Hi All. A grand sunny day san Riocht, just like the weather of this weekend 12 years ago for the International Gaggle in Lisdoon. What a great time was had by all ? a feast of fun, frolics, friendship, ceol, caint agus craic ! as well as the adventure on The Burren. The magic of the solo gig, with rare songs like Kevin Barry and you in a white T shirt C, the energy of Small Town Talk, the buzz from Wally Page, the conversations, the sessions in the bar and hall before and after gigs ’til late or early !!! Sadly Jim, Dave and Traudel are no longer with us, but still remembered. Of the 28 people in the photo who braved the Burren climb and still had energy for a sing song, most of the others are still active listeners and attend gigs, no doubt more will return as restrictions ease. Thankfully there are superb photos and clips from the two photography and cinematography gurus Richie and Adam. The three days were blissful and so well organised by Chris & Paddy and all at the Royal Spa. And the never ending tour continues, gathering new listeners all the time. That was superb setlist last night and buiochas le Dia your voice was as strong as ever, I thought perhaps it might be a quiet, gentle gig, nothing of the sort, even the bodhran got a mighty rattle and two gigs next week !!! beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
12 years on but still fresh in my memory..
must be nearly time for another gaggle
Hi Christy. I did a bit of searching today and found the words of The Carlow15 song when I asked a friend of mine,but couldn’t add it to the comments here. My email is dave.byrne123@live.ie if you send me a mail I will pass it on to you, it would be great to have it sang again.
Many thanks for the set list – what a feast for Carlow listeners… Brilliant that you’re enjoying the journey so much – fair play for the input – it pays off time and time again.
Very interesting that Mike Harding has put pen to paper in recent times. As well as his broadcasting, many people link Mike to a rich vein of comedy (The Rochdale Cowboy) but, as you know more than anyone, there’s a great depth to him.eg ‘Bomber’s Moon’ is one of the most poignant songs I’ve ever heard.Good on him for all he does – the two of you are a rare combo.
I played Liam and Seamus Heaney earlier, whilst reading the first pages of the ITMA programme. Pure class and wonderful reading. Many of us are indebted to Jane O’Flynn for all she does in memory of Liam. Please pass on my thanks to her, whenever convenient.
Good luck with the prep for Monday – I’m sure it will be a moving occasion.
Lovely Gig in Carlow last night….. and great that the old Omicron has passed . You were enquiring about GBS last night. So I went looking, and this is a good summary from the RTE archives…… George Bernard Shaw’s relatives on his mother’s side, the Gurly’s came from Carlow and owned a lot of property in the town. Upon their death, the properties were passed on to Shaw. As a gesture of goodwill, Shaw donated a building on Dublin Street to the town in 1919.
In 1944 Shaw made a further bequest to the town handing over ownership of his remaining seventeen properties to the town. The annual rents from the properties were transferred to a civic improvement fund to support local cultural groups.
Despite his generosity to the town, Shaw new very little about Carlow having only ever visited for a day and a night in 1910. On this visit, he took a look at his properties and never returned.
George Bernard Shaw’s generosity to the town extended beyond property. He made a very generous donation to the Carlow Christian Brothers Schools when they were built in 1936, and also gave to Sister Agnes in the County Home on a regular basis. He also came to the financial aid of his step-aunt Charlotte Rogers providing funding for slating of a new roof and a new set of dentures.
When Shaw left his trust to Carlow, he inserted a specific clause preventing the fund from being used to subsidise the local rates. The Arts Act of 1973 enabled the local authorities to use the rates to subsidise the arts which has resulted in legal problems for Shaw’s fund. The fund has remained frozen in a Carlow bank vault gathering interest ever since and funding for projects for which it was intended has stopped.
Best regards
Patsy
Christy's reply
Patsy..you are a man after my own heart..thank you for sharing about George Bernard Shaw’s Carlow connection…I have always had a strong personal feeling about Carlow on the Barrow…I went there once in the 50s as a small boy and, for whatever reason, there seemed to be Union Jack Flags flying around the town…later I went back to a GAA match between Carlow and Kildare and took on a completely different set of childhood memories..
