Hi Christy,
I did a few searches for “The Rocky Road To Dublin” and the author that came up was a man by the name of D.K. Gavan AKA “The Galway Poet”. He gave the song to Harry Clifton an English music hall singer in the 19th century who popularized it…
He also wrote another song that was made poplar by your good self in the 20th century called Lanigans Ball… Stay Well.. RyanL
Christy's reply
you have me curious now…having sung both songs over the years, I’d never have guessed they were written by the same songster
Good morning Christy, I hope you had a nice deep sleep. Now, I am just curious. Are you going to be present -or more- at the Wolfe tones last gig in Dublin in April? Damn, I wish I could be there. I’m a poor man. I toyed with selling all my stuff to be there in April. I’m not going to do it, sadly. But, Jesus. I should.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Barrowland in a few weeks and to hear you sing about that famous place. You wouldn’t be able to play Bright Blue Rose would you? It’s just beautiful!
Thanks
See you soon
Ann-Marie
Christy's reply
greetings from Waterford, its a quiet Sunday here on the Quay of this great river where the waters of The Nore, The Suir and Barrow conjoin and flow to sea…its a fitting place, as we prepare to set sail for The Clyde once more…I take note of your requests…. Barrowland is a place of mystery..songs appear out of the air…making plans for a Barrowland set is a futile practice…as soon as the lights go down anything can happen…Once I sang a song there that I’d never heard before…another time I chanced an old ballad that I had not sung since boyhood days….if the Bright Blue Rose descends we shall embrace her..maybe even give her a wee tuckle……..
The Cats gave it the lash last night…that call out for “The Rocky Road to Dublin” was weird…I have not gigged it for 40 years ( have sung it at a few sessions)..when that lad called it out I could not resist the temptation and it turned out to be one of the songs of the night…strange thing I discovered later…. Luke Kellys brother Jimmy was in the front row…had I known that I never would have sung it…Luke’s early Rocky Road was a definitive version…I first heard it sung by Andy Rynne, many years ago, in the basement room where the Prosperous album was recorded. There is such fantastic writing in this song…it has become so popular I feel that the quality of the writing can sometimes be overlooked…nor do we know who wrote it…
Hi Christy.
What a fantastic night in the hub. Electric it wasI have to hand it to you the song you sang for the parish “the fields” class. Joe Kelly a pure gent and great bodhran maker.
Thanks again Christy for a memorable night.
Christy's reply
The Hub was fairly leppin tonight..on the way out I was delighted to meet Kellys of The Brow..they brought me up to date on some of my old neighbours up in Coolcullen…I heard that Tom Kinsella was at the gig tonight, sorry I did not see him..he was my tour manager when I lived up the Protestant Road, we used to do gigs in Sheerins of The Ridge, The Coalmine and Conways of ‘Comer, The Arkle in Gowran, as far afield as Ballyragget and `Goresbridge, we even travelled to Mooneenroe in Nixie Comerfords van one night, got a puncture outside Larkins of Kanesbridge and it took 3 days to get the tube blown up..must try and get back there for a bit of a gallery, do a bit of Salmon Fishin in the Coon River ( dont forget your Hurley)…. best wishes to all in that beautiful place
Christy,
Thank you for the Anne Lovett tribute discussion link. I had not heard of this event. It makes perfect sense that you would be there. I am sure – though I never met or knew her, that your mother would have been at this meeting. I’m just guessing.
Powerful, wonderful, sad, but very hopeful for a healed and healthy future between men and women. Choosing a conscious loving birth(s) with the power of true Love! Brilliant!
Yes Christy , Doonbeg golf club is open to the public and a very beautiful place to visit and according to Eric Trump it will remain so , It has created a bit of excitment since the Trumps took over. Good luck with the gig tonight …..lookin forward to seeing ya soon.
