Hello Christy and All,
There are a lot of videos on YouTube of Martin Leahy’s Everyone should have a home.
Here’s one of the earliest ones https://youtu.be/34kW96MG7Bc
Interesting Lineage on the Crean Family tree…. lots of distant cousins there for sure…. made me wonder if the Scanlan clan would share the same DNA , for I’ve heard it said that some of them were mad for road ….. and even in more modern times were seen ” tearing up the dual carriageway….”.
Hi Christy,
What a wonderful gesture to have Martin coming in to sing his song in HQ on Monday night. You never miss an opportunity to help those who need a leg up.
Just wondering will the “Big Marquee” make an appearance….it will be interesting to see how our Capital Brethren will take to it.
Ride on.
Patsy
Christy's reply
Thanks Patsy…I’m looking forward to hearing Martin Leahy perform “Everyone should have a Home”. his weekly performance outside The Dáil has been running for 16 months now, it can be viewed here;
youtube martin leahy everyone should have a home….. ( I don’t know how to post links ! merde alors,shite and onions)
I’m gonna give “The Big Marquee” a run out on Monday night….if it travels half as far and wide as “Lisdoonvarna”, I’ll be tickled pink…when I first sang Lisdoon at the North Clare Festival back in 1978 I assumed it would be a one off performance..little did I know what lay head`
Hello Christy,
I hope it goes well at your gig on Monday and brings lots of publicity and money, to help people who experience homelessness, and Focus Ireland in particular. And my very best wishes to Martin Leahy as he joins you to sing his song. It’s a fine, tenacious thing he’s doing.
My wife and I are visiting Ireland again this September. We’ve seen you in Galway (2007), Dublin (2012), and Wexford (2022). We would love to get tickets for your Leisureland show on September 9 but they appear to be sold out. Any recommendations?
Christy's reply
I’ve passed your query on to the logistics section….my dealings are limited to the ballad section of this operation
Last night I was on one of those deep dives of Wikipedia and Youtube (the only good thing to come from those). I stumbled upon a few things surrounding the area just below Tralee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Crean_(explorer)
The long straight road of Annascaul
The shoulder of Cnoc Bréanainn
Kruger’s Bar being the most westerly pub in Europe
and finally thinking of the Rose of Tralee.
I hope you’ve sang a few songs down that way or sat in Krugers for a wee while.
Cheers, Charlie
Christy's reply
there was a going away party for St Brendan before he set sail in 501AD..that same night he met up with Nora Bean Phaidín ní Mhicilín ní Crean from Annascaul….Brendy set sail the following morning but, 3 months later, twas noticed that Nóra began to lose her bloom,that her eyes began to swoon…. a boy child was born and grew up to be a healthy lad …..she christened him Tomás Breandán MacCrean…..I heard it said in Kruger’s one night that the mighty explorer Tom Crean inherited the travelling urge for his 28 times great Grandfather St Brendan….I might add that this makes him a distant cousin of Ernest Shackleton, Paidí O Shea, Steve Cooney, Dolly Parton,Dick Spring, Michael Realy-Hay, Sister Stan and myself..praise be to god
Great reports coming through from your show near “Tesco” in Drogheda on Wednesday night ,, the highlights too numerous to mention,, but ones all agreed on were Spancihill /Beeswing/Yellow Furze Woman and very special thanks for remembering and dedication to The “Honda Fifty Man” , Great time was had by all , until the next time , maybe down river !!👍
Christy's reply
Is that yourself ?
theres no doubt about it but we had a great night…such a gaggle of Balladeers and Shelmaliers converged upon the T.L.T from every direction…long haul lovers from Nelson in NZ, (nee)Dohertys from Maroubra NSW , McNamaras from Nashville Tennessee (via Newry who also sang in the Green Room), Four Voss-in-Doolins from the Rhine, Finn Cullen from Stackallen,Kevin from Cavan, a Busload of Brennans from Beauparc,Senchelstown, The Cotton Mills and Ardmulchan, The Rose of Tralee….and that was just the front row….It felt as if I knew the whole room……and its a beautiful room…perfect acoustics….great stage….Tom Leddy knows the sound of music and how it should be presented….I’ve always loved playing in Droichead Átha…..
hard to believe that its 30 years since we planted a tree in Yellow Furze…I often wonder did it take root….
