Good Morning Christy,
I hope you have recovered from the wonderful concert last night. We have seen many and it was one of the best. Vishva and I cannot thank you enough for playing The Voyage to celebrate our 50th anniversary. It was a truly special moment we had tears in our eyes. Thank you also to the wonderful reception the audience gave us. I see a note below mentions us too. Thank you. We will treasure the playlist you presented at the encore forever. We are off to explore Dublin today and trace my roots. My great great grandfather Michael Murtha left these shores in 1840s along with millions of others. He traveled east the England to find work in the mines in County Durham. That’s where my Dad, also a Tom, was born. Once again thank you and your crew so much for providing the highlight of our anniversary.
Take care, until we meet again.
Tom and Vishva.
Christy's reply
Hope you find your roots..that you have a good time searching….Murtha is not a name I hear every day….I’m wondering might Murtagh have become Murtha when Michael landed in Durham in 1840….
I have many great memories from playing those County Durham Folk Clubs in the 1960s….forever following the blue star..whey aye man
Very excited to have the opportunity to travel abroad and visit you for a fourth show in Tullamore!
If you’re taking requests and would like to play “Missing you” for an American that would be grand!
Always a great show, I can’t wait!
Christy's reply
Back to Tullamore….I’m looking forward….always been a good gig town going way back…..”Missing You” has not been in the set list these past years…maybe its time to get it out again and give it a whirl…..see you in County Offaly
Thank you so much, Christy, for a wonderful gig tonight. It was beautiful and touching in so many different ways. And congratulations and happy anniversary to Tom and Vishva.
See you again in January (and in May at the NCH).
Thanks again,
Anne
Christy's reply
at this rate of attendance You & Mike may soon end up with Irish Passports…..last night was a cracker…..before the gig I could hear the audience sing Shane’s Fairytale…I knew we were gonna have a good time ….I left Vicar St content, spent and still buzzing from last nights celebration of song…thank you
Just joined the page a day or two ago. Been listening and enjoying your music since the 80’s Christy. My first Christy purchase would have been some kind of compilation cassette in Manchester in 86. Went to see you in Manchester that year and in a quiet moment between songs I shouted out “Sacco & Vanzetti”, maybe it was the Glaswegian accent in a strange city or maybe it just caught your interest but whatever the reason you replied to me along the lines of, “I haven’t played that song in quite a while, let’s give it a go”. Just a wonderful memory. I’ve listened to and watched you many times since, the last being in Naas in February 2020. You’ve impacted my life in so many ways but none as much as June of the same year when my wife and I listened to The Voyage so many times as I lay in my hospital bed after having had my right leg amputated. I thank you for the soundtrack you have provided to my life and for the unknowing support you have provided in my darkest days and the smiles and laughter of my happiest times.
Christy's reply
Welcome aboard Sacco…its not every day we meet a Glaswegian from Seattle….I first heard “Sacco & Vanzetti” in Finsbury Park, London in 1968…..my first encounter with the songs of Woody Guthrie…..I still sing it here in the work room but I dont think I’ve gigged it in recent years ….such a powerful song, a style of writing that still works every time…..I’ll sing it for you next time !…keep coming back
Zozimus.
As part of Dublin Theatre Festival, early 1980s, a play was staged on his life and songs. ‘Zoz’, a musical by Joe O’Donnell, was staged in the Olympia, based on the works and songs and life of the great city street bard. Frank Kelly (yes, the one and only) played the leading role. Music by the Wolfe Tones. I was at it.
Nineteen eighty, I’m personally amazed it’s that long ago.
So Goilin Singers, I got educated on this singer nearly a half-century ago.
(A bg thanks to Dublin Theatre Festival who were a great help on this)
Christy's reply
So Ed…you got “educated” on Zozimus all those years ago….such enlightenment , such humility… even a slight dig at Góilín in passing….a quare hawk no doubt
I am also interested in Rory’s question, I am looking forward to my first Vicar St. visit as a fan, but I always wonder what different experiences performers have in different venues. The comparison between Barrowlands, Vicar St, Carrickdale, Russell’s, NCH, etc. I guess there must be similarities and differences …..
Dear Christy,
Vicar Street, what is it like to play in?
I have never visited it so cannot imagine it ,but often wondered.
I suppose in my mind’s eye it is a 1950s venue, not too big, comfy velvet seats, bucket seats for the loving couples….no wait that is Arklow cinema circa 1999 and 101 dalmations with the kids!