Hi Christy,
Been off the gig scene for the last few months and just coming out of hibernation now these beautiful evenings have appeared again …..I Read your new chat and its so true what you say , Technology is making us blind to the beauty thats around us …It was certainly the wild west here in Clare during the storms But in some elements it carried some beauty and excitement, look forward your return to Glor in May , I dont know Christy if you have ever walked Doughmore Beach in Doonbeg it runs along side Doonbeg Golf Club or should I say Trump International golf links but its one of probally the most beautiful unspoilt beaches in Ireland and definatley worth a walk when your back down in clare ….I woukd be glad to show you anytime. Hope life treats you well .
God bless
Jimi.
Christy's reply
Tramore,Fenore,Inch,Killiney,BullWall,Mornington,Poulshone,Rossnowlagh, Spainish Point,Ballybunion and Ardmore all spring to mind this morning…its hard to beat a good walk along the strand for clearing the cobwebs and knockin the snot out..I’ve put Doonbeg on my bucket list now….Trump will need to have the quiff well anchored before stepping out upon his latest acquisition..is it still open to the public ? I got the impression that the whole place was sealed off…you obviously wintered well…heading for The Marble City tonight and then on to Waterford on a sad journey..the last gig at The Forum in that great City. Ciarán is closing down his much loved venue after 25 years due to lack of seat occupancy. He has honoured us by inviting us to do the last gig there. I wish him well for the future.
Any chance of an Australia tour in the near future ??
Christy's reply
nothing happening in that direction at the moment Pól….if you bump into Ger Fennelly up there in Brisbane give him my best wishes..tell him I’m playing in Kilkenny tonight and I’ll give him a shout out….tell us a bit about Brisbane
I also loved the chat. You brilliantly articulated the addiction we human earthlings have to our habits of comfort. I like to think that some creative and compassionate minds are coming up with solutions to allow us to live sweetly, while honoring and preserving all natural life, here on our mother earth. Pollution and environmental destruction may after all, be another form of deep misogyny. Thank you, Christy, for bringing it home, as always.
I enjoyed reading the post from @Aresnaltel. If I was you, it is very poetic and true. Sadly so.
I watched on RTE last week – I guess it was a Saint Patrick’s day thing. Called, “We Need to Talk About Ireland – Trailblaze”. I loved it actually. it seemed to me to be of the true Irish Spirit.
I don’t know what you felt about the program.
I’m sorry, but RTE often to me seems to be a propaganda in support of the British mind set at the expense of Republic Ireland or older Irish mind sets.
Granted, I was not living in Ireland during the rough, north / south times. And, I don’t want to stir up these divisions, again.
It is just my gut feeling about RTE.
I watched another program on RTE on or about Saint Patrick’s day and it was so commercial that it made me sick. They were talking about lighting up buildings with green, Masonic -stuff- and a play about devil rituals or something like that- It turned me off frankly. But the another program on RTE, ” We need to talk about Ireland” Now, I loved that one. It gave me hope that RTE does sometime let true “ancient” Irish “Spirit” traditions through once in awhile.
Anyway Christy, I don’t know if you had watched this program on RTE, “We Need to Talk About Ireland”. If you did, I am curious as to what your impressions/ thoughts are on the program. I thought it was honest, brilliant and lovely myself. Save, the “we are the world” Bonoish ending. Hey, of course we all love children and they are the future of Ireland, but.
I also loved the chat. You brilliantly articulated the addiction we human earthlings have to our habits of comfort. I like to think that some creative and compassionate minds are coming up with solutions to s
allow us to live sweetly, while honoring and preserving all natural life, here on our mother earth. Pollution and environmental destruction may after all, be another form of deep misogyny. Thank you.
Hi Christy,
Getting all geared up and looking forward to your gig in the Hub tomorrow night.
Looking forward to hearing all the tunes. You might give a quick shout out to us
Another lovely Chat Christy .. Beautifully crafted as usual. Thinking of Ann Lovett, I often wonder have we really learned over the years.
‘Another year’ kicked off with a brilliant night in Mullingar. Long may the everlasting tour continue. Looking forward to Barrowland…. seems there’s going to be a fierce Gaggle of 4711rs there.
Shine on.
