Evening Christy. Just to add to Plansettee, Playtex etc. I remember Mike Harding playfully introducing you all once in Manchester as Plankton. Happy days.
Christy's reply
that Mickey Hardon is forever playing at the words….
Crumpsall, Blakeley, back of Icky Works… eee we ‘ad some fun our kid
Well Christy that was some gig in the opera halll in Wexford. You were in flying form and it was an utterly privilege to see you again (having seen you play in dublin solo and with planxty before). Probably not as raucous as Barrowlands but I can tell you on the way out and in the pub afterwards people were nothing but positive and just delighted to have come to the gig. I love how you are still so political and belt out new and old, you are most definitely not your own tribute act.
As you said you’ve come a long way from the Unyoke Inn 🙂 you seemed to be having a ball and I am looking forward to the next gig now. Joe
Christy's reply
Gotta tell you Joe…that was a scorcher for me the other night in The Model….the gig just played itself…it was an almighty gathering of listeners altogether… the gig took a hold of me from the off…the auld songs kept comin at me, a few new ones came floating up too…I could have gone on longer but the full time whistle kept comin from the wings… I loves Loch Garman Joe and other 31 too…. but where is the Lake ?
Hello Christy,
It was lovely to hear about the affection you feel for us over the water. We’re a diverse group over here, with invaders bringing fresh blood into the population over and over again. I’ve no idea what secrets my DNA holds, but I know that when I mix with some other people, I feel the wildness of the northern blood in my veins. And yet we are all English. Having spent some cherished times in Ireland I often feel more of a kinship with the people there than I sometimes feel here.
Of the songs you learnt in England, I’m most grateful for the Dalesman’s Litany. I first heard you sing it in York, and you’ve sung it again for us since. I feellike it’s found its way home through its new home in Ireland. It’s one of my favourite songs to sing. I wondered if you felt a strangeness about me singing the Curragh of Kildare, but it’s only the same thing.
Update on the mandolin. Its such a sweet little thing to tune. Getting each of those 4 courses of strings chiming together is lot more rewarding than I expected. And the train tracks on my fingertips are developing nicely.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
the Mandolin is a wonderful thing… I have a lovely 1926 Vega on the wall here …its beautiful to look at ,impossible to tune…every now and then I take it down, play 5 or 6 notes, put it back up on the wall and pick up the Atkin…
“I’ve worked in Leeds and Hudderfield
where I’ve addled honest brass”
Dear Christy. The reviews here about your gigs make me more and more looking forward to my trip to Dublin in May. The experiences of the fans and experts here are making me feel excited. Alice and Jeroen are bringing it to a point. By the way: I like the music several Vissers from the Netherlands produce and play. It contains an Irish concern also. All the best, Christy, and to all, Günter
Christy's reply
Good Man Gunter…This year is passing so quickly….the Chrismas Pudding still lingers in the frifge, shards of Easter egg down the side of the couch… Storm Kathleen is roaring and wailing outside and May is only around the corner…Safe Travels and dont forget your shovel
Sin gig iontach aréir i Loch Garman. Bhain na buachaillí agus mé féin an-taitneamh as gach nóiméad. Go raibh maith agat as cuimhneamh orm agus “The Two Conneelys” a sheinm. Tá súil agam go fóill cúpla amhrán gaeilge ar an gcéad albam eile!
b’fhéidir Amhrán na nGael le Méabh Ní Bheaglaioch!
Táim ag súil le thú a fheiceáil arís go luath!
[ That was an amazing gig last night. The boys and I enjoyed every minute. Thank you for remembering me and playing “The Two Conneelys”. I still have hope for a few Irish songs on the next album!
Maybe Amhrán na nGael by Méabh Ní Bheaglaioch!
I hope to see you again soon!]
