Hi christy this six nations is hotting up,still there for anyone to win,How is the new member of the moore family doing .
Christy's reply
all good Geraint….we dote upon her at every opportunity…
France,Wales and England loom,then our Euro Club games to savour with the Summer Lions tour beyond that….lots of Dubbin and Wintergreen to rub in, warm ups to exhilerate and Ice cold baths to endure….with the emergence of so many prop forwards here in Hibernia I have finally accepted that my chance to don the No.3 Green Jersey is finally gone…of course being 4 inches too short (at least) has always shortened my chances…..
but songs keep coming my way, providing solace and grist to the mill…
Well Christy, last time I was in touch you were playing the slieve and we couldn’t make it with the baby on the way. So good news baby Kerry Maise Maguire arrived on the 20th there safe and sound. Shes already listening to the cliffs of dooneen Two island swans. Another fan to add the faithful 🙂
C, I have conversations with people face-to-face and after a short brief interlude I get ‘it wasnt me who told you that…’ so imagine where someone under a non-de-plume is talking online, it gets complicated, I’d seen your verse previously here – just wasnt sure whether it was you or not. Thanks for reply and I can compliment your way with words. I’ve copied and pasted some of Christy’s and some of the posters in here & intend responding here soon.
Hi Christy (& Ed Coyle)
In answer to Ed’s question as to whether I wrote the piece about shoveling in London AND whether I have a wife or partner…
The answer to both questions is Yes!
It was exceedingly remiss if me NOT to mention my wife of 30 years, lover, mother of my children, Saint and Best friend Frances. She is and has been my rock and the corner stone of this family. She is easily the best thing that ever happened to me and I do not wish to imagine, my life without her. I love her more than my last breath. See piece for her below.
As to the writing, I have written hundreds of pieces, mostly poetry but I don’t differentiate between ‘song’ and ‘poetry’ – I consider them both one and the same.
Nice to make your acquaintance, through the site of this legend/port/singer/songwriter, whom we both admire so much.
Good luck and good health ?
Frances
Can you sing me a song, one that lasts all night long
and comforts me, when I can’t sleep.
Will you hold me so gently, almost incidentally
and not remonstrate, should I weep.
Would you whisper above me, that you really love me
interspersing each word, with a kiss;
make each syllable seem, like a separate dream,
full of tenderness, caring and bliss.
Would you slowly undress me and – sighing – caress me,
ignoring the scars in my mind.
Treat my imperfections, as though predilections,
that you are enchanted to find.
Will you help me to heal, understand and make real,
the emotions that baffle me so.
Would you set my soul free, but remain the trustee,
that will keep it and never let go.
Will you never deceive me, abandon and leave me
to fend for myself, all alone.
Would you promise to stay, will you go all the way,
though the path that I choose be unknown.
Can we lay here together and stay here forever
and then, maybe, add one more day.
I would live, love and die, say my final goodbye
with you, when this old world fades away.
I’ve been waiting for years for you to come to Atlanta but no luck. I am going to travel 10 days through Ireland with a friend from Holland in March and decided a few months ago to check if you happened to be playing. The first few times I checked I didn’t see any gigs but about two months ago my heart skipped a beat when I saw you’d be playing in Clonmel on my last Friday in Ireland. My heart sank in my shoes though when I googled the place (my heart has been quite busy lately 🙂 ) We’ll be traveling from Belfast that morning, and I’ll have to drop off my friend at the airport in Dublin then race to Clonmel and hopefully be there on time to see you! I bought my ticket and every time I look at it I’ve got this big grin on my face. It’s going to be the high light of my trip! How awesome is this, a Dutchie living in Atlanta traveling to Ireland and getting to see you perform!
Not to be coming across as total groupie or stalker, (maybe just a tad bit) but a friend of mine gave me small picture of you on canvas for on my desk and told me to get it signed. Do you ever give fans a chance to have things signed or should I leave it home? I’d be willing to trade a autograph for a drink 😉
Some great posts up here and enjoying the reads.
(Is ‘Casper’ the chap who posted up a ballad he’d penned in London from seventies London bedsit days?) No mention of a wife/female partner; pity; is she gone or passed on? Not indicated. But a good superlative album is he listening to. And ‘Sweet Thames Flow Softly’.