I assume it has great sound quality, not too slick but more homely, wish i could have taken Pat up on his generous offer ,to be able to find out. Ach well there’s always next year…….
Rory
Christy's reply
its a unique venue….
it has a very interesting back story which i might share with you some time…..
a great venue to play…I’ve gigged it over 200 times since it opened and I still love arriving in..its right in the heart of Old Dublin..the 2004 Planxty gigs were precious for me
I’ve also enjoyed some great gigs here as a punter….Kila,Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Blind Boy,Janis Ian, Roseanne Carter,Jackson Browne, Jackie Mason,Moving Hearts, Martin Hayes & Denis Cahill,Damien Dempsey and loads more
Go n’éirí leat Christy, ’twas great to see yourself and Juno at the Zozimus commemoration, and a rare treat to hear you sing back at the Teacher’s Club. I especially enjoyed your version of Lazarus Soul’s ‘Black and Amber’. I was the fella sang ‘The Maid of Cabra West’ and then one of my own that I call ‘Paddy in the Smoke’ that I wrote when I was singing in London back in the mid-eighties, where we all laboured in the shade of the mighty MacGowan. I had many’s the chat with poor Martin Egan about that time and place over the years before he left us.
Christy's reply
Morra Mark,
That was a lovely memorial to Zozimus…so many lyrics wafting about Glasnevin and Parnell Square…..good to hear so many good new songs…I’d not heard your “Paddy in The Smoke” before…like yourself I kicked about London for a spell …albeit about 20 years before yoursel…. back then , many of us sat in the shade of Ewan MacColl..
I think of Martin Egan…myself and Val ( Juno’s mother ) often talk about him..
Briany Brannigan of “A Lazarus Soul” is writing big songs these days
After the interesting discussions on the guest book a little while ago about your early musical career and the early Planxty days (for which many thanks to you and all contributors), I have been reading Leagues O’Toole’s book the “The Humours of Planxty”. I like the way he tells the stories of each of your individual musical journeys, often quoting your own words, as well as the story of the coming together of Planxty. I am also learning a lot about the history and popularity of different types of music in Ireland. I think 4711ers would enjoy this book, although of course I am coming to it rather late and I expect many will have already read it. It might be out of print – my copy is second-hand and was sent from the US.
All the best,
Anne
Christy's reply
Leagues O’Toole wrote a grand book on our Old Band….he made a TV programme about the Band back in 2002…when we saw it we decided to get together again for one more tour in 2004…after a 25 year break we teamed up again and layed about 25 concerts..the first in The Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna , the last one on The South Bank London…
Hi Christy
Update on Martin Lynot
He’s 85 not 80 (my bad).
He is in a bad way but stll compos mentis
I passed on your regards to him and he was very pleased that you remembered him.
Hope you have a great Christmas and New Year and that you survive the Vicar St gigs.
See you in the Autumn, God willing.
Christy's reply
lets stay alive and meet up again in the Great Northern
My husband, Mike, and I are very much looking forward to your gig tonight. We’ve had a good weekend in Dublin, including seeing The Quare Fellow at the Abbey on Saturday, and visiting the Jeanie Johnstone and EPIC yesterday. I reckon this afternoon will be bright and sunny so a walk in Phoenix Park beckons.
All the best,
Anne
Christy's reply
I’m here now…. polishing my boots….tuning the plectrum and combing my hair with a towel
Hello Christy,
Listening to a beautiful album by Martin Hayes called Under the Moon.
Five years ago today we were at your gig in Vicar Street. Pics of people and lights on Grafton Street appeared on Facebook this morning to remind me.
My spidey sense set off when I read your words. Love it.
Hi. John Bowman’s delve into the archives is always interesting on Sun morning radio, this am was no different, the first half is devoted to the ” revival” of Irish Trad. Lovely to hear you talk of Shane and sing Fairytale from 5 years ago https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11585569/ It is followed by a discussion of the impact on the loss of Anne Lovett RIP BTW before the Gathering in Glasnevin An Góilín shared a very neat hand drawn map of the layout of the grave, Zozimus forms a triangle between Parnell and the Liberator from Kerry Daniel O Connell !! Safe travelling all to the penultimate gig of 2023. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
I’d not heard that before..fair play to whatever sound man did the sound in RTE that day..always a great song to sing…..maybe I’ll give it a whirl in Vicar tonight
Hello Christy,
Did you sing something for Zozimus?