Thank you for your feedback and ongoing support..I cherish my regular listeners who take more then a passing interest in the work..I mentioned to Dave in Suffragette City that I would post last nights set list…here goes :
Chicago
McIlhatton
Ride On
Johnny Boy
Johnny Jump Up
Lingo Politico
Shovel
Lady of Ukraine ( Mike Harding)
How Long
First Time Ever I saw Your Face
Go Move Shift
Raggle Taggle
Well Below The Valley
Ringing The Bell
Bright Blue Rose
Stitch in Time
Delerium Tremens
Irish Pagan Ritual
Voyage
Joxer….( for Barry)
Yellow Triangle
Beeswing
I find myself in a very interesting work space at the moment…no idea how long the road will last but I cherish every mile of the way…its like as if all the songs across the last 60 years are coming into full bloom…the garden is rosy in this mornings Sprintime Sun…. I’m thinking of Yellow Sunflowers beneath the Blue of a Ukraine sky
Sun here – hopefully, same for you and you have a good post gig buzz after Carlow.
Just had a pleasant surprise, with the delivery of the ITMA/ Liam O’Flynn ‘Drawing from the well’ NCH concert programme. It’s magnificent and will be absorbed later today. Thanks again to Rebecca for the tip off – only had to pay postage, via ITMA.
Cuppa now and mulling over the runners in the Grand National…Freewheelin Dylan, for sure !
Have a good day
Dave
Christy's reply
have a good day Dave…I’ll post last night set later…it was different and included a fine piece written by my old mucker Mike Harding
Thank you Christy for the great songs, banter and the craic. It was great to hear you online during Covid & to hear a live gig after the past few years.Thanks for playing The Yellow Triangle, sadly it is still so relevant for many parts of our world today. Your piece on Ukraine was beautiful and so true.
I wish you continued health, it’s always the simple things that matter most the few songs and the special connection between the singer/ musician and any audience gives everyone a great lift. It was good to hear Thomas McCarthy mention John Reilly in his “Songs for the Open Road” Programme a few weeks ago.
Christy's reply
I too thorougly enjoyed that Thomas McCarthy documentary…he is a beautiful singer, he gets right down inside the lyric and tune..he sings and meditates..enthralls this listener….Really enjoyed the George Bernard last night…great audience in a lovely venue
Great to see you’re out the other end and made a full recovery!
The Mullingar lads are looking forward to seeing you again on Monday. We had tickets for you in December but unfortunately missed out in the ‘reshuffle’. See you on Monday and remember if you’re stuck for a cot for this year’s fleadh you need only ask.
Alan
Christy's reply
OK Alan…see you in Vicar St…there will be 23 of us coming to the Mullingar Fleadh..dont worry, we all have sleeping bags and wont need cots….just floor space
Now and again, there’s a time for dark humour and a touch of sarcasm…
Following the news of the Pink Floyd single, some prog rock equivalents of mudcats, got revved up that it’s not PF as it features 2 ex band members + others – completely missing the point of the humanitarian aid being funded…
One of the ‘others’ is keyboard player/ arranger and world music guru, Nitin Sawhney. Here’s his Twitter response to a moaner…
‘yes,that was the main concern when asked to work with legendary musicians to raise money to help people being murdered daily by an unpredictable despotic narcissist with more nuclear bombs than anyone else – that fanboy pedants might feel it compromised their myopic sycophancy’ wow..
Enjoy the gig and travels…
Dave.
Christy's reply
I knew the “myopic sycophants” would turn up….well done Pink Floyd plus 2
Hello Christy,
Fab work by Kevin with the Bundle of Lies.
It led me here https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5070773/5061547
Here it is in full.