Hello Christy,
I guess I’m in a minority, maybe even here, but I really like making lists of songs. Set lists, I love them. And then having enough songs to go off piste and follow the energy. Learnt that from you. Lovely!
Making a list of songs is my job for the day. You know, apart from all the other things, practice, listening. They’re not really a job though, are they. Still get nerves about practising, even tuning… The day after a really good day… It’s a good thing that artists are meant to be nuts.
Bonjour Christy,
Thanks to the lads for the local music festival suggestion, sadly i won’t catch it….maybe next year.
About to treck off for the morning croissants , past caravans full of holiday makers from monaghan, dub, laois, cork, wicklow, galway , kerry and even donegal. Don’t worry i have not been conducting a house to house search, but the GAA tops and car plates give it away, so i shall put the headphones on and jog down the road to the dulcit tones of yourself, the 3 lads and backing vocalists from all of those counties as ON THE ROAD plays for me.
Tis such a great album, maybe even Joe Brolly came round to liking it.
Rory
Christy's reply
I hope to sit down with Joe Brolly in the near future…to chew the fat and get to the bottom of it all
What a great gig last night, Christy – unusual venue, but the energy was flowing. Thank you for „letting it all out“ (as we‘d put it in German). We had a good chat with Hilary after the show, discussing „classics“ and rare gems old and new in the set… Bord Na Mona Man – what a surprise to hear it live! Beeswing and MacIlhatton were standing out and do still resound… as are The Voyage and Ordinary Man. Snowflakes hitting the point: Hatred is not an „opinion“, nor a matter of „free speech“! Please keep singing Martin Leahy’s song. Wonderful final with Spancil Hill – never heard of the background of this fine ballad, thanks for sharing. (And seldom Joxer went to Stuttgart so lively as in yesterday‘s encore 😅).
All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the night.
Dietmar, Christina, Peter & Petra
Christy's reply
Thanks Dietmar…its always upifting to recieve such forensic feedback…..Bórd na Móna man had disappeared from the set completely until Drogheda…he/she/it/they have/has returned in all their divine glory !!!…. McIlhatton became a different song too…I found a different atmosphere emerging, I hope I can maintain that new feeling to the song…
Michael McIlhatton wore many hats..according to all accounts he played Fiddle, Farmed and undertook undertaker’s duties…on top of this he distilled a pure drop of Poitín…
Rumour has it that the ilicit nectar was betimes transported from glen to glen in a coffined hearse…
PS you are spot on about Wednesday’s Joxer…I set off at an awful speed…as I sped thru the first verse I thought I’d blown it…but things settled down ..by the time I got to Stuttgart I was up to speed and enjoying the trip
Ed, Rory would need to stay a bit longer to catch the interceltique in Lorient, it usually takes place first two weeks in August. But if he did he would catch a great festival featuring this year among many others Altan, Clannad and Andy Irvine!
I was lucky to be there a few times early 80s, and got great performances, mainly outdoors, from Alan Stivell, and the premiere of Shaun Davey’s The Brendan Voyage, with full orchestra and the beautiful Liam Óg on uilleann pipes playing solo. What a fantastic sound he produced, in front of the huge orchestra. The pipes carried beautifully through the still air. In those days the seven Celtic groups, including Cornwall and Galicia were represented.