Christy's reply
maith agat Darred
chual mé an amhrán sin as Méabh Ní B
go hálainn ar fad…
Your post has me listening again…a wonderful performance of that beautiful song…I could not even attempt to do it justice…I lost my blas along the way…up until my mid teens I was nurturing a grá for the teanga but I got led astray and away….úair amháin bhí an fáinne óir ar mo cóta mhór but I took a wrong turn and lost it along the way….a source of constant sorrow that sometimes drifts into feelings of shame….I do have cúpla focal of the Bórd na Móna still…sometimes I think of trying to go thar nais arís…joining a class for 78 year old sean fhears ….but songs get in the way of it…. I get pangs of paranoia every time I sing my verse as gaeilge in The Two Conneeleys…felt it the other night in Wexford…( thanks for the request and the call out at the end)
Way back in early 1960s Father Tadhg Manly ( Liam’s Uncle) took 25 of us down to Ballferriter ( Brú an Óige) for an almighty fortnight which still lingers…in 1957 myself and two of my sisters did time up in Gortahork …all I remember from that is a lot of walking,being very homesick for Cill Dara ….sé sin an scéal Darred, go dtí an céad uair eile…
Wow — that was an absolutely fantastic evening. We travelled from Oxfordshire where we live (though I am American and my husband is Dutch, and we lived in Ireland from 1996-2002). Having been fans for many years, we originally booked tickets for Galway in the summer of 2020 — but then the pandemic hit. This concert was worth the 4 year wait for us!
We loved the power of your literal and metaphorical voice — we could feel the sound and messages reverberating throughout the room, and especially loved the more political and emotional songs, including several we had never heard before. Your ability to weave a narrative is legendary. I wonder if you or anyone else has/will put together a set list from last night so that we can listen again?
Our long-time favourite is ‘Voyage’ as that is what our lives together have been, having lived in 6 countries and raised 5 children. It was our 31st wedding anniversary yesterday, and listening to the live rendition of the song meant everything. So thank you for an extraordinary evening!
Christy's reply
Alice & Jeroen..I enjoyed last night myself…I love the venue, the audience inspired, uplifted, listened,responded…what more could an old singer hope for!!
here you go:
1.City of Chicago
2. How Long
3.Welcome to The Cabaret
4.Palestine
5.Yellow Triangle
6.Lightning,Bird,Wind, River Man
7.Snowflakes
8.Viva la Quinta Brigada
9.Johnny Boy
10.Ride On
11.Ruby Walsh
12.The Well Below The Valley
13.Lyra McKee
14.Lingo Politico
15.The Two Conneeleys
16.North and South of The River
17. McIlhatton
18.Delerium Tremens
19.Beeswing
20. Bogman, Deep Down, where I come from
21.Voyage
22 Biko Drum
23.The Time has come
24. Irish Pagan Ritual
25. Ordinary man
Thank you for sharing your 31st with us….every night is unique…no two audience ever the same…I can safely say that last nights set list will never be repeated…after the opening song I fall into random mode..I love to ramble around the repertoire..always seeking an opening for a new song…great to get that call out for Biko Drum last night…took a gamble hoping I could trawl it back up..Wally Page’s song for Bishop Tutu will stay in the set for a while now..twas like meeting an old friend again….
I’m wondering, 5 offspring in 6 countries?? yourself and himself being American and Dutch….are there 7 different passports in your family ? and which of the six countries drew a blank ?
safe journey back to Oxford
Not being able to sleep after the Opera in Wexford tonight I was lying here remembering the various times I’ve seen you. My favourite was about 35 years ago in Melbourne. I brought my girlfriend, whose parents were (very) English, with me. You did DeliriumTremens (as you did tonight) and when you hit the line “that auld hoor in Number 10” the place erupted. My girlfriend turned to me and asked, “Why do the Irish not like the English?”. Where to even begin……
Christy's reply
the morning after Wexford…
still buzzing after last nights fun…
thanks for your post…
with regard to what your friend said in Melbourne 35 years ago….