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another two great gigs at the weekend in Kilashee House and Mullingar Park. It was a pleasure as always. Enjoyed both gigs immensely, as did my mother. Really appreciate the shoutout on Friday night and the set of guitar strings Saturday. (Don’t know if I should frame them or use them!)
I have picked out a couple of gigs to attend in March, and then Barrowlands in April. I’m trying to get in a few gigs before the Leaving Cert!
Christy's reply
Ruairi….use them till they are knackered, then frame them if you wish !!!!….you have reminded me of going to hear the Clancy Brothers in Dublin before I did my Leaving Cert..it was the best gig I ever witnessed..they were awesome to this (then) 17year old…..many years later I got to meet each of them and that too was a memorable experience… I was 18 at a Fleadh Ceol in Bunclody when I heard Liam Clancy singing on the street…we gathered around him as he sang “The Streams of Bunclody”
“Oh were I at the Mosshouse where the birds do increase
by the streams of Bunclody where all pleasures do meet”
53 years later I still remember the beauty and excitement of that moment…Liam,Paddy and Tom Clancy along with Tommy Makem inspired our generation…their music started a movement in Ireland that still resounds today…
of course there was music around Ireland (pre Clancys) that subsequently joined with and fed into the “ballad scene” as it was then called…Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Joe Heaney, Paddy Tunney, Sean O’Riada, The Tulla and Kilfenora Bands and many many others were keeping the Tradition alive prior to The Clancy phenomenon. However many of us were awoken to the Trad Music and Song of Ireland through our initial exposure to “Brennan on The Moor” “Rosin The Bow” “The Jug of Punch” and “The Leaving of Liverpool”. It was songs like these that diverted our ears from Elvis, Little Richard and Fats Domino and set us on the path that some of us still tread today…
Within a matter of years there was music being played nightly as “Ballad Lounges” proliferated….before long we Had The Dubliners, Sweeney’s Men, Al O’Donnell, The Parnell Folk, Jessie Owens,Johnny McEvoy, Danny Doyle,Maeve Mulvanney and many others blazing a trail around Ireland and further afield …then varied genres began to emerge with bands Like The Chieftains, Planxty, De Dannan going in one direction while other bands went in another….
I dont know where all this came from Ruairi !! it was all sparked by you mentioning your Leaving Cert !!!
PS.In my early days gigging I used to boil strings and re-use them…dont know if it made them sound any better….money was scarce the first few years
So much rain here in CA that I can almost imagine it being Ireland. I love reading the comments on your lovely site here, and your replies. It’s like sitting around a fire.
It’s such a different universe from the one I inhabit now. There’s just this sense of insanity and danger and depression and a hopeless feeling that no matter how much we write, and march, and call, and protest, nothing will be done. The ugly mean voices seem to be in charge, the ones that believe in guns, the ones that own them.
As for you, deep gratitude for the music and the poetry and rich color that you and your compatriots bring here and to the world. I cherish it. And my heart breaks to return there again.
xo
Christy's reply
Hey Wolf,
there may be some music coming your way….watch your mails
Hi Christy,
Nothing much to say really but was just sitting here, at the kitchen table, in an empty house, trying to see Belullet through an Atlantic mist and listening to Planxty, The Black Album (as I call it), on the iPod yoke that kids got me last Christmas.
I got up to make ANOTHER cup of tea and was struck by the complete silence. It’s the kind of silence that I remember praying for, when the kids – 7 of them – were younger and the four lads ‘into it’ like a wannabe Connor McGregors, while the three women screeched encouragement and derision, like banshees before a major battle. I remember wondering, will I ever know peace again?
Well, now I have it and it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be! The two youngest (19 & 17) are at their friend’s houses and the other five are scattered: one in UL, Limerick, two in Carlow, one in Ballina and one in England…and I miss them.