Christy's reply
I think I’m remembering a Planxty visit to an early Lorient Festival…circa 1973…Planxty were a 5 piece band at the time,Johnny Moynihan was joining, Donal Lunny was leaving to join a band with Sean Davey *….it was a gradual change over…(* this band was called Bugle…it was a decade earlier than Sean’s “Brendan Voyage”)
Liam’s playing in front of Sean Davey’s “Brendan Voyage” was simply spectacular….In retrospect,I missed that boat. I did not realise at the time the enormity of the undertaking, the wonder and majesty of what Sean and Liam were undertaking and achieving…but its there now for all to hear and see…
Planxty underwent a similar crossover period a year later when Paul Brady joined the Band and I returned to solo work….there was a 6 week period in 1974 when we played as a 5 piece at the Edinburgh Festival…we produced the music for “The Fantastical Feats of Finn MacCool”….that was a wild and wonderful time…. the music from that show was recorded by Nicky Ryan..the tapes lie somewhere unknown gathering dust..we’ve never been able to hear them…perhaps they will emerge when we’ve all gone to Glasneaven
Da Ar Bras: there’s a name from the past. When that ensemble plugged in and got going, jayney, there was music. Lots of it on You Tube happily to note.
(Where does the time go to?)
Christy's reply
They were on the go same time as early Planxty (’72-’74)…we played Cambridge with them…Rene Werner joined us on stage….Dan Ar Bras played here subsequently with his own band..heard them in The National Stadium..back when the Boxing Arena was Ireland’s Premier Music Venue….all the ushers had flat noses
Great set of songs last night, loved Bord na Móna man and McIlhatton. Strange location alright, they were eatin’ Cornetto’s and popcorn like no man’s business above on the balcony.
Christy's reply
gotta say Kevin..its a cracking venue….
McIlhatton took on a new atmosphere last night..dont know what happened..it just came out that way..hope I can find that vibe again
BNM Man reappeared last night..only gigged it once before and it disappeared up the chimney in a cloud of smoke…but last nights response brings it back into focus..I was very happy with the way it went ….its been kicking about for about 25 years in different guises…
Hello Christy,
Well then, I need to have a listen to Alan Stivell. I work with a woman called Fiona. She once heard him in a pub in Camden where she was working behind the bar. She said they all stopped serving during his playing so there was complete silence to listen to him.
My brother Matthew has decided to teach me how to listen to jazz. I think he might be flogging a dead horse. He keeps sending me recordings. It’s lovely of him to try, but I need to focus my listening on folk music. So for every jazz recording he sends me, he’s getting a great folk recording back. I’m going to send him Bright Blue Rose today.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
like everything else..theres good jazz and other jazz…
Rory. Will ya make that Inter Celtic (cant just fecall its name) Festival in Brittany? Great festival. Tg4 have covered it. You cant mention Brittany without invoking the name of the great Alan Stivell.
Christy's reply
when he plugged in that harp there was no stoppin him
Dan ar Bras and Rene Werner were well in the mix too
all those years ago
where did the time go
Hi C. There is no denying that I probably spend too much time online !! I came across your tribute to Gary Moore recently from your Chat of Feb 2011, as you are now singing Johnny Boy, paired beautifully with Ride On, maybe no harm to reproduce it here ? “Sunday February 6th 2011
Sad news about the passing of Gary Moore. I met him a few times over 40 years, most memorably at a Planxty gig in London 1973. Nicky Ryan invited him along to hear the band and we hooked up after the show for a long night of capers and tunes. Last heard him play when he came over from London to pay tribute to Jimmy Faulkner at the Olympia Theatre Dublin in 2009.There are some great shots from that night in the Gallery. He played his heart out for Jimmy that night. I loved to hear him play. He got big round beautiful sounds from his guitars; he played with emotion, style, attitude an tons of ability. He was very much a front man. I did not know him well nor am I overly familiar with his repertoire but I loved to watch him and listen to him. ” Gone with Stevie Ray and Jessie Ed Davis, died too young and too premature, another Rock and Roller gone but not forgotten, gone to jam with Rory in the blues” (Nigel Rolfe). Rest in Peace Gary Moore. ” I don’t suppose you will wear a Dickie Bow tie tonight to match the sartorially smart security staff in the TLT ?? Safe travelling all. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
it was fairly hoppin in The Wee last night
they came from NZ, Oz, Nashville, Deutchland, Tralee, Yellow Furze, Stackallen and God Knows Where…
we gathered on the green grassy slopes of The Boyne
we gave it the two barrels and took no prisoners
fair play to you
Looking forward to the spin to Drogheda later.. will go via Slane now that the Harry Styles traffic has settled..He wore a chest open green glitter jacket on stage, in case you need an alternative for the t-léine dubh..
