The same song twice – a bonus for the listeners! Your approach of not having a set list works so well, lends to the immediacy, fits each occasion…, thank you. PS. The Planxty gig at the Barbican in 2005 was beautiful.
Anne
Christy's reply
Our Final Curtain Call…..I’m going to listen to Liam Óg now
PaulaMc. He sounded to be a great guy. Found more than a few tributes online. Liked his music and theatre. Was at the battlefront in Liverpool Docks too.
RIP Ken. He’ll be remembered fondly by you all.
Christy's reply
always good to hear from the Middle of The Island…I picture the River ,The Bridge, Irishtown, The Dean Crowe, The Friary Walk, Peter Molloy’s, The Shamrock Lodge, all change for Ballyhaunis
A group of us from around Europe, Canada and Ireland will gather at your concert in Vicar Street on Monday night to remember our very close friend Ken Forsyth (Liverpool Ken). Ken was a retired docker – a dedicated shop steward who fought the good fight for the dockers of Liverpool and elsewhere. He was a passionate lover of music and theatre. He was one of your biggest and most loyal fans, following you from Barrowlands to Bangor and across the Irish sea from Vicar Street to Sligo and everywhere in between. Ken always sat front row centre at the gigs. His absolute favourite song and the one that always brought him to tears is Nancy Spain. Ken will be with you and us in spirit tomorrow night.
“Sail on, sail on Kenny, Sail on Kenny boy”.
Good evening Christy,
A beautiful song by Johnny Duhan, performed magically by you is now known the world over.
It is possibly your most requested song , or at least the guestbook seems to show that.
Er indoors had never heard of you before we got together 4 years ago, and yet she chose it to walk down the aisle to.
Her latest suggestion was that we both got tattoos of the lines ‘ i am a sailor, and you’re my first mate’ , so we just did and it adds to my several indellibly scribed lyrics.
So the question is, how and when did you come by The Voyage , a song that means so much to so many?
Cheers
Rory
Christy's reply
I first heard Johnny Duhan when he fronted a great band called Granny’s Intentions
years later I recorded his “El Salvador” on the “Ride On’ album….sometime afterwards he visited and played “The Voyage” to me… it has been with me ever since..another of Johnny’s songs “100 Miles from Home” is included in the “Box Set 1964-2004” (red disc)
Christy a facinating subject, mothers and the influence they have, particullary on their sons and shaping their personalities. I know from posts you have made here what a guiding influence your own mother had on you. When you look at Lennon & McCartney and then listen to the two songs they wrote about their own mothers (Let It Be & Mother) even without knowing their family history its obvious from their contrasting personalities who wrote which song..
Any song that someone writes about their mother has got to be, special. And this one is very spe ial. https://youtu.be/P_WbrccVeE8
I’ve spent a lot of time with this song and the magic side of it came out very strongly for me.
As she called out to the stars glistening on the ocean
Shine a light, shine a light on me
Hello Christy,
This morning I thought I’d put together a list of top 10 songs that you’ve sung and do a cou tdown on the guestbook.
Anyway, after about 5 minutes I had 30 and loads more jostling away, so I stopped.
So, in no sense of order at all here’s the first 3 https://youtu.be/tvECtlJQ4dU
This is such a great recording for me, the energy, balance and focused aggression are what drew me in.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Thankfully, the search continues….working on some verse….trying to apply limited chords to new tunes….
thinking too about tonight…
Thanks for listening
Hey up Christy, any idea when you’ll next be doon the gallowgate, we were meant to see ya in 2020 but the dreaded pandemic killed that off, any news, even a hint would put a big smile on my girlfriends face (mine too). P.s the podcast episode you uploaded was great and all the other stuff with ITMA and love and courage were great! Hope yer well, best regards from Stirling!