“I live in Faddle Alley,
Off Blackpitts near the Coombe;
With my poor wife called Sally,
In a narrow, dirty room.”
By Zozimus
Rebecca
Christy's reply
There was a great session afterwards….30-40 singers gathered for hot soup and sandwiches laid on by An Góiín Singers Club….who also organized the refurbishment of Zozimus’s headstone and the gathering yesterday in Glasnevin Cemetary….
among all the great songs at the “afters” I sang “A Pair of Brown Eyes”
Following a previous post,thanks to companeros for info about Ronnie Drew’s later recordings.
I have a few CDs where he features as the main singer or as part of a project.Recently,I found one that was new to me…and a good find too in a city centre record shop.
‘El Amor De Mi Vida’ – Ronnie Drew and Eleanor Shanley,2006…recorded about two years before Ronnie died.
It’s a mix of contemporary and trad songs,with RD sounding particularly strong on the trad material. Worth trying to find…to my ears, for The Verdant Braes of Screen and Farewell…the latter is a mellow,alternative version of the better known Leaving of Liverpool…Ronnie sings it with subtlety and emotion.A fine musical epitaph after a life of song.
Sad days after losing Shane…Nick Cave’s version of A rainy night in Soho was very moving at Shane’s funeral…I saw it via a newsletter,hopefully it’s on YouTube…
All the best
Dave
Christy's reply
I recall that Album Rob…Ronnie & Eleanor made some lovely work together….
Shane got a big send off
May The Good Man Rest in Peace.
We were at the unveiling yesterday of a restored headstone in Glasnevin Cemetary.
The great 19th Century street singer Zozimus (aka Michael Moran of The Liberties in Dublin) was remembered. Many of his songs are still sung to this day…Just as Shane’s songs will continue to be sung
Good Morning Christy,
I hope you have recovered from the wonderful concert last night. We have seen many and it was one of the best. Vishva and I cannot thank you enough for playing The Voyage to celebrate our 50th anniversary. It was a truly special moment we had tears in our eyes. Thank you also to the wonderful reception the audience gave us. I see a note below mentions us too. Thank you. We will treasure the playlist you presented at the encore forever. We are off to explore Dublin today and trace my roots. My great great grandfather Michael Murtha left these shores in 1840s along with millions of others. He traveled east the England to find work in the mines in County Durham. That’s where my Dad, also a Tom, was born. Once again thank you and your crew so much for providing the highlight of our anniversary.
Take care, until we meet again.
Tom and Vishva.
Hope you find your roots..that you have a good time searching….Murtha is not a name I hear every day….I’m wondering might Murtagh have become Murtha when Michael landed in Durham in 1840….
I have many great memories from playing those County Durham Folk Clubs in the 1960s….forever following the blue star..whey aye man
Christy,
Very excited to have the opportunity to travel abroad and visit you for a fourth show in Tullamore!
If you’re taking requests and would like to play “Missing you” for an American that would be grand!
Always a great show, I can’t wait!
Back to Tullamore….I’m looking forward….always been a good gig town going way back…..”Missing You” has not been in the set list these past years…maybe its time to get it out again and give it a whirl…..see you in County Offaly
Thank you so much, Christy, for a wonderful gig tonight. It was beautiful and touching in so many different ways. And congratulations and happy anniversary to Tom and Vishva.
See you again in January (and in May at the NCH).
Thanks again,
Anne
at this rate of attendance You & Mike may soon end up with Irish Passports…..last night was a cracker…..before the gig I could hear the audience sing Shane’s Fairytale…I knew we were gonna have a good time ….I left Vicar St content, spent and still buzzing from last nights celebration of song…thank you
Just joined the page a day or two ago. Been listening and enjoying your music since the 80’s Christy. My first Christy purchase would have been some kind of compilation cassette in Manchester in 86. Went to see you in Manchester that year and in a quiet moment between songs I shouted out “Sacco & Vanzetti”, maybe it was the Glaswegian accent in a strange city or maybe it just caught your interest but whatever the reason you replied to me along the lines of, “I haven’t played that song in quite a while, let’s give it a go”. Just a wonderful memory. I’ve listened to and watched you many times since, the last being in Naas in February 2020. You’ve impacted my life in so many ways but none as much as June of the same year when my wife and I listened to The Voyage so many times as I lay in my hospital bed after having had my right leg amputated. I thank you for the soundtrack you have provided to my life and for the unknowing support you have provided in my darkest days and the smiles and laughter of my happiest times.