Christy's reply
I enjoyed myself in Drogheda last night
great gig room
I love the strangeness of the location too
Hi Christy,
Your early years and those of Planxty and Moving Hearts must have been the best of times. Until the grey men in their grey suits came around with their promises of paradise.
(Provided you sign this contract obliging you to record an album
that you will promote to within an inch of your life and then embark on a 250 date world tour. )
Not many come through that unbroken. And how do paradise ?
Who knew that …
One winters night in London
Up around Willsden junction
Oh my heart it filled with joy
‘Twas the night that Maggie Barry
She called me up to sing The Wild Colonial Boy
would turn into a 57 year season
with different circumstances along the way.
Tabhair Aire
Bourkey
Christy's reply
The best of times most of the time
(but sometimes the worst of times)
but they were’nt all grey men
some of them true visionaries
some had a weakness for the tunes
I’m thinkin of Bill Leader who took a chance
came to KIldare in 1971 and recorded the Prosperous album
I’m thinkin of Des Kelly,
he pushed out the Planxty boat
and sailed with us across The Lakes of Pontchartrain,
and Clive Hudson
who got our Hearts Moving back in 1981 when no Irish label would give us a listen
sure Bourkey..
theres always sharks and pirhanas lurking in the deep
they’re still there too
but as we get older its easier to spot the hungry heads on them
Hello Christy and All,
There are a lot of videos on YouTube of Martin Leahy’s Everyone should have a home.
Here’s one of the earliest ones
https://youtu.be/34kW96MG7Bc
Rebecca
Lets Hear It For Martin Leahy
Interesting Lineage on the Crean Family tree…. lots of distant cousins there for sure…. made me wonder if the Scanlan clan would share the same DNA , for I’ve heard it said that some of them were mad for road ….. and even in more modern times were seen ” tearing up the dual carriageway….”.
Liam Óg was 50% Crean
Hi Christy,
What a wonderful gesture to have Martin coming in to sing his song in HQ on Monday night. You never miss an opportunity to help those who need a leg up.
Just wondering will the “Big Marquee” make an appearance….it will be interesting to see how our Capital Brethren will take to it.
Ride on.
Patsy
Thanks Patsy…I’m looking forward to hearing Martin Leahy perform “Everyone should have a Home”. his weekly performance outside The Dáil has been running for 16 months now, it can be viewed here;
youtube martin leahy everyone should have a home….. ( I don’t know how to post links ! merde alors,shite and onions)
I’m gonna give “The Big Marquee” a run out on Monday night….if it travels half as far and wide as “Lisdoonvarna”, I’ll be tickled pink…when I first sang Lisdoon at the North Clare Festival back in 1978 I assumed it would be a one off performance..little did I know what lay head`
Hello Christy,
I hope it goes well at your gig on Monday and brings lots of publicity and money, to help people who experience homelessness, and Focus Ireland in particular. And my very best wishes to Martin Leahy as he joins you to sing his song. It’s a fine, tenacious thing he’s doing.
Something different. It touched my heart this morning.
https://youtu.be/KdzwdcNBGFI
Rebecca
I always enjoy returning to Vicar St
My wife and I are visiting Ireland again this September. We’ve seen you in Galway (2007), Dublin (2012), and Wexford (2022). We would love to get tickets for your Leisureland show on September 9 but they appear to be sold out. Any recommendations?
I’ve passed your query on to the logistics section….my dealings are limited to the ballad section of this operation
Good morning Christy, hope all is well with you.