Ere last night, about three weeks ago, I received a letter of an old hag’s death, and I got so over-joyed at the sad, glad news that every tear I let fall from the nose at the back of my head split sixteen fathoms of turf or set a mill a going. I took a fit of running with my two shin bones in my pockets, and my head under my oxter, and off started myself for about thirteen miles, and I never stood only sitting down every minute till I met John Jeffrey, a hackney coachman, and he driving 36 dead jackasses under an empty steam coach, loaded with three roasted mill stones 77 grenadiers, and 77 cock magpies and they took on their march from the battle of Dellhoy, and they were to be home the 77th of the hungriest month of the year. There was a terrible fight below Buckswheat near Christmas, between the big tree of Bunlaghey and Nelson Pillar where the fire stewed lap stones at each other. That is seventy eleven leagues just above the Burnt Sea, where John Manx brought me up eleventy seven storey high and I never fell until I hit myself against a swaddler’s soul case, that was piously swearing for pauper cash. I was by that time taking a hearty farewell to James, and he said “Did you hear anything about the shower of old hags that fell next week?” I said “I did not” and he said “John Manx will tell you all about it”. I asked him where did John Manx live and he said “Behind Up and Down St. in the parish of no place, in a lonely little cottage with itself and thirteen other houses fastened to it, where a mad dog bit a hatchet next week, and the pigs wrestled for stir-about and the ducks kicked foot-ball. But before you go” said he “I’ll show you some of my great wonders”. And the first wonder he showed me was 12 little boys and 36 little girls playing hide and go seek behind a hay rick of stones. The next wonder he showed me was himself and his son and his wife, and his wife’s mother and mother-in-law thrashing tobacco into peas. One of the peas jumped through a stone wall, and killed a dead dog that was barking at a pocked-marked cat, that was knitting a pair of stockings and dying with the chin-cough. I turned him inside out and he barked at me. With that fright I leaped across a stone wall. So I easily might for it was no higher than a cabbage stalk and not much longer than from Patrick’s Day to New York. I then took seriously ill with a terrible colis in my big toe and a tooth-ache in my shin-bone and a headache in the back of my neck, and I was carried away to the Logue Hospital where I took a fit of coughing for 18 days and 22 nights. I was ordered some frog’s butter and kirraogue’s kidneys. My condition still grew worse, and they sent for the mid wife, and I was safely delivered of a blacksmith’s and bellows of 16 tons weight. I then threw up snap dogs, lap dogs, water dogs, bear dogs and terriers. I got quite well after that and marched on to the Curragh of Kildare where I hit my nose against a big bridge and knocked it to the ground. I went up to a small little village about the size of Dublin where I met a man running away with a stack of chimneys on his shoulder. I met an old woman taking a drink out of a little river about the size of the Liffey. I came behind her and pushed her in, and she was burned alive in a blaze of cold water. I afterwards met an old woman in the parish of No Place, and she told me about a terrible fight that took place on Doings Green on the Ocean of Green Piers where Robbie the Rat Catcher swallowed a monument, and where the poor soldier was killed by falling down in to a bog of buttermilk such an unseasonable battle was never heard of before. It took place between 15 and 16 o’clock at night, when Arthur Kelly’s nose was knocked into 18,000 pieces and sold in a plum pudding court going up to Christmas. Solomon O’Brien, the disk-licker’s son received a terrible wound, the stone of a plum flew out of a pudding hit him in the stomach and scattered his appetite asunder. The whole regiment was called in then and the names of the officers were –
Andy Hib, Danny Gib, Sib of the Sister, Sister McGib, Hanna McCrawley, Peg of the Rump, Bad Pay, Run-away, and Stand Still.
“The Ha’p’orth of Lies”
was written by James Martin, the poet who lived in Mill-brook, Oldcastle about one hundred years ago. He was a workman of Napper’s Lock Crew of Oldcastle.
—
I hope I’ve copied it right, there’s about 5 pages of it.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
There it is in all its length and glory….no wonder that my Grandfather only recited short sections to me…yet they have remained lodged in my mind for 70 years…it contains some wild flowing imaginations…I’m gonna be trawling thru it ,come some dark sleepless night
Hi Christy – very sad that I wasn’t able to see you in Killarney last week, but relieved that you are now well enough to get back at it. Hilary S. was kind enough to meet for coffee and share some stuff with me that I couldn’t get back here in the US, including a couple of your live shows on DVD…quite a treat! Someday I’ll try again – gotta see you do Viva La Quinta Brigada live at some point! Hope the show in Carlow tomorrow and the rest of the gigs around Ireland are a huge success! Stay well!