Welcome aboard Sacco…its not every day we meet a Glaswegian from Seattle….I first heard “Sacco & Vanzetti” in Finsbury Park, London in 1968…..my first encounter with the songs of Woody Guthrie…..I still sing it here in the work room but I dont think I’ve gigged it in recent years ….such a powerful song, a style of writing that still works every time…..I’ll sing it for you next time !…keep coming back
Thanks for graciously putting me right on your companion at the Góilín, and apologies for mistaking Val for Juno!
sound Mark…..as Zoz might say…no sweat
Zozimus.
As part of Dublin Theatre Festival, early 1980s, a play was staged on his life and songs. ‘Zoz’, a musical by Joe O’Donnell, was staged in the Olympia, based on the works and songs and life of the great city street bard. Frank Kelly (yes, the one and only) played the leading role. Music by the Wolfe Tones. I was at it.
Nineteen eighty, I’m personally amazed it’s that long ago.
So Goilin Singers, I got educated on this singer nearly a half-century ago.
(A bg thanks to Dublin Theatre Festival who were a great help on this)
So Ed…you got “educated” on Zozimus all those years ago….such enlightenment , such humility… even a slight dig at Góilín in passing….a quare hawk no doubt
I am also interested in Rory’s question, I am looking forward to my first Vicar St. visit as a fan, but I always wonder what different experiences performers have in different venues. The comparison between Barrowlands, Vicar St, Carrickdale, Russell’s, NCH, etc. I guess there must be similarities and differences …..
Interesting rebecca, but i was really wanting to know what it was like to play in.
Rory
Amen to that.
Hello Rory,
Love Vicar Street, its one of those places that’s like nowhere else. The seating is around small round tables, 4 stools to a table, with some tiered seating and balconies too. There’s nowhere else like it…
Here’s a pic
https://www.facebook.com/847680135/posts/pfbid02zF38hUFeV5ew3aACqU2J3Lmefg8CbKVJt23E3ScebReTKmBRhS82QepxMQV4VqX5l/
Rebecca
Dear Christy,
Vicar Street, what is it like to play in?
I have never visited it so cannot imagine it ,but often wondered.
I suppose in my mind’s eye it is a 1950s venue, not too big, comfy velvet seats, bucket seats for the loving couples….no wait that is Arklow cinema circa 1999 and 101 dalmations with the kids!
I assume it has great sound quality, not too slick but more homely, wish i could have taken Pat up on his generous offer ,to be able to find out. Ach well there’s always next year…….
Rory
its a unique venue….
it has a very interesting back story which i might share with you some time…..
a great venue to play…I’ve gigged it over 200 times since it opened and I still love arriving in..its right in the heart of Old Dublin..the 2004 Planxty gigs were precious for me
I’ve also enjoyed some great gigs here as a punter….Kila,Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Blind Boy,Janis Ian, Roseanne Carter,Jackson Browne, Jackie Mason,Moving Hearts, Martin Hayes & Denis Cahill,Damien Dempsey and loads more
Go n’éirí leat Christy, ’twas great to see yourself and Juno at the Zozimus commemoration, and a rare treat to hear you sing back at the Teacher’s Club. I especially enjoyed your version of Lazarus Soul’s ‘Black and Amber’. I was the fella sang ‘The Maid of Cabra West’ and then one of my own that I call ‘Paddy in the Smoke’ that I wrote when I was singing in London back in the mid-eighties, where we all laboured in the shade of the mighty MacGowan. I had many’s the chat with poor Martin Egan about that time and place over the years before he left us.
Morra Mark,
That was a lovely memorial to Zozimus…so many lyrics wafting about Glasnevin and Parnell Square…..good to hear so many good new songs…I’d not heard your “Paddy in The Smoke” before…like yourself I kicked about London for a spell …albeit about 20 years before yoursel…. back then , many of us sat in the shade of Ewan MacColl..
I think of Martin Egan…myself and Val ( Juno’s mother ) often talk about him..
Briany Brannigan of “A Lazarus Soul” is writing big songs these days
Hello Christy,
After the interesting discussions on the guest book a little while ago about your early musical career and the early Planxty days (for which many thanks to you and all contributors), I have been reading Leagues O’Toole’s book the “The Humours of Planxty”. I like the way he tells the stories of each of your individual musical journeys, often quoting your own words, as well as the story of the coming together of Planxty. I am also learning a lot about the history and popularity of different types of music in Ireland. I think 4711ers would enjoy this book, although of course I am coming to it rather late and I expect many will have already read it. It might be out of print – my copy is second-hand and was sent from the US.