I gotta say;
I’ve had the very good fortune to spend many years in England….I felt safe a nd welcomed there…I got the start in England , developed my work process there, played a thousand Folk Clubs, stayed in a thousand homes, lived in Chiswick, Gunnersbury, Moss Side, Fallowfield, Cheetham Hill, Birtle, Rochdale, Causeway Foot and Mixenden, learned a hundred songs ,before I began to earn a iiving as a singer I laboured there, Walls Sausages nr Southall, EMI records in Hayes, George Wimpey somewhere I cant recall, a Bar in Bury, A Veg Shop in Rochdale, a Box-Jumper in Suffragette City, a Cold meats porter for John Lewis in Picadilly ….then Mike Harding gave me my first Folk Club Gig…. (John Lewis still has my cards)
Sure…there were a few English I “did not/do not like”, Thatcher, Kitson, Johnson, Manning,Farage, Powell , their supporters and ilk….but England was my home from home, I spent some of my happiest years there in the company of the finest of people….the tyrants who suppressed the Irish treated their own no better…to Hell with them…but I have nothing but love in my heart for England and the vast majority of its people.
(songs I learned “over” include Ordinary Man, Dalesman’s Litany, John O’Dreams,Van Dieman’s Land,Seth Davy,Old Man’s Song*, Sun is Burning*,Sweet Thames*, Companeros”, Hey Sandy, Rambling Robin,Morecambe Bay,Cold Blow Rainy Night, Lock Hospital,Tim Evans*, Green Island*,…..and many more
* penned by ex pat Scots domiciled in dear old blighty)
Hi Christy. A great night at the Opera House. Thank you very much. Keep it going.
I’ve often wondered if you ever met Declan Sinnott’s brother Frank? He was one of Wexford’s great old characters who sadly died in 2017. His quick wit and acerbic tongue are much missed.
Christy's reply
Indeed and I did.. Frank Sinnott was a special man….he promoted a number of Concerts over the years for myself and Declan…I know that many people in Wexford miss Frank…no one more than Declan
Ah Christy, glad to see youse had a great night in Wexford. You just keep rollin’ on fella!
When you quoted the granny’s lid, off I went to the vinyl collection, sure enough the Spirit of Freedom has it, along with many many more great songs.
The lyrics are indeed in your lyric section here, Lid of my Granny’s Bin.
I wonder did this ever get the van, or did the hungry feckers of Warner(?) hog all the money?
Christy's reply
Yes Pat, the van was purchased ….the van was achieved before WEA sequestered The Spirit of Freedom.. all profits made would have gone towards recordings costs accrued with previous albums….or so I was told….
It was a difficult but enjoyable project with a good outcome… the aftermath was tarnished but not ruined by WEA’s attitude towards a fund raising album…. I still rem the CEO calling me in to his office, holding up a cassette*** of the album and saying to me “whats all this about”…he went on to tell me that under terms of my contract this album was the property of WEA….they repackaged it, altered the sleeve and that was that….I just moved on from it and recorded (I think) Ordinary Man….they dropped me eventually******…(lucky me ! )
*** “Spirit of Freedom” was a cassette only release…there were 1,000 cassette copies…. I was asked to sign one last week in Naas..one of the originals…had not seen one for years…the print was almost worn away….
****** a sweet ps…after WEA dropped me I was signed by Columbia..my first album with Columbia was one of my most successful….”Live at The Point” remained in the Irish charts for many years….
I’m in the back of the van now on the road home from Wexford which gives me time for this auld rawmaish
The Opera House in Wexford went very well tonight…I’m told we had listeners in from far and near..I heard a gentle request for “The Time has Come”..I believe it came from a Breton songster..4 of them in for the gig….what a great privilidge to have people take so much trouble, travel so far, to hear these songs….
work proceeds on the next album…. I have 10 tracks down, one or two more to get down….then we’ll mix and master…I have a title and a sleeve and notes almost complete..more updates in due course
We’re just back in the hotel after tonight’s fantastic concert Christy. Thank you so much for a great evenings entertainment. Particularly well done on pulling Biko Drum out of the hat at such short notice. Until next time……. Séamus
Christy's reply
good man Seamus…I enjoyed myself thoroughly tonight..great audience in an excellent venue….this is year 58 of the never ending tour..its great to be alive and fit for purpose….it’ll end eventually… but lets keep truckin til the fat lad sings
Anyway, i was in Inverness this week. Saw no monsters but plenty of rain, tried to find some live music but think it had been drowned out sadly. However one of my daughters recommended searching out a new Scots band called Brogeal. I did and they are braw , and they play several irish gigs later this month.