Cheers,
Tim
Christy's reply
Keep in touch Tim….sorry to read your post…hopefully there will be another time
Fascinating Pink Floyd news – Friday sees the release of their single for Ukraine humanitarian charities.
Great back story as David Gilmour has previously worked with Ukrainian singer, Andriy Khlyvnyuk (‘BoomBox’)- Andriy’s version of a WW1 memorial song has been sampled and linked to the band – blistering guitar from Mr G too…
A well timed project and very much in the same spirit as your Monday gig. All good wishes for that night and let’s all hope that ‘art is resistance’
Hi there,
when will information about gig 2023 available for people who are planning their Ireland trip?
Or will there be a tour to Germany?
Thanks
K.
Christy's reply
Hi Klaus….
no 2023 plans in place yet…..
gigs are posted here as soon as they are confirmed…
I hope one will suit your planned trip…
sadly, no German tour planned..
Song detectives reporting for duty.. I’ve discovered the rest of “The Bundle of Lies”…also known as “The Ha’pworth of Lies”..written by James Martin from Oldcastle.. Not long ago a work colleague mentioned his grandfather, Tommy “the spud” Donohoe from Cornafean and referenced your visit some years ago in search of those missing verses..
“I took a fit of running with my two shin bones in my pockets, and my head under my oxter, and off started myself for about thirteen miles, and I never stood only sitting down every minute till I met John Jeffrey, a hackney coachman..”
Christy's reply
thank You kevin..great to get sight of that in its entirity and to get the background too….its over 40 years since I visited Tommy Donohoe in Cornafean…
as a small boy my Grandfather used to recite this to me but he only had a fragment…reading it here tonight gives me a few ideas…
Hello Christy,
Oh I’m so glad to read all your new comments. The brain is back, firing on all cylinders.
I had a look for “the Bundle of Lies”. Not found much yet. Its an elusive little thing.
I’m glad Ruby Walsh will be getting an outing. Such rhythm and pictures.
The old songs keep calling me
And so do the new ones..
The last month or so I’ve found myself concentrating on Yellow Furze Woman, Musgrave, Scarborough Fair, with a few bits of Bright Blue Rose and January Man. Deep then wide, I guess.
Take it easy if you can please.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
“Last night about three weeks ago
I recieved a letter about an old hag’s death
I was so overjoyed by the sad news
that every tear I let fall
the nose on my cheek
cut 16 fathoms of turf
enough to set a mill going”
verse one of “The Bundle of Lies” as recalled from the mists of time
Great that the set lists are forming and the strings boiling before your busy weekend…
‘1913 Massacre’ must be one of Woody’s most powerful songs, I think. Your recall is always a treat – the description of a 1964 Boyle lock-in is a gem…
All the best
Dave
Christy's reply
whallup our kid
Hazzo2017
April 7, 2022 at 1:17 am
Location: Just back from the shops in Mildura, having a cup of tea
Glad you’re dodging the virus Mr. Moore…
I was wondering if you’d done “Arthur McBride”? I presume so but I’m curious as I’ve heard some bloody great versions (I love Bob Dylan but find his interpretation a bit challenging).
Keep up the good stuff you’re doing – making many people happy “in a world full of pushin’ & shove” (Buffett, J).
Regards
Danny Harris, Mildura, Australia
Christy's reply
never sang Arthur McBride…Andy irvine used to sing it in Planxty, then Paul Brady took it up
Thanks again for the gig support Christy, on behalf of Rob & I. Very gracious of you 🙏 Hope you’re doing ok in quarantine & hope your rescheduling falls into place well. All the best till next time,
From the beer garden at the Royal Spa.
Some weekend, some weather , some music….. never to be forgotten.
Great to see you are back on the road again. Keep well and all the best for Vic st on Monday, we would love to be there but not possible this time….
catch ye again Marty…
https://youtu.be/VgfBmniSAGI
Great memories of the Gathering in Lisdoon….
