Dingle town. A manager of the national radio network (the Irish equivalent of PBS) heard the brothers play and invited them to their first radio broadcast. On route to the station early one morning, they stopped the automobile for a breath of air overlooking the village below. Banter about the passing farms and animals had led these city boys into silliness leading up to the expression “flying cows.” On the spot, they became “The Flying Cows of Ventry.”