Christy's reply
If I ever cross the water again Mags McIvor’s will be top of the list…its almost 40 years since my first gig in Barrowland and over 3 years since my last…I think of it often….there is magic in the air up there beneath the carousel of healing ……lots of other elixirs, sweet fragrances, mad yokes, gentle listeners, rapscallions, beauty queens, plain clothes nuns, crowd control engineers, talent spotters,folkies,bookies, bowsies and reflexologists
Just setting off for Dublin with my husband – we’re really looking forward to Monday night’s gig (and I’m also coming in January, and then March at the NCH – I know they’ll all be different and all wonderful, like last year). See you in Vicar Street!
Cheers,
Anne
Christy's reply
I’ve not followed a set list since the last Planxty gig in London in 2005..I try and surprise myself at least once a night..keeps me on my toes even when I’m sitting down..on one occasion ( at The Hall in Lisdoonvarna) I did the same song twice…
Hello Christy,
That Rebel women album mentioned by Dave sounds like a cracker. There’s a piece of street art down one of the side streets in Temple Bar. Brightly coloured, strong female faces and in the middle it says “Caution Women at Work”. I have a photo of it on the wall in my work room.
There’s a new session started in Brighouse. It’s at the Crafty Fox, a new pub that’s being run by someone I used to work with and her husband, Michelle and Barry Veasey. I’m going to give it a go.
Just thinking about what you said about the conundrum of certain songs not getting any airtime. Don’t we have a couple of djs on the guestbook who both love the stuff you’re on about? Maybe they’d like to give them a whirl or several…?
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Attention ! Attention!
All roads lead to The Crafty Fox……
Support Your Local Session
The good folks at Claddagh Records have come up with another gem…just got the newsletter announcing the release of the Rebel Irishwomen album.
Featuring recollections and songs of the 1916 Rising… Maud Gonne, Helena Moloney, Kathleen Behan plus Landless and Niamh Bury reworking songs by Peader Kearney… A great L.P. cover too.
This weekend sees 40 years since the first gig by Nightshift duo (Fred and me) not sure we ‘ll do any more, but it was a hell of a ride and a good time to re watch the YouTube film for Christy (where we have 2 songs) masterminded by Rory and Pat. Happy days…
Hi Christy, You inspired me to write this little non-pc joke after I overdosed on the porridge! That “Gardener” song takes some sussing. Good one!
King Charles is visiting Broadmoor and he’s talking to one of the patients, who is busy gardening. Charles says “Oh, how wonderful. Your garden appears splendid. You must be highly intelligent, enlightened and gifted,. Well, I must push off but I promise to see you again next Friday.” Charles is walking up to his Limo when a brick hits him on his head, A voice calls out “Don’t forget next Friday, Guv!” Then, another brick hits the patient and Charles shouts “What was the day?”
Christy's reply
I’ve always considered Paul Doran’s “The Gardener” to be a great song….I’m still disappointed that it has made little or no impact….I consider Paul to be one of our very finest songwriters….insofar as I’m aware it has never garnered even one airplay….I’ve sent it to various gardening commentators where it seems to have fallen on fallow ground…. even Monty Don failed to note its beauty….perhaps I’ll try King Charles The Third.I’ll bow to any quarter if it would get Paul’s song up and running. (Paul also wrote the beautiful song “Greenland” …..and “Natives” which did gain some traction over 30 years ago)
I imagine Chuck may be immune to bricks by now…he came to a gig of mine once…a jolly good chap but a bit slow when it came to gettin his round,poor lad cant get his hand out of his pocket
A few baddies won’t ruin the game for the rest of us. In many poor neighborhoods around the world, plenty kids are out on the street happy as Larry playing a bit of footie. A tour bus driver in Edinburgh told me that he had gone over to Haiti to volunteer. He said one Sunday over there a lot of local people all ages who had nothing left had a big soccer game with some volunteers something like a 50 aside game, everyone who played forgot their problems and lots of laughter could be heard, that’s what its all about. Roy Keane was right recently, he said something like because there’s so much money involved, there’s going to be a few baddies.