Hi All. A grand sunny day san Riocht, just like the weather of this weekend 12 years ago for the International Gaggle in Lisdoon. What a great time was had by all ? a feast of fun, frolics, friendship, ceol, caint agus craic ! as well as the adventure on The Burren. The magic of the solo gig, with rare songs like Kevin Barry and you in a white T shirt C, the energy of Small Town Talk, the buzz from Wally Page, the conversations, the sessions in the bar and hall before and after gigs ’til late or early !!! Sadly Jim, Dave and Traudel are no longer with us, but still remembered. Of the 28 people in the photo who braved the Burren climb and still had energy for a sing song, most of the others are still active listeners and attend gigs, no doubt more will return as restrictions ease. Thankfully there are superb photos and clips from the two photography and cinematography gurus Richie and Adam. The three days were blissful and so well organised by Chris & Paddy and all at the Royal Spa. And the never ending tour continues, gathering new listeners all the time. That was superb setlist last night and buiochas le Dia your voice was as strong as ever, I thought perhaps it might be a quiet, gentle gig, nothing of the sort, even the bodhran got a mighty rattle and two gigs next week !!! beir bua agus beannacht. H
12 years on but still fresh in my memory..
must be nearly time for another gaggle
Hi Christy. I did a bit of searching today and found the words of The Carlow15 song when I asked a friend of mine,but couldn’t add it to the comments here. My email is dave.byrne123@live.ie if you send me a mail I will pass it on to you, it would be great to have it sang again.
just heard Richie Kavanagh’s version…..class
Fab, Christy
Many thanks for the set list – what a feast for Carlow listeners… Brilliant that you’re enjoying the journey so much – fair play for the input – it pays off time and time again.
Very interesting that Mike Harding has put pen to paper in recent times. As well as his broadcasting, many people link Mike to a rich vein of comedy (The Rochdale Cowboy) but, as you know more than anyone, there’s a great depth to him.eg ‘Bomber’s Moon’ is one of the most poignant songs I’ve ever heard.Good on him for all he does – the two of you are a rare combo.
I played Liam and Seamus Heaney earlier, whilst reading the first pages of the ITMA programme. Pure class and wonderful reading. Many of us are indebted to Jane O’Flynn for all she does in memory of Liam. Please pass on my thanks to her, whenever convenient.
Good luck with the prep for Monday – I’m sure it will be a moving occasion.
Dave
Lovely Gig in Carlow last night….. and great that the old Omicron has passed . You were enquiring about GBS last night. So I went looking, and this is a good summary from the RTE archives…… George Bernard Shaw’s relatives on his mother’s side, the Gurly’s came from Carlow and owned a lot of property in the town. Upon their death, the properties were passed on to Shaw. As a gesture of goodwill, Shaw donated a building on Dublin Street to the town in 1919.
In 1944 Shaw made a further bequest to the town handing over ownership of his remaining seventeen properties to the town. The annual rents from the properties were transferred to a civic improvement fund to support local cultural groups.
Despite his generosity to the town, Shaw new very little about Carlow having only ever visited for a day and a night in 1910. On this visit, he took a look at his properties and never returned.
George Bernard Shaw’s generosity to the town extended beyond property. He made a very generous donation to the Carlow Christian Brothers Schools when they were built in 1936, and also gave to Sister Agnes in the County Home on a regular basis. He also came to the financial aid of his step-aunt Charlotte Rogers providing funding for slating of a new roof and a new set of dentures.
When Shaw left his trust to Carlow, he inserted a specific clause preventing the fund from being used to subsidise the local rates. The Arts Act of 1973 enabled the local authorities to use the rates to subsidise the arts which has resulted in legal problems for Shaw’s fund. The fund has remained frozen in a Carlow bank vault gathering interest ever since and funding for projects for which it was intended has stopped.
Best regards
Patsy
Patsy..you are a man after my own heart..thank you for sharing about George Bernard Shaw’s Carlow connection…I have always had a strong personal feeling about Carlow on the Barrow…I went there once in the 50s as a small boy and, for whatever reason, there seemed to be Union Jack Flags flying around the town…later I went back to a GAA match between Carlow and Kildare and took on a completely different set of childhood memories..