Got a different car today for the scrapped one, it has a cd player….ya dancer.
Rory
Christy's reply
its a long hall from Kircaldy to Inverness… had to stop in Huntley Town and say hello to Bogie’s Bonny Isobel
Christy hi
I have to say that Wexford has always seemed a braw place to me. I liked its streets, there was a grand wee record shop there where i once bought a cd by a local band something like the house that hate built.
Sunny southeast, the beaches, strawberries and though i never visited the opera house you talk about a bat going mad in it, on a corner of the box set.
Rory
Christy's reply
that was the previous Opera House in Wexford….Moving Hearts played there one night in 1981 and disturbed bats and starlings… as “McBrides” shook the rafters unfortunate listeners suffered the indignity of Bat and Starling shite scooterin around the kip….blurts were plentiful ..hats and hairstyles solidified by a torrent of drenching shite… the promoter was a canny lad and had insured against such an outcome….one listener claimed his bald pate was caused by batshite …he got himself a fine crown topper…he had a very good solicitor
B’é the Lord Harry Christy, weren’t the boys well advanced in those days! That’s a grand wee verse you gave us,
maybe you’ll sing the complete me granny’s bin lid for us sometime!
The English have the telly,
The radio and press;
To all communications
They’ve always had access.
But from Pettigo to Bellaghy
From the Bone to Castlefin,
The only way to spread the news
Is rattle your Granny’s bin.
Christy's reply
you’re rattlin the memory bank here Pat…is that verse from my rendition…? if so…where? I’d like to look it up….
here in Wexford tonight…home town of Declan Sinnott….
“I’m goin down the quay to feck a herrin”
” does she burn oil” sez your man kickin the tyres
” she would if she got it” said the owner of a 1958 Morris Minor ( contd P92)
Hello Christy,
Well, the mandolin is going well. 3 chords down and getting better at changing them. Maybe even a little fluency.
Rosalita and Jack Campbell is one I’ve wanted to sing for ages, but I’m not sure it works on the harp. Better on the mandolin, and 3 chords. What a great song!
I learnt D yesterday. Once this one’s working I’ll be able to tear into (hobble into…?) Mcillhatton. Another one that’s been on my wishlist for years.
I wrote a song called Martin’s Last Straw, a few years back. It’s kind of Tipping it Up to Nancy from the opposite point of view. I’m going to have a go at nailing the chords for that one too.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Rosalita and McIlhatton….two of the finest flowers in the garden….both gems to sing..one from Sean Mone, the other from Bobby Sands
Hello christy
Hope you are well
I discovered this singer recently
Danny carlin is his name.
And this song while quite funny has an element of truth I think
It’s called Suckin Diesel
21 years since the music of Planxty rang out in Vicar Street to an enthusiatic gathering. As you remark, where does the time go? But the great quartet came and reformed.
Christy's reply
we started out as “Clad”… that name lasted a few months before it, thankfully expired…. when we renamed the band…. we were called Plangcity, Plansettee, Planacity,Plankton. Plantex and Playtex….it took 6 months the word Planxty to gain recognition ..we were away on a hack….even got a review in Spotlight
ps just got a note reminding me that we were once called Plankton
40 years ago in Bellaghy! You mention that gig in the excellent Treasna na Tíre documentary about Bobby Sands, (to which Rory directed me), where you do the foreword and sing The Ballad of Tim Evans, a Bobby favourite according to the co presenter of that programme Colm Scullion, another Bellaghy man who did his H-Block time, and has good reason to know Bobby’s likes and feelings.
I bet Colm wheeled you in that barrow!
Christy's reply
not at all..it was a remotely controlled wheelbarrow steered by a robot hand….AI was all the go in those parts in them times
whistle bang shout
rattle up a din
let the Army know
that the Brits is comin in
I’m sorry about that post. I’m struggling a bit right now. Grieving, I guess. I’d had a bit to drink last night. I don’t remember posting it. I think it might have been shock and sadness at the Seamus Heeney quote.
Christy's reply
Thankfully, there were no such devices when I was on the juice..way back in the old world
Evening Christy. Just to add to Plansettee, Playtex etc. I remember Mike Harding playfully introducing you all once in Manchester as Plankton. Happy days.
that Mickey Hardon is forever playing at the words….