Christy's reply
I agree with everything you say..but there are two different issues …
We’re not talking about “the game”
we’re on about the World Cup with all its cynicism , corruption, manslaughter and sportwashing……
I feel that” a few baddies” might be minimising whats going on in Qatar but thank you for your thoughts
If you took in ‘soccer’ and the general movement, it never had any time or tolerance of homosexuality. How many UK gay soccer players are we aware of? Answer: two. One is dead, I think he took his own life. One other. A lad ‘came out’ some time ago. I cant recall the man’s name. Lower divisions as far as I recall. All soccer’s bleating (holier than thou) about Qatar and its ban on LGBT+ folk. It sounds rather hollow to me.
My old footy club was Royal Park but quite a few of us Irish descendants preferred Bushy Park & the name stuck..
Club went bust during 1930s Depression & was revived afterwards by way of “Mud” Moore calling a meeting under a street light & raffling off his over-and-under shotgun
An opponent from Maryborough Rovers was “Ferocious” Melbourne & “Cattletruck” Burkett played for Carisbrook, as did “Bike Chain” O’Shea.
All real people, all real names.
And two brothers who were Train Guards at Warragul were the Dunne brothers – “Over” Dunne & “Under” Dunne.
The old Aussie nickname have disappeared for a variety of reasons- some understandable, some overkill.
Don’t tell anyone but I was a hopeless footballer ha ha
Good to reminisce
Take care you mob
Daniel Joseph Francis Harris
Not quite ready for Ga Ga Land just yet
Christy's reply
Well done said auld Dunne when all the young Dunnes were done dancin !
tell you the truth Danny I was not a great player myself but I loved pullin on the jersey and givin it a go…
Good to see three ‘minnows’ manage to make it out from the group stages, the ‘socceroos’, Japan and Morocco. That’s the beauty of the game that money hasnt quite succeeded in destroying; just yet. It still has the ability to surprise.
Christy's reply
Oil,Infantino,Beckham, Blatter,Platini,Warner, Delaney,Adidas,Visa,Coca-Cola,Budweiser,Violence against Women,Slavery,Homophobia,Oil…….lets put a tune to it
Fair call Christy: I believe all “big” sports have been chiselled square to fit on TV screens – including rules broken/changed/waived to enable “a word from our sponsor”…
My passion for my black with red sash Essendon Bombers is just that – I just love the club & always have…
The game of Australian Rules Football is now keeping’s off & you’d swear there’s an offside rule the way the players fart around kicking backwards instead of just bloody well attacking
But still…when I attend a match in person, when MY boys run out on the ground, the hair still stands up on my neck, my heart fills with pride & there’s a lump in my throat
A few beers settles things down, I find…
Anyway, for a “soccer” minnow like Oz to knock off a seasoned European or South American team is a significant accomplishment, even if the game is a pale imitation of yesterday
Glad you’re kicking’ arse & takin’ names on stage CM – after every show, hitch the room to your back & carry home the booty
Muchos goodest regards
Harris, D.J. the First
Christy's reply
You bring me back to Moorefield winning our first Kildare Senior Championship…how our heroes shone that year…5 years earlier Kildare won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1956…the last match I attended with my Father….
an innocent time..not even jerseys were sponsored..back then Moorefield had no training facilities…we used the “Irish Ropes”factory field out at Ryston…the Moorefield Club “House” consisted of a Snooker Table and a smoke filled card room next door to our home in Moorefield Terrace..in reality,Neesons Pub was the “clubhouse”…we cycled to matches and “togged”off by the ditch….our star players were Paddy Moore, Toss McCarthy, Harry Fay, James “Ba” Dowling,Jim McDermott Doggie Anderson,Jimmy (Mull) Cummins, Frank “Fido” White,Johnny “THe Fisheman”Gibson, Michael “Skinner”Behan, Dinny Craddock and others whom I’ll recall when I find the photo….I’ll have to pull up here, the porridge is bubbling on the stove and a cow to be milked
Hello Christy,
The same song twice – a bonus for the listeners! Your approach of not having a set list works so well, lends to the immediacy, fits each occasion…, thank you. PS. The Planxty gig at the Barbican in 2005 was beautiful.