Thank you for your feedback and ongoing support..I cherish my regular listeners who take more then a passing interest in the work..I mentioned to Dave in Suffragette City that I would post last nights set list…here goes :
Chicago
McIlhatton
Ride On
Johnny Boy
Johnny Jump Up
Lingo Politico
Shovel
Lady of Ukraine ( Mike Harding)
How Long
First Time Ever I saw Your Face
Go Move Shift
Raggle Taggle
Well Below The Valley
Ringing The Bell
Bright Blue Rose
Stitch in Time
Delerium Tremens
Irish Pagan Ritual
Voyage
Joxer….( for Barry)
Yellow Triangle
Beeswing
I find myself in a very interesting work space at the moment…no idea how long the road will last but I cherish every mile of the way…its like as if all the songs across the last 60 years are coming into full bloom…the garden is rosy in this mornings Sprintime Sun…. I’m thinking of Yellow Sunflowers beneath the Blue of a Ukraine sky
Shine on Patsy
Mornin’ Christy
Sun here – hopefully, same for you and you have a good post gig buzz after Carlow.
Just had a pleasant surprise, with the delivery of the ITMA/ Liam O’Flynn ‘Drawing from the well’ NCH concert programme. It’s magnificent and will be absorbed later today. Thanks again to Rebecca for the tip off – only had to pay postage, via ITMA.
Cuppa now and mulling over the runners in the Grand National…Freewheelin Dylan, for sure !
Have a good day
Dave
have a good day Dave…I’ll post last night set later…it was different and included a fine piece written by my old mucker Mike Harding
Thank you Christy for the great songs, banter and the craic. It was great to hear you online during Covid & to hear a live gig after the past few years.Thanks for playing The Yellow Triangle, sadly it is still so relevant for many parts of our world today. Your piece on Ukraine was beautiful and so true.
I wish you continued health, it’s always the simple things that matter most the few songs and the special connection between the singer/ musician and any audience gives everyone a great lift. It was good to hear Thomas McCarthy mention John Reilly in his “Songs for the Open Road” Programme a few weeks ago.
I too thorougly enjoyed that Thomas McCarthy documentary…he is a beautiful singer, he gets right down inside the lyric and tune..he sings and meditates..enthralls this listener….Really enjoyed the George Bernard last night…great audience in a lovely venue
I hope it’s good tonight.
Was that the longest post ever?
some years back I posted the lyric of “Me & The Rose”….perhaps the only post to come near your thesis…thank you for sourcing and postng..Brighouse Abú
Morning Christy,
Great to see you’re out the other end and made a full recovery!
The Mullingar lads are looking forward to seeing you again on Monday. We had tickets for you in December but unfortunately missed out in the ‘reshuffle’. See you on Monday and remember if you’re stuck for a cot for this year’s fleadh you need only ask.
Alan
OK Alan…see you in Vicar St…there will be 23 of us coming to the Mullingar Fleadh..dont worry, we all have sleeping bags and wont need cots….just floor space
Mornin’ Christy
Now and again, there’s a time for dark humour and a touch of sarcasm…
Following the news of the Pink Floyd single, some prog rock equivalents of mudcats, got revved up that it’s not PF as it features 2 ex band members + others – completely missing the point of the humanitarian aid being funded…
One of the ‘others’ is keyboard player/ arranger and world music guru, Nitin Sawhney. Here’s his Twitter response to a moaner…
‘yes,that was the main concern when asked to work with legendary musicians to raise money to help people being murdered daily by an unpredictable despotic narcissist with more nuclear bombs than anyone else – that fanboy pedants might feel it compromised their myopic sycophancy’ wow..
Enjoy the gig and travels…
Dave.
I knew the “myopic sycophants” would turn up….well done Pink Floyd plus 2
Hello Christy,
Fab work by Kevin with the Bundle of Lies.
It led me here
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5070773/5061547
Here it is in full.