Last night I was on one of those deep dives of Wikipedia and Youtube (the only good thing to come from those). I stumbled upon a few things surrounding the area just below Tralee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Crean_(explorer)
The long straight road of Annascaul
The shoulder of Cnoc Bréanainn
Kruger’s Bar being the most westerly pub in Europe
and finally thinking of the Rose of Tralee.
I hope you’ve sang a few songs down that way or sat in Krugers for a wee while.
Cheers, Charlie
there was a going away party for St Brendan before he set sail in 501AD..that same night he met up with Nora Bean Phaidín ní Mhicilín ní Crean from Annascaul….Brendy set sail the following morning but, 3 months later, twas noticed that Nóra began to lose her bloom,that her eyes began to swoon…. a boy child was born and grew up to be a healthy lad …..she christened him Tomás Breandán MacCrean…..I heard it said in Kruger’s one night that the mighty explorer Tom Crean inherited the travelling urge for his 28 times great Grandfather St Brendan….I might add that this makes him a distant cousin of Ernest Shackleton, Paidí O Shea, Steve Cooney, Dolly Parton,Dick Spring, Michael Realy-Hay, Sister Stan and myself..praise be to god
Great reports coming through from your show near “Tesco” in Drogheda on Wednesday night ,, the highlights too numerous to mention,, but ones all agreed on were Spancihill /Beeswing/Yellow Furze Woman and very special thanks for remembering and dedication to The “Honda Fifty Man” , Great time was had by all , until the next time , maybe down river !!👍
Is that yourself ?
theres no doubt about it but we had a great night…such a gaggle of Balladeers and Shelmaliers converged upon the T.L.T from every direction…long haul lovers from Nelson in NZ, (nee)Dohertys from Maroubra NSW , McNamaras from Nashville Tennessee (via Newry who also sang in the Green Room), Four Voss-in-Doolins from the Rhine, Finn Cullen from Stackallen,Kevin from Cavan, a Busload of Brennans from Beauparc,Senchelstown, The Cotton Mills and Ardmulchan, The Rose of Tralee….and that was just the front row….It felt as if I knew the whole room……and its a beautiful room…perfect acoustics….great stage….Tom Leddy knows the sound of music and how it should be presented….I’ve always loved playing in Droichead Átha…..
hard to believe that its 30 years since we planted a tree in Yellow Furze…I often wonder did it take root….
https://youtu.be/dH-t9wjsu1g
This is 1974. A five-man group. Recorded in ‘Edinburgh’ perhaps.
Enjoy!
never saw this before…no recollection of when or where…Edinburgh perhaps..thanks for posting
Planxty.
I’ve come across this.
Hello Christy,
I guess I’m in a minority, maybe even here, but I really like making lists of songs. Set lists, I love them. And then having enough songs to go off piste and follow the energy. Learnt that from you. Lovely!
Making a list of songs is my job for the day. You know, apart from all the other things, practice, listening. They’re not really a job though, are they. Still get nerves about practising, even tuning… The day after a really good day… It’s a good thing that artists are meant to be nuts.
Here’s a real hero doing his thing.
https://twitter.com/MerylStreek/status/1676924995568652288?s=20
That link looks weird. I hope it’s right.
Rebecca
Martin is coming to Vicar St on Monday to sing this song
Bonjour Christy,
Thanks to the lads for the local music festival suggestion, sadly i won’t catch it….maybe next year.
About to treck off for the morning croissants , past caravans full of holiday makers from monaghan, dub, laois, cork, wicklow, galway , kerry and even donegal. Don’t worry i have not been conducting a house to house search, but the GAA tops and car plates give it away, so i shall put the headphones on and jog down the road to the dulcit tones of yourself, the 3 lads and backing vocalists from all of those counties as ON THE ROAD plays for me.
Tis such a great album, maybe even Joe Brolly came round to liking it.