Anne
Our Final Curtain Call…..I’m going to listen to Liam Óg now
PaulaMc. He sounded to be a great guy. Found more than a few tributes online. Liked his music and theatre. Was at the battlefront in Liverpool Docks too.
RIP Ken. He’ll be remembered fondly by you all.
always good to hear from the Middle of The Island…I picture the River ,The Bridge, Irishtown, The Dean Crowe, The Friary Walk, Peter Molloy’s, The Shamrock Lodge, all change for Ballyhaunis
Dear Christy,
A group of us from around Europe, Canada and Ireland will gather at your concert in Vicar Street on Monday night to remember our very close friend Ken Forsyth (Liverpool Ken). Ken was a retired docker – a dedicated shop steward who fought the good fight for the dockers of Liverpool and elsewhere. He was a passionate lover of music and theatre. He was one of your biggest and most loyal fans, following you from Barrowlands to Bangor and across the Irish sea from Vicar Street to Sligo and everywhere in between. Ken always sat front row centre at the gigs. His absolute favourite song and the one that always brought him to tears is Nancy Spain. Ken will be with you and us in spirit tomorrow night.
“Sail on, sail on Kenny, Sail on Kenny boy”.
Thanks Christy.
PaulaMc
Thank You Paula…Let us remember
Good evening Christy,
A beautiful song by Johnny Duhan, performed magically by you is now known the world over.
It is possibly your most requested song , or at least the guestbook seems to show that.
Er indoors had never heard of you before we got together 4 years ago, and yet she chose it to walk down the aisle to.
Her latest suggestion was that we both got tattoos of the lines ‘ i am a sailor, and you’re my first mate’ , so we just did and it adds to my several indellibly scribed lyrics.
So the question is, how and when did you come by The Voyage , a song that means so much to so many?
Cheers
Rory
I first heard Johnny Duhan when he fronted a great band called Granny’s Intentions
years later I recorded his “El Salvador” on the “Ride On’ album….sometime afterwards he visited and played “The Voyage” to me… it has been with me ever since..another of Johnny’s songs “100 Miles from Home” is included in the “Box Set 1964-2004” (red disc)
Christy a facinating subject, mothers and the influence they have, particullary on their sons and shaping their personalities. I know from posts you have made here what a guiding influence your own mother had on you. When you look at Lennon & McCartney and then listen to the two songs they wrote about their own mothers (Let It Be & Mother) even without knowing their family history its obvious from their contrasting personalities who wrote which song..
I’ll tell me Ma when I get Home
Any song that someone writes about their mother has got to be, special. And this one is very spe ial.
https://youtu.be/P_WbrccVeE8
I’ve spent a lot of time with this song and the magic side of it came out very strongly for me.
As she called out to the stars glistening on the ocean
Shine a light, shine a light on me
It talks something deep inside me.
you honour the songs..thank you
The gentle understanding caught me in this one. No shying away either
https://youtu.be/yRE8WbeKvuQ
I love to sing it
another Gem from Jimmy MacCarthy
Hello Christy,
This morning I thought I’d put together a list of top 10 songs that you’ve sung and do a cou tdown on the guestbook.
Anyway, after about 5 minutes I had 30 and loads more jostling away, so I stopped.
So, in no sense of order at all here’s the first 3
https://youtu.be/tvECtlJQ4dU
This is such a great recording for me, the energy, balance and focused aggression are what drew me in.
Rebecca
Thankfully, the search continues….working on some verse….trying to apply limited chords to new tunes….
thinking too about tonight…
Thanks for listening
Hey up Christy, any idea when you’ll next be doon the gallowgate, we were meant to see ya in 2020 but the dreaded pandemic killed that off, any news, even a hint would put a big smile on my girlfriends face (mine too). P.s the podcast episode you uploaded was great and all the other stuff with ITMA and love and courage were great! Hope yer well, best regards from Stirling!