True, I can go to the fridge and there’s actually some food left in it…true, the electricity bill doesn’t frighten me anymore…true, a trolley of shopping seems smaller and lasts longer and…true, I can nearly always get a matching pair of socks back from the washing machine, that for years was blamed for devouring at least one of every pair put into it. But you know what? I’d go barefoot sometimes, just for a day of the bedlam that I used to despair of. Hard to please haha.
Oh, I can hear ‘Sweet Thames Flow Softly’ buzzing away there from the ould earphones, on the table – God, I love that song. I’ll leave he with a little thing that I wrote for the mood I’m in…good luck and good health to all.
Empty
Endless days; empty!
Unvaried routines;
rising, realizing,
dusting, staring
at photo-spattered walls
and empty chairs,
where once their feet
did not reach the floor.
Christy's reply
Thanks for sharing Casper…the company of loving memories does not match the real thing….good though that you have loved ones whom you long to see..and doubtless you will….I remember thinking once that I could hear the spiders fart..so quiet was the house….Ballina,Limerick, 2 in Carlow, 2 in the neighbours and one across the road in England….they’ll be with you before you know it…. (but their feet will reach the floor)….
Hi Christy, can’t wait to see you in the city north hotel next Friday night, my wife Oonagh got us 2 tickets for my 40th birthday, and we will be 6 years married in June, our first dance was to the voyage, this will be my 5th time seeing you play, love all your songs and we can’t wait, many thanks Noel Kelly ??
Christy's reply
Sound Noel…feel free to dance with Oonagh next Friday Night….Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary
Hi Christy,
I play a little, and sing a lot of your songs. In fact, it was you and your music which inspired me to pick up, and learn how to play a guitar. “They never came home” is one of my favorites, and while I have tried to sing it so many times, I fail, as I break down in the middle of the song. The lyrics are so heart breaking, as was the event. How do you sing it without the emotion breaking through???
Anyhow, thank you for many years of musical enjoyment, and I look forward to many more..
Regards John
Christy's reply
When I sing that song I am focused entirely upon the elements. I am remembering the 48 youngsters tragically lost, I am remembering the hundreds scarred and emotionally injured…I am thinking of the injustice still suffered…I am thinking of Butterly and the cruel neck of him…I am remembering Judge Frank Murphy….
………Thank you for singing it John….its OK to break down…shows you care, that you remember….it reminds us too that there are still fire hazards out there and proprietors prepared to ignore them
A lovely return to Naas, and Killashee House last Friday. As we waked through Naas earlier in the day and passed the steps of the courthouse, Veronica Guerin flashed into my mind. Thank you so much for singing “Veronica”. It was a truly wonderful gig, you were as proud as punch to play for the “Lily Whites” and why wouldn’t you be. (where do you get the energy) Loved every second of the music ,feeling the vibes. Already counting the days to the Tullamore gig at the end of March. Thanks to Declan and Jimmy and to all the crew. We meet some lovely people, including Mike and Sinead, thanks to Hiliary too, great gig. Jean D
Christy's reply
So glad you requested “Veronica”…it was indeed a noble call,Thank You.
The energy comes from the excitement engendered when playing with great musicians to a room thronged with appreciative listeners….the preparation is important too and also having such a dedicated crew who insure that everything is in place when we hit the stage….they build the stage, erect the lights, move in the sound system, check every aspect of the production….its truly wonderful to be part of such a team of dedicated people..
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another wonderful Gig tonight in Mullingar; a lively Saturday night audience. You certainly pulled out some showstoppers….. “Ann Lovett” “They never came home”, ” Motherland” ” Knock” etc.
Your generosity in playing requests from the listeners never ends; I often wonder how you manage to keep it all together with the constant demands from the room.
N.B I will pass on your good wished to Dessie.