Ere last night, about three weeks ago, I received a letter of an old hag’s death, and I got so over-joyed at the sad, glad news that every tear I let fall from the nose at the back of my head split sixteen fathoms of turf or set a mill a going. I took a fit of running with my two shin bones in my pockets, and my head under my oxter, and off started myself for about thirteen miles, and I never stood only sitting down every minute till I met John Jeffrey, a hackney coachman, and he driving 36 dead jackasses under an empty steam coach, loaded with three roasted mill stones 77 grenadiers, and 77 cock magpies and they took on their march from the battle of Dellhoy, and they were to be home the 77th of the hungriest month of the year. There was a terrible fight below Buckswheat near Christmas, between the big tree of Bunlaghey and Nelson Pillar where the fire stewed lap stones at each other. That is seventy eleven leagues just above the Burnt Sea, where John Manx brought me up eleventy seven storey high and I never fell until I hit myself against a swaddler’s soul case, that was piously swearing for pauper cash. I was by that time taking a hearty farewell to James, and he said “Did you hear anything about the shower of old hags that fell next week?” I said “I did not” and he said “John Manx will tell you all about it”. I asked him where did John Manx live and he said “Behind Up and Down St. in the parish of no place, in a lonely little cottage with itself and thirteen other houses fastened to it, where a mad dog bit a hatchet next week, and the pigs wrestled for stir-about and the ducks kicked foot-ball. But before you go” said he “I’ll show you some of my great wonders”. And the first wonder he showed me was 12 little boys and 36 little girls playing hide and go seek behind a hay rick of stones. The next wonder he showed me was himself and his son and his wife, and his wife’s mother and mother-in-law thrashing tobacco into peas. One of the peas jumped through a stone wall, and killed a dead dog that was barking at a pocked-marked cat, that was knitting a pair of stockings and dying with the chin-cough. I turned him inside out and he barked at me. With that fright I leaped across a stone wall. So I easily might for it was no higher than a cabbage stalk and not much longer than from Patrick’s Day to New York. I then took seriously ill with a terrible colis in my big toe and a tooth-ache in my shin-bone and a headache in the back of my neck, and I was carried away to the Logue Hospital where I took a fit of coughing for 18 days and 22 nights. I was ordered some frog’s butter and kirraogue’s kidneys. My condition still grew worse, and they sent for the mid wife, and I was safely delivered of a blacksmith’s and bellows of 16 tons weight. I then threw up snap dogs, lap dogs, water dogs, bear dogs and terriers. I got quite well after that and marched on to the Curragh of Kildare where I hit my nose against a big bridge and knocked it to the ground. I went up to a small little village about the size of Dublin where I met a man running away with a stack of chimneys on his shoulder. I met an old woman taking a drink out of a little river about the size of the Liffey. I came behind her and pushed her in, and she was burned alive in a blaze of cold water. I afterwards met an old woman in the parish of No Place, and she told me about a terrible fight that took place on Doings Green on the Ocean of Green Piers where Robbie the Rat Catcher swallowed a monument, and where the poor soldier was killed by falling down in to a bog of buttermilk such an unseasonable battle was never heard of before. It took place between 15 and 16 o’clock at night, when Arthur Kelly’s nose was knocked into 18,000 pieces and sold in a plum pudding court going up to Christmas. Solomon O’Brien, the disk-licker’s son received a terrible wound, the stone of a plum flew out of a pudding hit him in the stomach and scattered his appetite asunder. The whole regiment was called in then and the names of the officers were –
Andy Hib, Danny Gib, Sib of the Sister, Sister McGib, Hanna McCrawley, Peg of the Rump, Bad Pay, Run-away, and Stand Still.
“The Ha’p’orth of Lies”
was written by James Martin, the poet who lived in Mill-brook, Oldcastle about one hundred years ago. He was a workman of Napper’s Lock Crew of Oldcastle.
—
I hope I’ve copied it right, there’s about 5 pages of it.