If I ever cross the water again Mags McIvor’s will be top of the list…its almost 40 years since my first gig in Barrowland and over 3 years since my last…I think of it often….there is magic in the air up there beneath the carousel of healing ……lots of other elixirs, sweet fragrances, mad yokes, gentle listeners, rapscallions, beauty queens, plain clothes nuns, crowd control engineers, talent spotters,folkies,bookies, bowsies and reflexologists
Hi Christy,
Just setting off for Dublin with my husband – we’re really looking forward to Monday night’s gig (and I’m also coming in January, and then March at the NCH – I know they’ll all be different and all wonderful, like last year). See you in Vicar Street!
Cheers,
Anne
I’ve not followed a set list since the last Planxty gig in London in 2005..I try and surprise myself at least once a night..keeps me on my toes even when I’m sitting down..on one occasion ( at The Hall in Lisdoonvarna) I did the same song twice…
Sorry, that should say “Caution!….”
Hello Christy,
That Rebel women album mentioned by Dave sounds like a cracker. There’s a piece of street art down one of the side streets in Temple Bar. Brightly coloured, strong female faces and in the middle it says “Caution Women at Work”. I have a photo of it on the wall in my work room.
There’s a new session started in Brighouse. It’s at the Crafty Fox, a new pub that’s being run by someone I used to work with and her husband, Michelle and Barry Veasey. I’m going to give it a go.
Just thinking about what you said about the conundrum of certain songs not getting any airtime. Don’t we have a couple of djs on the guestbook who both love the stuff you’re on about? Maybe they’d like to give them a whirl or several…?
Rebecca
Attention ! Attention!
All roads lead to The Crafty Fox……
Support Your Local Session
Hi Christy/all
The good folks at Claddagh Records have come up with another gem…just got the newsletter announcing the release of the Rebel Irishwomen album.
Featuring recollections and songs of the 1916 Rising… Maud Gonne, Helena Moloney, Kathleen Behan plus Landless and Niamh Bury reworking songs by Peader Kearney… A great L.P. cover too.
This weekend sees 40 years since the first gig by Nightshift duo (Fred and me) not sure we ‘ll do any more, but it was a hell of a ride and a good time to re watch the YouTube film for Christy (where we have 2 songs) masterminded by Rory and Pat. Happy days…
Good to see a brighter sky today…Keep warm all.
Dave
Claddagh are playing a stormer here…
Hi Christy, You inspired me to write this little non-pc joke after I overdosed on the porridge! That “Gardener” song takes some sussing. Good one!
King Charles is visiting Broadmoor and he’s talking to one of the patients, who is busy gardening. Charles says “Oh, how wonderful. Your garden appears splendid. You must be highly intelligent, enlightened and gifted,. Well, I must push off but I promise to see you again next Friday.” Charles is walking up to his Limo when a brick hits him on his head, A voice calls out “Don’t forget next Friday, Guv!” Then, another brick hits the patient and Charles shouts “What was the day?”
I’ve always considered Paul Doran’s “The Gardener” to be a great song….I’m still disappointed that it has made little or no impact….I consider Paul to be one of our very finest songwriters….insofar as I’m aware it has never garnered even one airplay….I’ve sent it to various gardening commentators where it seems to have fallen on fallow ground…. even Monty Don failed to note its beauty….perhaps I’ll try King Charles The Third.I’ll bow to any quarter if it would get Paul’s song up and running. (Paul also wrote the beautiful song “Greenland” …..and “Natives” which did gain some traction over 30 years ago)
I imagine Chuck may be immune to bricks by now…he came to a gig of mine once…a jolly good chap but a bit slow when it came to gettin his round,poor lad cant get his hand out of his pocket
A few baddies won’t ruin the game for the rest of us. In many poor neighborhoods around the world, plenty kids are out on the street happy as Larry playing a bit of footie. A tour bus driver in Edinburgh told me that he had gone over to Haiti to volunteer. He said one Sunday over there a lot of local people all ages who had nothing left had a big soccer game with some volunteers something like a 50 aside game, everyone who played forgot their problems and lots of laughter could be heard, that’s what its all about. Roy Keane was right recently, he said something like because there’s so much money involved, there’s going to be a few baddies.