All the best,
Anne
Leagues O’Toole wrote a grand book on our Old Band….he made a TV programme about the Band back in 2002…when we saw it we decided to get together again for one more tour in 2004…after a 25 year break we teamed up again and layed about 25 concerts..the first in The Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna , the last one on The South Bank London…
Hi Christy
Update on Martin Lynot
He’s 85 not 80 (my bad).
He is in a bad way but stll compos mentis
I passed on your regards to him and he was very pleased that you remembered him.
Hope you have a great Christmas and New Year and that you survive the Vicar St gigs.
See you in the Autumn, God willing.
lets stay alive and meet up again in the Great Northern
Hello Christy,
My husband, Mike, and I are very much looking forward to your gig tonight. We’ve had a good weekend in Dublin, including seeing The Quare Fellow at the Abbey on Saturday, and visiting the Jeanie Johnstone and EPIC yesterday. I reckon this afternoon will be bright and sunny so a walk in Phoenix Park beckons.
All the best,
Anne
I’m here now…. polishing my boots….tuning the plectrum and combing my hair with a towel
Hello Christy,
Listening to a beautiful album by Martin Hayes called Under the Moon.
Five years ago today we were at your gig in Vicar Street. Pics of people and lights on Grafton Street appeared on Facebook this morning to remind me.
My spidey sense set off when I read your words. Love it.
Rebecca
Martin & Denis….perfect duet
Hi. John Bowman’s delve into the archives is always interesting on Sun morning radio, this am was no different, the first half is devoted to the ” revival” of Irish Trad. Lovely to hear you talk of Shane and sing Fairytale from 5 years ago https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11585569/ It is followed by a discussion of the impact on the loss of Anne Lovett RIP BTW before the Gathering in Glasnevin An Góilín shared a very neat hand drawn map of the layout of the grave, Zozimus forms a triangle between Parnell and the Liberator from Kerry Daniel O Connell !! Safe travelling all to the penultimate gig of 2023. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
I’d not heard that before..fair play to whatever sound man did the sound in RTE that day..always a great song to sing…..maybe I’ll give it a whirl in Vicar tonight
Here’s some info on Zozimus, in case anybody fancies a read
https://flic.kr/p/niU2Us
as always Rebecca…you’re on the ball
Hello Christy,
Did you sing something for Zozimus?
“I live in Faddle Alley,
Off Blackpitts near the Coombe;
With my poor wife called Sally,
In a narrow, dirty room.”
By Zozimus
Rebecca
There was a great session afterwards….30-40 singers gathered for hot soup and sandwiches laid on by An Góiín Singers Club….who also organized the refurbishment of Zozimus’s headstone and the gathering yesterday in Glasnevin Cemetary….
among all the great songs at the “afters” I sang “A Pair of Brown Eyes”
Zozimus & Shane McGowan, two of a kind
Hi Christy
Following a previous post,thanks to companeros for info about Ronnie Drew’s later recordings.
I have a few CDs where he features as the main singer or as part of a project.Recently,I found one that was new to me…and a good find too in a city centre record shop.
‘El Amor De Mi Vida’ – Ronnie Drew and Eleanor Shanley,2006…recorded about two years before Ronnie died.
It’s a mix of contemporary and trad songs,with RD sounding particularly strong on the trad material. Worth trying to find…to my ears, for The Verdant Braes of Screen and Farewell…the latter is a mellow,alternative version of the better known Leaving of Liverpool…Ronnie sings it with subtlety and emotion.A fine musical epitaph after a life of song.
Sad days after losing Shane…Nick Cave’s version of A rainy night in Soho was very moving at Shane’s funeral…I saw it via a newsletter,hopefully it’s on YouTube…
All the best
Dave
I recall that Album Rob…Ronnie & Eleanor made some lovely work together….
Shane got a big send off
May The Good Man Rest in Peace.
We were at the unveiling yesterday of a restored headstone in Glasnevin Cemetary.
The great 19th Century street singer Zozimus (aka Michael Moran of The Liberties in Dublin) was remembered. Many of his songs are still sung to this day…Just as Shane’s songs will continue to be sung