Rebecca
There it is in all its length and glory….no wonder that my Grandfather only recited short sections to me…yet they have remained lodged in my mind for 70 years…it contains some wild flowing imaginations…I’m gonna be trawling thru it ,come some dark sleepless night
Hi Christy – very sad that I wasn’t able to see you in Killarney last week, but relieved that you are now well enough to get back at it. Hilary S. was kind enough to meet for coffee and share some stuff with me that I couldn’t get back here in the US, including a couple of your live shows on DVD…quite a treat! Someday I’ll try again – gotta see you do Viva La Quinta Brigada live at some point! Hope the show in Carlow tomorrow and the rest of the gigs around Ireland are a huge success! Stay well!
Cheers,
Tim
Keep in touch Tim….sorry to read your post…hopefully there will be another time
Hi Christy
Fascinating Pink Floyd news – Friday sees the release of their single for Ukraine humanitarian charities.
Great back story as David Gilmour has previously worked with Ukrainian singer, Andriy Khlyvnyuk (‘BoomBox’)- Andriy’s version of a WW1 memorial song has been sampled and linked to the band – blistering guitar from Mr G too…
A well timed project and very much in the same spirit as your Monday gig. All good wishes for that night and let’s all hope that ‘art is resistance’
Dave
I can hear the mudcats snarling already
Hi there,
when will information about gig 2023 available for people who are planning their Ireland trip?
Or will there be a tour to Germany?
Thanks
K.
Hi Klaus….
no 2023 plans in place yet…..
gigs are posted here as soon as they are confirmed…
I hope one will suit your planned trip…
sadly, no German tour planned..
Song detectives reporting for duty.. I’ve discovered the rest of “The Bundle of Lies”…also known as “The Ha’pworth of Lies”..written by James Martin from Oldcastle.. Not long ago a work colleague mentioned his grandfather, Tommy “the spud” Donohoe from Cornafean and referenced your visit some years ago in search of those missing verses..
“I took a fit of running with my two shin bones in my pockets, and my head under my oxter, and off started myself for about thirteen miles, and I never stood only sitting down every minute till I met John Jeffrey, a hackney coachman..”
thank You kevin..great to get sight of that in its entirity and to get the background too….its over 40 years since I visited Tommy Donohoe in Cornafean…
as a small boy my Grandfather used to recite this to me but he only had a fragment…reading it here tonight gives me a few ideas…
Hello Christy,
Oh I’m so glad to read all your new comments. The brain is back, firing on all cylinders.
I had a look for “the Bundle of Lies”. Not found much yet. Its an elusive little thing.
I’m glad Ruby Walsh will be getting an outing. Such rhythm and pictures.
The old songs keep calling me
And so do the new ones..
The last month or so I’ve found myself concentrating on Yellow Furze Woman, Musgrave, Scarborough Fair, with a few bits of Bright Blue Rose and January Man. Deep then wide, I guess.
Take it easy if you can please.
Rebecca
“Last night about three weeks ago
I recieved a letter about an old hag’s death
I was so overjoyed by the sad news
that every tear I let fall
the nose on my cheek
cut 16 fathoms of turf
enough to set a mill going”
verse one of “The Bundle of Lies” as recalled from the mists of time
Mornin’ Christy
Great that the set lists are forming and the strings boiling before your busy weekend…
‘1913 Massacre’ must be one of Woody’s most powerful songs, I think. Your recall is always a treat – the description of a 1964 Boyle lock-in is a gem…
All the best
Dave
whallup our kid
Glad you’re dodging the virus Mr. Moore…
I was wondering if you’d done “Arthur McBride”? I presume so but I’m curious as I’ve heard some bloody great versions (I love Bob Dylan but find his interpretation a bit challenging).
Keep up the good stuff you’re doing – making many people happy “in a world full of pushin’ & shove” (Buffett, J).
Regards
Danny Harris, Mildura, Australia
never sang Arthur McBride…Andy irvine used to sing it in Planxty, then Paul Brady took it up
Thanks again for the gig support Christy, on behalf of Rob & I. Very gracious of you 🙏 Hope you’re doing ok in quarantine & hope your rescheduling falls into place well. All the best till next time,
Dylan
out of quarantine…thanks be…catch you next time