I agree with everything you say..but there are two different issues …
We’re not talking about “the game”
we’re on about the World Cup with all its cynicism , corruption, manslaughter and sportwashing……
I feel that” a few baddies” might be minimising whats going on in Qatar but thank you for your thoughts
Hello Christy,
Here’s a play list from ITMA to celebrate International Piping Day 2022.
https://www.itma.ie/features/playlists/iupd-2022-playlist
Love to all on the guestbook.
Rebecca
thats more like it
fair play to you
If you took in ‘soccer’ and the general movement, it never had any time or tolerance of homosexuality. How many UK gay soccer players are we aware of? Answer: two. One is dead, I think he took his own life. One other. A lad ‘came out’ some time ago. I cant recall the man’s name. Lower divisions as far as I recall. All soccer’s bleating (holier than thou) about Qatar and its ban on LGBT+ folk. It sounds rather hollow to me.
Ha ha Christy:
My old footy club was Royal Park but quite a few of us Irish descendants preferred Bushy Park & the name stuck..
Club went bust during 1930s Depression & was revived afterwards by way of “Mud” Moore calling a meeting under a street light & raffling off his over-and-under shotgun
An opponent from Maryborough Rovers was “Ferocious” Melbourne & “Cattletruck” Burkett played for Carisbrook, as did “Bike Chain” O’Shea.
All real people, all real names.
And two brothers who were Train Guards at Warragul were the Dunne brothers – “Over” Dunne & “Under” Dunne.
The old Aussie nickname have disappeared for a variety of reasons- some understandable, some overkill.
Don’t tell anyone but I was a hopeless footballer ha ha
Good to reminisce
Take care you mob
Daniel Joseph Francis Harris
Not quite ready for Ga Ga Land just yet
Well done said auld Dunne when all the young Dunnes were done dancin !
tell you the truth Danny I was not a great player myself but I loved pullin on the jersey and givin it a go…
Good to see three ‘minnows’ manage to make it out from the group stages, the ‘socceroos’, Japan and Morocco. That’s the beauty of the game that money hasnt quite succeeded in destroying; just yet. It still has the ability to surprise.
Oil,Infantino,Beckham, Blatter,Platini,Warner, Delaney,Adidas,Visa,Coca-Cola,Budweiser,Violence against Women,Slavery,Homophobia,Oil…….lets put a tune to it
Fair call Christy: I believe all “big” sports have been chiselled square to fit on TV screens – including rules broken/changed/waived to enable “a word from our sponsor”…
My passion for my black with red sash Essendon Bombers is just that – I just love the club & always have…
The game of Australian Rules Football is now keeping’s off & you’d swear there’s an offside rule the way the players fart around kicking backwards instead of just bloody well attacking
But still…when I attend a match in person, when MY boys run out on the ground, the hair still stands up on my neck, my heart fills with pride & there’s a lump in my throat
A few beers settles things down, I find…
Anyway, for a “soccer” minnow like Oz to knock off a seasoned European or South American team is a significant accomplishment, even if the game is a pale imitation of yesterday
Glad you’re kicking’ arse & takin’ names on stage CM – after every show, hitch the room to your back & carry home the booty
Muchos goodest regards
Harris, D.J. the First
You bring me back to Moorefield winning our first Kildare Senior Championship…how our heroes shone that year…5 years earlier Kildare won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1956…the last match I attended with my Father….
an innocent time..not even jerseys were sponsored..back then Moorefield had no training facilities…we used the “Irish Ropes”factory field out at Ryston…the Moorefield Club “House” consisted of a Snooker Table and a smoke filled card room next door to our home in Moorefield Terrace..in reality,Neesons Pub was the “clubhouse”…we cycled to matches and “togged”off by the ditch….our star players were Paddy Moore, Toss McCarthy, Harry Fay, James “Ba” Dowling,Jim McDermott Doggie Anderson,Jimmy (Mull) Cummins, Frank “Fido” White,Johnny “THe Fisheman”Gibson, Michael “Skinner”Behan, Dinny Craddock and others whom I’ll recall when I find the photo….I’ll have to pull up here, the porridge is bubbling on the stove and a cow to be milked