Best Regards,
Patsy
Christy's reply
tell you the truth Patsy…there are never “demands from the room”..I find it heartwarming to be recieveing requests for songs like “Anne Lovett”, “Veronica”and “Stardust” In earlier years it was usually requests for successful airplay songs, now there is a willingness to listen to the more reflective songs as well as Joxer,Lisdoon, Amsterdam…great to have these rollickers to lash out but its always a joy to hear someone quietly ask for the quieter ones…
..that room in Mullingar Park has been very good for us these past 14 years….still remember the earlier times in The ‘Gar Town…Bloomfield, The Greville, Swarbriggs, played The Town Hall with Planxty in 1972………..years back there would be “demands”..back when I’d be trying to compete with The Bar !! but I’d be skullin the large bottles myself during gigs which sometimes led to nights best forgotten …thanks for all your feedback and support
Christy, beidh fáilte romhraibh go léir! Belfast chowder abú…lorries not allowed! Re Hillary’s post…Boys of Barr na Sráide a great song. Mary
Christy's reply
“But now they toil in foreign soil where they have made their way,
deep in the heart of London Town or over in Broadway.
John Dalaigh and Batt Andy, The Sheehans Con and Dan,
those Boys of Barr na Sráide, who hunted for the Wren”
I first heard this song sung by Michael Hipkiss in Birmingham in 1967.Having played in his Folk Club I had the pleasure of staying with Michael, Eileen and their young family in Erdington.We swapped a few songs. Along with this Sigerson Clifford Ballad he also taught me “Come by the Hill” which was one of the great sing-along songs of the time.
Re post below…. ” gigs and reels “… Freudian slip or what ??? H
Christy's reply
who is this Freud ..did he play for Kerry.?…or was it the Freudian Slip Jig that Pádraig O’Keefe played with Denis Murphy in Con Curtin’s the day the crow shit on the hen’s lip and two guards were wrestlin for stirabout…thats the thing about tunes..there can be a right suck in thinkin its one tune only to find its another
“Labhrás O Murchú has a right auld holt of us
in the drivin seat the permanently head of Comhaltas” ( Bob Dylan)
“Turn it Michael” sez Maggie Barry
abroad in Harlesden that Summer’s night in 1966….later we saw the dawn in as Mairtín Byrnes played a long set of slow reels..Michael Dwyer played slow airs like no one else..his brother Finbar went on to write some of the very finest tunes…..
and on it goes, young generations slowly becoming old timers, vamps change..guitars ,bouzuokis, piano drivers, bodhrans but the soul of the music strives on through thick and thin….
about four years ago I was diggin the land
with a cock in me hat and a spade in me hand
sez I to myself what a pity to see
such a fine strappin lad cuttin turf near Tralee (Noreen O Sullivan)
Hi All. With the recent reference to the album ” Whatever Tickles Your Fancy ” I started listening to other earlier CDs,,,,from the 70s “Live in Dublin “,,, “The Iron behind the Velvet “….some great performers,, Andy Irvine, Noel Hill, Gabriel McKeown, Barry Moore,Jimmy Faulkner, Donal Lunny, Tony Linnane, with pipes, concertinas, all sorts of stringed instruments, bodhran, etc , etc.,,its great to hear again Ballads like Dunlavin Green and The Sun is Burning, Little Mother, Boys of Barr na Sraide,, as well as gigs and reels. you have gathered and shared great gems over time and continue to do so,,,, Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
mention of those albums evoke memories of times and bands past, rehearsing on the Castlecomer Plateau..gigging in The Merriman Tavern in Scariff, touring Germany Switzerland Lichtenstein with Jimmy Faulkner, large bottles and sweet chaos in The Hidden Inn in Kilmanahan, leaving The Embankment in Tallaght in broad day light 10 hours after the gig finished….when Barney famously said ” is’nt there a great stretch in the evenings” (at 9am the following morning !).Coolera House beneath Queen Maeve’s Bed where we played our gig and then partied all night with Pumpkinhead ,that great American Band who settled in Sligo in the early 70s (their music still resonates)…all this in the pre Lidoonvarna/Ballisodare years in a very different Ireland …..nice that those albums are still being heard and referenced….Luka’s (Barry Moore) album Treaty Stone also from that era..some lovely songs on that album too ….on we go,heel to the toe,dancing the reel in the flickering light