Rory
I hope to sit down with Joe Brolly in the near future…to chew the fat and get to the bottom of it all
What a great gig last night, Christy – unusual venue, but the energy was flowing. Thank you for „letting it all out“ (as we‘d put it in German). We had a good chat with Hilary after the show, discussing „classics“ and rare gems old and new in the set… Bord Na Mona Man – what a surprise to hear it live! Beeswing and MacIlhatton were standing out and do still resound… as are The Voyage and Ordinary Man. Snowflakes hitting the point: Hatred is not an „opinion“, nor a matter of „free speech“! Please keep singing Martin Leahy’s song. Wonderful final with Spancil Hill – never heard of the background of this fine ballad, thanks for sharing. (And seldom Joxer went to Stuttgart so lively as in yesterday‘s encore 😅).
All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the night.
Dietmar, Christina, Peter & Petra
Thanks Dietmar…its always upifting to recieve such forensic feedback…..Bórd na Móna man had disappeared from the set completely until Drogheda…he/she/it/they have/has returned in all their divine glory !!!…. McIlhatton became a different song too…I found a different atmosphere emerging, I hope I can maintain that new feeling to the song…
Michael McIlhatton wore many hats..according to all accounts he played Fiddle, Farmed and undertook undertaker’s duties…on top of this he distilled a pure drop of Poitín…
Rumour has it that the ilicit nectar was betimes transported from glen to glen in a coffined hearse…
PS you are spot on about Wednesday’s Joxer…I set off at an awful speed…as I sped thru the first verse I thought I’d blown it…but things settled down ..by the time I got to Stuttgart I was up to speed and enjoying the trip
Ed, Rory would need to stay a bit longer to catch the interceltique in Lorient, it usually takes place first two weeks in August. But if he did he would catch a great festival featuring this year among many others Altan, Clannad and Andy Irvine!
I was lucky to be there a few times early 80s, and got great performances, mainly outdoors, from Alan Stivell, and the premiere of Shaun Davey’s The Brendan Voyage, with full orchestra and the beautiful Liam Óg on uilleann pipes playing solo. What a fantastic sound he produced, in front of the huge orchestra. The pipes carried beautifully through the still air. In those days the seven Celtic groups, including Cornwall and Galicia were represented.
I think I’m remembering a Planxty visit to an early Lorient Festival…circa 1973…Planxty were a 5 piece band at the time,Johnny Moynihan was joining, Donal Lunny was leaving to join a band with Sean Davey *….it was a gradual change over…(* this band was called Bugle…it was a decade earlier than Sean’s “Brendan Voyage”)
Liam’s playing in front of Sean Davey’s “Brendan Voyage” was simply spectacular….In retrospect,I missed that boat. I did not realise at the time the enormity of the undertaking, the wonder and majesty of what Sean and Liam were undertaking and achieving…but its there now for all to hear and see…
Planxty underwent a similar crossover period a year later when Paul Brady joined the Band and I returned to solo work….there was a 6 week period in 1974 when we played as a 5 piece at the Edinburgh Festival…we produced the music for “The Fantastical Feats of Finn MacCool”….that was a wild and wonderful time…. the music from that show was recorded by Nicky Ryan..the tapes lie somewhere unknown gathering dust..we’ve never been able to hear them…perhaps they will emerge when we’ve all gone to Glasneaven
Da Ar Bras: there’s a name from the past. When that ensemble plugged in and got going, jayney, there was music. Lots of it on You Tube happily to note.
(Where does the time go to?)
They were on the go same time as early Planxty (’72-’74)…we played Cambridge with them…Rene Werner joined us on stage….Dan Ar Bras played here subsequently with his own band..heard them in The National Stadium..back when the Boxing Arena was Ireland’s Premier Music Venue….all the ushers had flat noses
Great set of songs last night, loved Bord na Móna man and McIlhatton. Strange location alright, they were eatin’ Cornetto’s and popcorn like no man’s business above on the balcony.
gotta say Kevin..its a cracking venue….