Crumpsall, Blakeley, back of Icky Works… eee we ‘ad some fun our kid
Well Christy that was some gig in the opera halll in Wexford. You were in flying form and it was an utterly privilege to see you again (having seen you play in dublin solo and with planxty before). Probably not as raucous as Barrowlands but I can tell you on the way out and in the pub afterwards people were nothing but positive and just delighted to have come to the gig. I love how you are still so political and belt out new and old, you are most definitely not your own tribute act.
As you said you’ve come a long way from the Unyoke Inn 🙂 you seemed to be having a ball and I am looking forward to the next gig now. Joe
Gotta tell you Joe…that was a scorcher for me the other night in The Model….the gig just played itself…it was an almighty gathering of listeners altogether… the gig took a hold of me from the off…the auld songs kept comin at me, a few new ones came floating up too…I could have gone on longer but the full time whistle kept comin from the wings… I loves Loch Garman Joe and other 31 too…. but where is the Lake ?
Hello Christy,
It was lovely to hear about the affection you feel for us over the water. We’re a diverse group over here, with invaders bringing fresh blood into the population over and over again. I’ve no idea what secrets my DNA holds, but I know that when I mix with some other people, I feel the wildness of the northern blood in my veins. And yet we are all English. Having spent some cherished times in Ireland I often feel more of a kinship with the people there than I sometimes feel here.
Of the songs you learnt in England, I’m most grateful for the Dalesman’s Litany. I first heard you sing it in York, and you’ve sung it again for us since. I feellike it’s found its way home through its new home in Ireland. It’s one of my favourite songs to sing. I wondered if you felt a strangeness about me singing the Curragh of Kildare, but it’s only the same thing.
Update on the mandolin. Its such a sweet little thing to tune. Getting each of those 4 courses of strings chiming together is lot more rewarding than I expected. And the train tracks on my fingertips are developing nicely.
Rebecca
the Mandolin is a wonderful thing… I have a lovely 1926 Vega on the wall here …its beautiful to look at ,impossible to tune…every now and then I take it down, play 5 or 6 notes, put it back up on the wall and pick up the Atkin…
“I’ve worked in Leeds and Hudderfield
where I’ve addled honest brass”
Dear Christy. The reviews here about your gigs make me more and more looking forward to my trip to Dublin in May. The experiences of the fans and experts here are making me feel excited. Alice and Jeroen are bringing it to a point. By the way: I like the music several Vissers from the Netherlands produce and play. It contains an Irish concern also. All the best, Christy, and to all, Günter
Good Man Gunter…This year is passing so quickly….the Chrismas Pudding still lingers in the frifge, shards of Easter egg down the side of the couch… Storm Kathleen is roaring and wailing outside and May is only around the corner…Safe Travels and dont forget your shovel
Christy, a chara!
Sin gig iontach aréir i Loch Garman. Bhain na buachaillí agus mé féin an-taitneamh as gach nóiméad. Go raibh maith agat as cuimhneamh orm agus “The Two Conneelys” a sheinm. Tá súil agam go fóill cúpla amhrán gaeilge ar an gcéad albam eile!
b’fhéidir Amhrán na nGael le Méabh Ní Bheaglaioch!
Táim ag súil le thú a fheiceáil arís go luath!
[ That was an amazing gig last night. The boys and I enjoyed every minute. Thank you for remembering me and playing “The Two Conneelys”. I still have hope for a few Irish songs on the next album!
Maybe Amhrán na nGael by Méabh Ní Bheaglaioch!