Christy's reply
there coming from allsides….hi ace vans, honda 50s., ferguson tvo’s, passats, boeing 747s, horses&traps, bus loads a hoors from Boolea, horse whisperers, angle grinders, jockeys and consutants, priests and homeopaths, rebels and losers, buddhists and boozers all coming to the East End a Glasgae…..see you there
christy, I spent the whole night listening and watching yours and Declan’s performances on youtube …. all as fresh as always – you are never stale, and the most tear-jerking of all… I’m missing you. So looking forward to seeing you on the well named Good Friday 🙂
Christy's reply
many years ago we were gathered in the Sergeants Mess in the Curragh Camp.It was the only place we could get porter on a Good Friday. All the thirsty ducks and porter sharks were gathered there with tongues hangin out. Each of us prayin to jasus we’d pass muster and gain entry. Once inside the crack was 90. My old mate Turlough McGowan lifted the pint towards his parched lips, and , pausing momentarily he proclaimed “this is not Good friday…its feckin GREAT FRIDAY” see you on the South Bank
Hi christy im just a small town singer of traditional irish music and i just recorded a song i heard the late , great Christy Hennessey sing called Remember Me , it is under my name Richard Prendiville and would love to know if what you thought of it as you are my hero , kind regards Rich
Christy's reply
Hi Rich…thanks for sharing..really powerful singing..I enjoyed this very much…all the photos really caught me up in the song..I’ve no doubt but that Christie would love your version of his song…I think of him often..his gentle nature,his beautiful smile and his songs stay with me….keep up the good work Richie…Christy
Dear Christy, I just read your latest thoughts on the Christy Chat e-mail… I was knocked out by the words on the Feb 21st entry… are they from you? They are beautiful and so perceptive. Thankyou.
for anyone who does not receive the email, well sign up now, and here are the words that I am talking about,
Nature is having her say. It’s payback time. There is a price to pay for the last century of technical and scientific progress, for the enormous increase in consumption of resources, energy and raw materials. Almost every known labour now has an automatic device. We can travel anywhere in an inst. A dinner can consist of ingredients from all 5 continents – in my father’s time all food came from local fields. Today we use devices for almost every activity. Fossil fuels that took millions of years to form will soon be gone. Our precious drinking water is squandered and misused as we go from floods to drought in a matter of months. On and on it goes, rain forests destroyed to grow crops to feed animals that will be butchered and flown around the world for (relatively) small profit. I imagine 747 freight planes passing in the skies both laden with bottled water being transported in opposite directions. Flood waters rise. I am powerless in my addiction to electricity. I’ve got the flat screen, the computer, the phone, the central heating, the gas guzzler outside the door, every gadget around me here sucks constantly from the grid. Electricity is so cheap that we waste it every day and night. The wind howls. Trucks get bigger and bigger to carry “our stuff” transcontinental. They roll on and off ferries that are as big as small towns, they burn oceans of fuel while sailing endlessly around this poor old lousy old earth. The rain is lashing. I know, I know, yes I know, but I am powerless. As asbestos roofs fly round the marble city, electric cars are being crushed by falling cedars, homes engulfed by rising Shannon waters. Our pathetic collective response will be to consume more, to comfort ourselves with new things, more devices, more meat, more, more, more. Santa Claus, Valentines Day, Fathers day, Mothers Day, Arthurs Day, Foreign Holiday. The sun shimmers through the rain, slates fly and frightened children cry as their cheap portacabin schools are smashed to smithereens. But it’s a beautiful day; it’s a great day to be alive, Thanks Be, long life to all you songsters out there in the four corners. Let’s enjoy ourselves, it’s later then we think…
Hello Christy,
Lovely chat, just watched The Middle of the Island with Tallulah and we had a talk about the terrible tragedy of Anne Lovett and the many others that suffered a similar fate. Thanks for sharing this with us. Hope we’ll get to see you this year, it’s been too long. Not long till we’ll be doing our version of Spancil Hill around the camp fires again. Love from us all x
Christy's reply
I’m listening to that little stream of water that flows down Spancilhill
Hi Christy,
I did a few searches for “The Rocky Road To Dublin” and the author that came up was a man by the name of D.K. Gavan AKA “The Galway Poet”. He gave the song to Harry Clifton an English music hall singer in the 19th century who popularized it…
He also wrote another song that was made poplar by your good self in the 20th century called Lanigans Ball… Stay Well.. RyanL
you have me curious now…having sung both songs over the years, I’d never have guessed they were written by the same songster
Good morning Christy, I hope you had a nice deep sleep. Now, I am just curious. Are you going to be present -or more- at the Wolfe tones last gig in Dublin in April? Damn, I wish I could be there. I’m a poor man. I toyed with selling all my stuff to be there in April. I’m not going to do it, sadly. But, Jesus. I should.