McIlhatton took on a new atmosphere last night..dont know what happened..it just came out that way..hope I can find that vibe again
BNM Man reappeared last night..only gigged it once before and it disappeared up the chimney in a cloud of smoke…but last nights response brings it back into focus..I was very happy with the way it went ….its been kicking about for about 25 years in different guises…
Hello Christy,
Well then, I need to have a listen to Alan Stivell. I work with a woman called Fiona. She once heard him in a pub in Camden where she was working behind the bar. She said they all stopped serving during his playing so there was complete silence to listen to him.
My brother Matthew has decided to teach me how to listen to jazz. I think he might be flogging a dead horse. He keeps sending me recordings. It’s lovely of him to try, but I need to focus my listening on folk music. So for every jazz recording he sends me, he’s getting a great folk recording back. I’m going to send him Bright Blue Rose today.
Rebecca
like everything else..theres good jazz and other jazz…
Rory. Will ya make that Inter Celtic (cant just fecall its name) Festival in Brittany? Great festival. Tg4 have covered it. You cant mention Brittany without invoking the name of the great Alan Stivell.
when he plugged in that harp there was no stoppin him
Dan ar Bras and Rene Werner were well in the mix too
all those years ago
where did the time go
Hi C. There is no denying that I probably spend too much time online !! I came across your tribute to Gary Moore recently from your Chat of Feb 2011, as you are now singing Johnny Boy, paired beautifully with Ride On, maybe no harm to reproduce it here ? “Sunday February 6th 2011
Sad news about the passing of Gary Moore. I met him a few times over 40 years, most memorably at a Planxty gig in London 1973. Nicky Ryan invited him along to hear the band and we hooked up after the show for a long night of capers and tunes. Last heard him play when he came over from London to pay tribute to Jimmy Faulkner at the Olympia Theatre Dublin in 2009.There are some great shots from that night in the Gallery. He played his heart out for Jimmy that night. I loved to hear him play. He got big round beautiful sounds from his guitars; he played with emotion, style, attitude an tons of ability. He was very much a front man. I did not know him well nor am I overly familiar with his repertoire but I loved to watch him and listen to him. ” Gone with Stevie Ray and Jessie Ed Davis, died too young and too premature, another Rock and Roller gone but not forgotten, gone to jam with Rory in the blues” (Nigel Rolfe). Rest in Peace Gary Moore. ” I don’t suppose you will wear a Dickie Bow tie tonight to match the sartorially smart security staff in the TLT ?? Safe travelling all. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
it was fairly hoppin in The Wee last night
they came from NZ, Oz, Nashville, Deutchland, Tralee, Yellow Furze, Stackallen and God Knows Where…
we gathered on the green grassy slopes of The Boyne
we gave it the two barrels and took no prisoners
fair play to you
Looking forward to the spin to Drogheda later.. will go via Slane now that the Harry Styles traffic has settled..He wore a chest open green glitter jacket on stage, in case you need an alternative for the t-léine dubh..
I enjoyed myself in Drogheda last night
great gig room
I love the strangeness of the location too
Hi Christy,
Your early years and those of Planxty and Moving Hearts must have been the best of times. Until the grey men in their grey suits came around with their promises of paradise.
(Provided you sign this contract obliging you to record an album
that you will promote to within an inch of your life and then embark on a 250 date world tour. )
Not many come through that unbroken. And how do paradise ?
Who knew that …
One winters night in London
Up around Willsden junction
Oh my heart it filled with joy
‘Twas the night that Maggie Barry
She called me up to sing The Wild Colonial Boy
would turn into a 57 year season
with different circumstances along the way.
Tabhair Aire
Bourkey
The best of times most of the time
(but sometimes the worst of times)
but they were’nt all grey men
some of them true visionaries
some had a weakness for the tunes
I’m thinkin of Bill Leader who took a chance
came to KIldare in 1971 and recorded the Prosperous album
I’m thinkin of Des Kelly,
he pushed out the Planxty boat
and sailed with us across The Lakes of Pontchartrain,
and Clive Hudson
who got our Hearts Moving back in 1981 when no Irish label would give us a listen
sure Bourkey..
theres always sharks and pirhanas lurking in the deep
they’re still there too
but as we get older its easier to spot the hungry heads on them