I hope to see you again soon!]
maith agat Darred
chual mé an amhrán sin as Méabh Ní B
go hálainn ar fad…
Your post has me listening again…a wonderful performance of that beautiful song…I could not even attempt to do it justice…I lost my blas along the way…up until my mid teens I was nurturing a grá for the teanga but I got led astray and away….úair amháin bhí an fáinne óir ar mo cóta mhór but I took a wrong turn and lost it along the way….a source of constant sorrow that sometimes drifts into feelings of shame….I do have cúpla focal of the Bórd na Móna still…sometimes I think of trying to go thar nais arís…joining a class for 78 year old sean fhears ….but songs get in the way of it…. I get pangs of paranoia every time I sing my verse as gaeilge in The Two Conneeleys…felt it the other night in Wexford…( thanks for the request and the call out at the end)
Way back in early 1960s Father Tadhg Manly ( Liam’s Uncle) took 25 of us down to Ballferriter ( Brú an Óige) for an almighty fortnight which still lingers…in 1957 myself and two of my sisters did time up in Gortahork …all I remember from that is a lot of walking,being very homesick for Cill Dara ….sé sin an scéal Darred, go dtí an céad uair eile…
Wow — that was an absolutely fantastic evening. We travelled from Oxfordshire where we live (though I am American and my husband is Dutch, and we lived in Ireland from 1996-2002). Having been fans for many years, we originally booked tickets for Galway in the summer of 2020 — but then the pandemic hit. This concert was worth the 4 year wait for us!
We loved the power of your literal and metaphorical voice — we could feel the sound and messages reverberating throughout the room, and especially loved the more political and emotional songs, including several we had never heard before. Your ability to weave a narrative is legendary. I wonder if you or anyone else has/will put together a set list from last night so that we can listen again?
Our long-time favourite is ‘Voyage’ as that is what our lives together have been, having lived in 6 countries and raised 5 children. It was our 31st wedding anniversary yesterday, and listening to the live rendition of the song meant everything. So thank you for an extraordinary evening!
Alice & Jeroen..I enjoyed last night myself…I love the venue, the audience inspired, uplifted, listened,responded…what more could an old singer hope for!!
here you go:
1.City of Chicago
2. How Long
3.Welcome to The Cabaret
4.Palestine
5.Yellow Triangle
6.Lightning,Bird,Wind, River Man
7.Snowflakes
8.Viva la Quinta Brigada
9.Johnny Boy
10.Ride On
11.Ruby Walsh
12.The Well Below The Valley
13.Lyra McKee
14.Lingo Politico
15.The Two Conneeleys
16.North and South of The River
17. McIlhatton
18.Delerium Tremens
19.Beeswing
20. Bogman, Deep Down, where I come from
21.Voyage
22 Biko Drum
23.The Time has come
24. Irish Pagan Ritual
25. Ordinary man
Thank you for sharing your 31st with us….every night is unique…no two audience ever the same…I can safely say that last nights set list will never be repeated…after the opening song I fall into random mode..I love to ramble around the repertoire..always seeking an opening for a new song…great to get that call out for Biko Drum last night…took a gamble hoping I could trawl it back up..Wally Page’s song for Bishop Tutu will stay in the set for a while now..twas like meeting an old friend again….
I’m wondering, 5 offspring in 6 countries?? yourself and himself being American and Dutch….are there 7 different passports in your family ? and which of the six countries drew a blank ?
safe journey back to Oxford
Not being able to sleep after the Opera in Wexford tonight I was lying here remembering the various times I’ve seen you. My favourite was about 35 years ago in Melbourne. I brought my girlfriend, whose parents were (very) English, with me. You did DeliriumTremens (as you did tonight) and when you hit the line “that auld hoor in Number 10” the place erupted. My girlfriend turned to me and asked, “Why do the Irish not like the English?”. Where to even begin……
the morning after Wexford…
still buzzing after last nights fun…
thanks for your post…
with regard to what your friend said in Melbourne 35 years ago….
I gotta say;
I’ve had the very good fortune to spend many years in England….I felt safe a nd welcomed there…I got the start in England , developed my work process there, played a thousand Folk Clubs, stayed in a thousand homes, lived in Chiswick, Gunnersbury, Moss Side, Fallowfield, Cheetham Hill, Birtle, Rochdale, Causeway Foot and Mixenden, learned a hundred songs ,before I began to earn a iiving as a singer I laboured there, Walls Sausages nr Southall, EMI records in Hayes, George Wimpey somewhere I cant recall, a Bar in Bury, A Veg Shop in Rochdale, a Box-Jumper in Suffragette City, a Cold meats porter for John Lewis in Picadilly ….then Mike Harding gave me my first Folk Club Gig…. (John Lewis still has my cards)
Sure…there were a few English I “did not/do not like”, Thatcher, Kitson, Johnson, Manning,Farage, Powell , their supporters and ilk….but England was my home from home, I spent some of my happiest years there in the company of the finest of people….the tyrants who suppressed the Irish treated their own no better…to Hell with them…but I have nothing but love in my heart for England and the vast majority of its people.