I’ve decided to go back to bed
Hi Christy,
Looking forward to seeing you at the Barrowland in a few weeks and to hear you sing about that famous place. You wouldn’t be able to play Bright Blue Rose would you? It’s just beautiful!
Thanks
See you soon
Ann-Marie
greetings from Waterford, its a quiet Sunday here on the Quay of this great river where the waters of The Nore, The Suir and Barrow conjoin and flow to sea…its a fitting place, as we prepare to set sail for The Clyde once more…I take note of your requests…. Barrowland is a place of mystery..songs appear out of the air…making plans for a Barrowland set is a futile practice…as soon as the lights go down anything can happen…Once I sang a song there that I’d never heard before…another time I chanced an old ballad that I had not sung since boyhood days….if the Bright Blue Rose descends we shall embrace her..maybe even give her a wee tuckle……..
Thank you All,,,,,beir bua agus beannnacht. H
The Cats gave it the lash last night…that call out for “The Rocky Road to Dublin” was weird…I have not gigged it for 40 years ( have sung it at a few sessions)..when that lad called it out I could not resist the temptation and it turned out to be one of the songs of the night…strange thing I discovered later…. Luke Kellys brother Jimmy was in the front row…had I known that I never would have sung it…Luke’s early Rocky Road was a definitive version…I first heard it sung by Andy Rynne, many years ago, in the basement room where the Prosperous album was recorded. There is such fantastic writing in this song…it has become so popular I feel that the quality of the writing can sometimes be overlooked…nor do we know who wrote it…
Hi Christy.
What a fantastic night in the hub. Electric it wasI have to hand it to you the song you sang for the parish “the fields” class. Joe Kelly a pure gent and great bodhran maker.
Thanks again Christy for a memorable night.
The Hub was fairly leppin tonight..on the way out I was delighted to meet Kellys of The Brow..they brought me up to date on some of my old neighbours up in Coolcullen…I heard that Tom Kinsella was at the gig tonight, sorry I did not see him..he was my tour manager when I lived up the Protestant Road, we used to do gigs in Sheerins of The Ridge, The Coalmine and Conways of ‘Comer, The Arkle in Gowran, as far afield as Ballyragget and `Goresbridge, we even travelled to Mooneenroe in Nixie Comerfords van one night, got a puncture outside Larkins of Kanesbridge and it took 3 days to get the tube blown up..must try and get back there for a bit of a gallery, do a bit of Salmon Fishin in the Coon River ( dont forget your Hurley)…. best wishes to all in that beautiful place
Christy,
Thank you for the Anne Lovett tribute discussion link. I had not heard of this event. It makes perfect sense that you would be there. I am sure – though I never met or knew her, that your mother would have been at this meeting. I’m just guessing.
Powerful, wonderful, sad, but very hopeful for a healed and healthy future between men and women. Choosing a conscious loving birth(s) with the power of true Love! Brilliant!
Oíche mhaith a Caro….
Yes Christy , Doonbeg golf club is open to the public and a very beautiful place to visit and according to Eric Trump it will remain so , It has created a bit of excitment since the Trumps took over. Good luck with the gig tonight …..lookin forward to seeing ya soon.