Christy, the ‘Rebel Buchall’ and my interest in Arlington House/Aisling Project refer. I am particularly drawn to the Dagenham Yanks…Buachaillí Chorcaí from the Leeside who emigrated to work in the Fords factory in Dagenham in the early 1930’s, so many that it was known as Little Cork. Following the closure of Ford and Dunlop in the 80’s thousands of young Cork people were forced to emigrate in search of work. My father worked for a number of years in Cobh’s dry-dock and in later years worked for Dunlop. Boxes of floor tiles stored in our garage in West Belfast and labelled Dunlop Semtex during the 70’s, went down a treat with the many foot patrols that patrolled our streets on a daily basis! The next time you are in town make sure you call in to An Cultúrlann (across the road from St Mary’s University) you would be well looked after! Mary
Christy's reply
Ceart go leór, beimíd go léir isteach ‘san Cultúrlann ag “lorrying into” an “Falls Road Chowder”
I did visit Arlington in the 80s…I think I did a gig with Vince Power for the project………
2o years before I trudged the Great West Road seeking work in some of the factories located there….no success so I enlisted with George Wimpey for a spell (We Imply More Paddies Every Year)
Being the day that was in it yesterday I got a beautiful bouquet of …words. John Spillane’s wonderful book ‘Will we brilliant or what’. A collection of his songs and the inspiration for same. A lovely gentle and encouraging read. Nice intro! Mary
Christy's reply
its a grand book from the Rebel Buachall…he do be writin them
I love to sing “Magic Nights” “Gortatagort” and “The Ballad of Patrick Murphy”
Hoping to hear him sing again soon
“another ball in the back of the net for John Spillane”
re: my query on February 9, 2017 about some songs I wanted to send ~ and ? Manager.
REPLY was:-
Christy’s reply
his manager is in america…
####################################
Please can I have details about WHERE to make contact.
Thanks.
Christy's reply
at the moment Christy has fallen far behind in the task of assessing songs from other writers. he regrets that he cannot accept further submissions at this time…he is currently focusing on his own work and wishes you well with your own writing….
Hi christy this six nations is hotting up,still there for anyone to win,How is the new member of the moore family doing .
all good Geraint….we dote upon her at every opportunity…
France,Wales and England loom,then our Euro Club games to savour with the Summer Lions tour beyond that….lots of Dubbin and Wintergreen to rub in, warm ups to exhilerate and Ice cold baths to endure….with the emergence of so many prop forwards here in Hibernia I have finally accepted that my chance to don the No.3 Green Jersey is finally gone…of course being 4 inches too short (at least) has always shortened my chances…..
but songs keep coming my way, providing solace and grist to the mill…
Greetings to the Glorious Valleys of Song
Well Christy, last time I was in touch you were playing the slieve and we couldn’t make it with the baby on the way. So good news baby Kerry Maise Maguire arrived on the 20th there safe and sound. Shes already listening to the cliffs of dooneen Two island swans. Another fan to add the faithful 🙂
C, I have conversations with people face-to-face and after a short brief interlude I get ‘it wasnt me who told you that…’ so imagine where someone under a non-de-plume is talking online, it gets complicated, I’d seen your verse previously here – just wasnt sure whether it was you or not. Thanks for reply and I can compliment your way with words. I’ve copied and pasted some of Christy’s and some of the posters in here & intend responding here soon.
Hi Christy (& Ed Coyle)
In answer to Ed’s question as to whether I wrote the piece about shoveling in London AND whether I have a wife or partner…
The answer to both questions is Yes!
It was exceedingly remiss if me NOT to mention my wife of 30 years, lover, mother of my children, Saint and Best friend Frances. She is and has been my rock and the corner stone of this family. She is easily the best thing that ever happened to me and I do not wish to imagine, my life without her. I love her more than my last breath. See piece for her below.
As to the writing, I have written hundreds of pieces, mostly poetry but I don’t differentiate between ‘song’ and ‘poetry’ – I consider them both one and the same.
Nice to make your acquaintance, through the site of this legend/port/singer/songwriter, whom we both admire so much.
Good luck and good health ?
Frances
Can you sing me a song, one that lasts all night long
and comforts me, when I can’t sleep.
Will you hold me so gently, almost incidentally
and not remonstrate, should I weep.
Would you whisper above me, that you really love me
interspersing each word, with a kiss;
make each syllable seem, like a separate dream,
full of tenderness, caring and bliss.