(songs I learned “over” include Ordinary Man, Dalesman’s Litany, John O’Dreams,Van Dieman’s Land,Seth Davy,Old Man’s Song*, Sun is Burning*,Sweet Thames*, Companeros”, Hey Sandy, Rambling Robin,Morecambe Bay,Cold Blow Rainy Night, Lock Hospital,Tim Evans*, Green Island*,…..and many more
* penned by ex pat Scots domiciled in dear old blighty)
Hi Christy. A great night at the Opera House. Thank you very much. Keep it going.
I’ve often wondered if you ever met Declan Sinnott’s brother Frank? He was one of Wexford’s great old characters who sadly died in 2017. His quick wit and acerbic tongue are much missed.
Indeed and I did.. Frank Sinnott was a special man….he promoted a number of Concerts over the years for myself and Declan…I know that many people in Wexford miss Frank…no one more than Declan
” he’s gone down the quay to feck a herrin”
Ah Christy, glad to see youse had a great night in Wexford. You just keep rollin’ on fella!
When you quoted the granny’s lid, off I went to the vinyl collection, sure enough the Spirit of Freedom has it, along with many many more great songs.
The lyrics are indeed in your lyric section here, Lid of my Granny’s Bin.
I wonder did this ever get the van, or did the hungry feckers of Warner(?) hog all the money?
Yes Pat, the van was purchased ….the van was achieved before WEA sequestered The Spirit of Freedom.. all profits made would have gone towards recordings costs accrued with previous albums….or so I was told….
It was a difficult but enjoyable project with a good outcome… the aftermath was tarnished but not ruined by WEA’s attitude towards a fund raising album…. I still rem the CEO calling me in to his office, holding up a cassette*** of the album and saying to me “whats all this about”…he went on to tell me that under terms of my contract this album was the property of WEA….they repackaged it, altered the sleeve and that was that….I just moved on from it and recorded (I think) Ordinary Man….they dropped me eventually******…(lucky me ! )
*** “Spirit of Freedom” was a cassette only release…there were 1,000 cassette copies…. I was asked to sign one last week in Naas..one of the originals…had not seen one for years…the print was almost worn away….
****** a sweet ps…after WEA dropped me I was signed by Columbia..my first album with Columbia was one of my most successful….”Live at The Point” remained in the Irish charts for many years….
I’m in the back of the van now on the road home from Wexford which gives me time for this auld rawmaish
The Opera House in Wexford went very well tonight…I’m told we had listeners in from far and near..I heard a gentle request for “The Time has Come”..I believe it came from a Breton songster..4 of them in for the gig….what a great privilidge to have people take so much trouble, travel so far, to hear these songs….
work proceeds on the next album…. I have 10 tracks down, one or two more to get down….then we’ll mix and master…I have a title and a sleeve and notes almost complete..more updates in due course
We’re just back in the hotel after tonight’s fantastic concert Christy. Thank you so much for a great evenings entertainment. Particularly well done on pulling Biko Drum out of the hat at such short notice. Until next time……. Séamus
good man Seamus…I enjoyed myself thoroughly tonight..great audience in an excellent venue….this is year 58 of the never ending tour..its great to be alive and fit for purpose….it’ll end eventually… but lets keep truckin til the fat lad sings
Anyway, i was in Inverness this week. Saw no monsters but plenty of rain, tried to find some live music but think it had been drowned out sadly. However one of my daughters recommended searching out a new Scots band called Brogeal. I did and they are braw , and they play several irish gigs later this month.
Got a different car today for the scrapped one, it has a cd player….ya dancer.