God bless
Jimi
Hi Christy,
Been off the gig scene for the last few months and just coming out of hibernation now these beautiful evenings have appeared again …..I Read your new chat and its so true what you say , Technology is making us blind to the beauty thats around us …It was certainly the wild west here in Clare during the storms But in some elements it carried some beauty and excitement, look forward your return to Glor in May , I dont know Christy if you have ever walked Doughmore Beach in Doonbeg it runs along side Doonbeg Golf Club or should I say Trump International golf links but its one of probally the most beautiful unspoilt beaches in Ireland and definatley worth a walk when your back down in clare ….I woukd be glad to show you anytime. Hope life treats you well .
God bless
Jimi.
Tramore,Fenore,Inch,Killiney,BullWall,Mornington,Poulshone,Rossnowlagh, Spainish Point,Ballybunion and Ardmore all spring to mind this morning…its hard to beat a good walk along the strand for clearing the cobwebs and knockin the snot out..I’ve put Doonbeg on my bucket list now….Trump will need to have the quiff well anchored before stepping out upon his latest acquisition..is it still open to the public ? I got the impression that the whole place was sealed off…you obviously wintered well…heading for The Marble City tonight and then on to Waterford on a sad journey..the last gig at The Forum in that great City. Ciarán is closing down his much loved venue after 25 years due to lack of seat occupancy. He has honoured us by inviting us to do the last gig there. I wish him well for the future.
Any chance of an Australia tour in the near future ??
nothing happening in that direction at the moment Pól….if you bump into Ger Fennelly up there in Brisbane give him my best wishes..tell him I’m playing in Kilkenny tonight and I’ll give him a shout out….tell us a bit about Brisbane
I also loved the chat. You brilliantly articulated the addiction we human earthlings have to our habits of comfort. I like to think that some creative and compassionate minds are coming up with solutions to allow us to live sweetly, while honoring and preserving all natural life, here on our mother earth. Pollution and environmental destruction may after all, be another form of deep misogyny. Thank you, Christy, for bringing it home, as always.
my ball my ball….heave Munster
How’s it going Christy the calendar is getting full again,Any welsh gigs on the horizon come all you dreamers.Geraint.
I enjoyed reading the post from @Aresnaltel. If I was you, it is very poetic and true. Sadly so.
I watched on RTE last week – I guess it was a Saint Patrick’s day thing. Called, “We Need to Talk About Ireland – Trailblaze”. I loved it actually. it seemed to me to be of the true Irish Spirit.
I don’t know what you felt about the program.
I’m sorry, but RTE often to me seems to be a propaganda in support of the British mind set at the expense of Republic Ireland or older Irish mind sets.
Granted, I was not living in Ireland during the rough, north / south times. And, I don’t want to stir up these divisions, again.
It is just my gut feeling about RTE.
I watched another program on RTE on or about Saint Patrick’s day and it was so commercial that it made me sick. They were talking about lighting up buildings with green, Masonic -stuff- and a play about devil rituals or something like that- It turned me off frankly. But the another program on RTE, ” We need to talk about Ireland” Now, I loved that one. It gave me hope that RTE does sometime let true “ancient” Irish “Spirit” traditions through once in awhile.
Anyway Christy, I don’t know if you had watched this program on RTE, “We Need to Talk About Ireland”. If you did, I am curious as to what your impressions/ thoughts are on the program. I thought it was honest, brilliant and lovely myself. Save, the “we are the world” Bonoish ending. Hey, of course we all love children and they are the future of Ireland, but.
I also loved the chat. You brilliantly articulated the addiction we human earthlings have to our habits of comfort. I like to think that some creative and compassionate minds are coming up with solutions to s
allow us to live sweetly, while honoring and preserving all natural life, here on our mother earth. Pollution and environmental destruction may after all, be another form of deep misogyny. Thank you.
Hi Christy,
Getting all geared up and looking forward to your gig in the Hub tomorrow night.
Looking forward to hearing all the tunes. You might give a quick shout out to us
Another lovely Chat Christy .. Beautifully crafted as usual. Thinking of Ann Lovett, I often wonder have we really learned over the years.
‘Another year’ kicked off with a brilliant night in Mullingar. Long may the everlasting tour continue. Looking forward to Barrowland…. seems there’s going to be a fierce Gaggle of 4711rs there.