Rory
its a long hall from Kircaldy to Inverness… had to stop in Huntley Town and say hello to Bogie’s Bonny Isobel
Christy hi
I have to say that Wexford has always seemed a braw place to me. I liked its streets, there was a grand wee record shop there where i once bought a cd by a local band something like the house that hate built.
Sunny southeast, the beaches, strawberries and though i never visited the opera house you talk about a bat going mad in it, on a corner of the box set.
Rory
that was the previous Opera House in Wexford….Moving Hearts played there one night in 1981 and disturbed bats and starlings… as “McBrides” shook the rafters unfortunate listeners suffered the indignity of Bat and Starling shite scooterin around the kip….blurts were plentiful ..hats and hairstyles solidified by a torrent of drenching shite… the promoter was a canny lad and had insured against such an outcome….one listener claimed his bald pate was caused by batshite …he got himself a fine crown topper…he had a very good solicitor
B’é the Lord Harry Christy, weren’t the boys well advanced in those days! That’s a grand wee verse you gave us,
maybe you’ll sing the complete me granny’s bin lid for us sometime!
The English have the telly,
The radio and press;
To all communications
They’ve always had access.
But from Pettigo to Bellaghy
From the Bone to Castlefin,
The only way to spread the news
Is rattle your Granny’s bin.
you’re rattlin the memory bank here Pat…is that verse from my rendition…? if so…where? I’d like to look it up….
here in Wexford tonight…home town of Declan Sinnott….
“I’m goin down the quay to feck a herrin”
” does she burn oil” sez your man kickin the tyres
” she would if she got it” said the owner of a 1958 Morris Minor ( contd P92)
Hello Christy,
Well, the mandolin is going well. 3 chords down and getting better at changing them. Maybe even a little fluency.
Rosalita and Jack Campbell is one I’ve wanted to sing for ages, but I’m not sure it works on the harp. Better on the mandolin, and 3 chords. What a great song!
I learnt D yesterday. Once this one’s working I’ll be able to tear into (hobble into…?) Mcillhatton. Another one that’s been on my wishlist for years.
I wrote a song called Martin’s Last Straw, a few years back. It’s kind of Tipping it Up to Nancy from the opposite point of view. I’m going to have a go at nailing the chords for that one too.
Rebecca
Rosalita and McIlhatton….two of the finest flowers in the garden….both gems to sing..one from Sean Mone, the other from Bobby Sands
Hello christy
Hope you are well
I discovered this singer recently
Danny carlin is his name.
And this song while quite funny has an element of truth I think
It’s called Suckin Diesel
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mQzEo3O29Fy-ARnwnps-1qTpKusqVLUGU&si=W9WM5O4rqZgaRenR
I’m just mounting the Honda 50 here
she’s 100% electric now..I’ve removed the tank and put in a small fridge…
21 years since the music of Planxty rang out in Vicar Street to an enthusiatic gathering. As you remark, where does the time go? But the great quartet came and reformed.
we started out as “Clad”… that name lasted a few months before it, thankfully expired…. when we renamed the band…. we were called Plangcity, Plansettee, Planacity,Plankton. Plantex and Playtex….it took 6 months the word Planxty to gain recognition ..we were away on a hack….even got a review in Spotlight
ps just got a note reminding me that we were once called Plankton
40 years ago in Bellaghy! You mention that gig in the excellent Treasna na Tíre documentary about Bobby Sands, (to which Rory directed me), where you do the foreword and sing The Ballad of Tim Evans, a Bobby favourite according to the co presenter of that programme Colm Scullion, another Bellaghy man who did his H-Block time, and has good reason to know Bobby’s likes and feelings.
I bet Colm wheeled you in that barrow!
not at all..it was a remotely controlled wheelbarrow steered by a robot hand….AI was all the go in those parts in them times
whistle bang shout
rattle up a din
let the Army know
that the Brits is comin in
Thankyou for being so kind
my middle name
I’m sorry about that post. I’m struggling a bit right now. Grieving, I guess. I’d had a bit to drink last night. I don’t remember posting it. I think it might have been shock and sadness at the Seamus Heeney quote.
Thankfully, there were no such devices when I was on the juice..way back in the old world
What a great post Pat, not sure about what followed it.
evocative stuff from the german foothills to the irish heart.
rory