Shine on.
there coming from allsides….hi ace vans, honda 50s., ferguson tvo’s, passats, boeing 747s, horses&traps, bus loads a hoors from Boolea, horse whisperers, angle grinders, jockeys and consutants, priests and homeopaths, rebels and losers, buddhists and boozers all coming to the East End a Glasgae…..see you there
christy, I spent the whole night listening and watching yours and Declan’s performances on youtube …. all as fresh as always – you are never stale, and the most tear-jerking of all… I’m missing you. So looking forward to seeing you on the well named Good Friday 🙂
many years ago we were gathered in the Sergeants Mess in the Curragh Camp.It was the only place we could get porter on a Good Friday. All the thirsty ducks and porter sharks were gathered there with tongues hangin out. Each of us prayin to jasus we’d pass muster and gain entry. Once inside the crack was 90. My old mate Turlough McGowan lifted the pint towards his parched lips, and , pausing momentarily he proclaimed “this is not Good friday…its feckin GREAT FRIDAY” see you on the South Bank
i should of said its under Richard Prendiville on youtube
Hi christy im just a small town singer of traditional irish music and i just recorded a song i heard the late , great Christy Hennessey sing called Remember Me , it is under my name Richard Prendiville and would love to know if what you thought of it as you are my hero , kind regards Rich
Hi Rich…thanks for sharing..really powerful singing..I enjoyed this very much…all the photos really caught me up in the song..I’ve no doubt but that Christie would love your version of his song…I think of him often..his gentle nature,his beautiful smile and his songs stay with me….keep up the good work Richie…Christy
Dear Christy, I just read your latest thoughts on the Christy Chat e-mail… I was knocked out by the words on the Feb 21st entry… are they from you? They are beautiful and so perceptive. Thankyou.
for anyone who does not receive the email, well sign up now, and here are the words that I am talking about,
Nature is having her say. It’s payback time. There is a price to pay for the last century of technical and scientific progress, for the enormous increase in consumption of resources, energy and raw materials. Almost every known labour now has an automatic device. We can travel anywhere in an inst. A dinner can consist of ingredients from all 5 continents – in my father’s time all food came from local fields. Today we use devices for almost every activity. Fossil fuels that took millions of years to form will soon be gone. Our precious drinking water is squandered and misused as we go from floods to drought in a matter of months. On and on it goes, rain forests destroyed to grow crops to feed animals that will be butchered and flown around the world for (relatively) small profit. I imagine 747 freight planes passing in the skies both laden with bottled water being transported in opposite directions. Flood waters rise. I am powerless in my addiction to electricity. I’ve got the flat screen, the computer, the phone, the central heating, the gas guzzler outside the door, every gadget around me here sucks constantly from the grid. Electricity is so cheap that we waste it every day and night. The wind howls. Trucks get bigger and bigger to carry “our stuff” transcontinental. They roll on and off ferries that are as big as small towns, they burn oceans of fuel while sailing endlessly around this poor old lousy old earth. The rain is lashing. I know, I know, yes I know, but I am powerless. As asbestos roofs fly round the marble city, electric cars are being crushed by falling cedars, homes engulfed by rising Shannon waters. Our pathetic collective response will be to consume more, to comfort ourselves with new things, more devices, more meat, more, more, more. Santa Claus, Valentines Day, Fathers day, Mothers Day, Arthurs Day, Foreign Holiday. The sun shimmers through the rain, slates fly and frightened children cry as their cheap portacabin schools are smashed to smithereens. But it’s a beautiful day; it’s a great day to be alive, Thanks Be, long life to all you songsters out there in the four corners. Let’s enjoy ourselves, it’s later then we think…
Hello Christy,
Lovely chat, just watched The Middle of the Island with Tallulah and we had a talk about the terrible tragedy of Anne Lovett and the many others that suffered a similar fate. Thanks for sharing this with us. Hope we’ll get to see you this year, it’s been too long. Not long till we’ll be doing our version of Spancil Hill around the camp fires again. Love from us all x
I’m listening to that little stream of water that flows down Spancilhill