Would you slowly undress me and – sighing – caress me,
ignoring the scars in my mind.
Treat my imperfections, as though predilections,
that you are enchanted to find.
Will you help me to heal, understand and make real,
the emotions that baffle me so.
Would you set my soul free, but remain the trustee,
that will keep it and never let go.
Will you never deceive me, abandon and leave me
to fend for myself, all alone.
Would you promise to stay, will you go all the way,
though the path that I choose be unknown.
Can we lay here together and stay here forever
and then, maybe, add one more day.
I would live, love and die, say my final goodbye
with you, when this old world fades away.
Thanks for 2 great gigs in Ennis a couple of weeks ago, Christy.
Back here in NYC and still buzzed…
Hi Christy,
I’ve been waiting for years for you to come to Atlanta but no luck. I am going to travel 10 days through Ireland with a friend from Holland in March and decided a few months ago to check if you happened to be playing. The first few times I checked I didn’t see any gigs but about two months ago my heart skipped a beat when I saw you’d be playing in Clonmel on my last Friday in Ireland. My heart sank in my shoes though when I googled the place (my heart has been quite busy lately 🙂 ) We’ll be traveling from Belfast that morning, and I’ll have to drop off my friend at the airport in Dublin then race to Clonmel and hopefully be there on time to see you! I bought my ticket and every time I look at it I’ve got this big grin on my face. It’s going to be the high light of my trip! How awesome is this, a Dutchie living in Atlanta traveling to Ireland and getting to see you perform!
Not to be coming across as total groupie or stalker, (maybe just a tad bit) but a friend of mine gave me small picture of you on canvas for on my desk and told me to get it signed. Do you ever give fans a chance to have things signed or should I leave it home? I’d be willing to trade a autograph for a drink 😉
Marian Andeweg
Some great posts up here and enjoying the reads.
(Is ‘Casper’ the chap who posted up a ballad he’d penned in London from seventies London bedsit days?) No mention of a wife/female partner; pity; is she gone or passed on? Not indicated. But a good superlative album is he listening to. And ‘Sweet Thames Flow Softly’.
I’ll be back – soon.
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another two great gigs at the weekend in Kilashee House and Mullingar Park. It was a pleasure as always. Enjoyed both gigs immensely, as did my mother. Really appreciate the shoutout on Friday night and the set of guitar strings Saturday. (Don’t know if I should frame them or use them!)
I have picked out a couple of gigs to attend in March, and then Barrowlands in April. I’m trying to get in a few gigs before the Leaving Cert!
Ruairi….use them till they are knackered, then frame them if you wish !!!!….you have reminded me of going to hear the Clancy Brothers in Dublin before I did my Leaving Cert..it was the best gig I ever witnessed..they were awesome to this (then) 17year old…..many years later I got to meet each of them and that too was a memorable experience… I was 18 at a Fleadh Ceol in Bunclody when I heard Liam Clancy singing on the street…we gathered around him as he sang “The Streams of Bunclody”
“Oh were I at the Mosshouse where the birds do increase
by the streams of Bunclody where all pleasures do meet”
53 years later I still remember the beauty and excitement of that moment…Liam,Paddy and Tom Clancy along with Tommy Makem inspired our generation…their music started a movement in Ireland that still resounds today…
of course there was music around Ireland (pre Clancys) that subsequently joined with and fed into the “ballad scene” as it was then called…Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Joe Heaney, Paddy Tunney, Sean O’Riada, The Tulla and Kilfenora Bands and many many others were keeping the Tradition alive prior to The Clancy phenomenon. However many of us were awoken to the Trad Music and Song of Ireland through our initial exposure to “Brennan on The Moor” “Rosin The Bow” “The Jug of Punch” and “The Leaving of Liverpool”. It was songs like these that diverted our ears from Elvis, Little Richard and Fats Domino and set us on the path that some of us still tread today…
Within a matter of years there was music being played nightly as “Ballad Lounges” proliferated….before long we Had The Dubliners, Sweeney’s Men, Al O’Donnell, The Parnell Folk, Jessie Owens,Johnny McEvoy, Danny Doyle,Maeve Mulvanney and many others blazing a trail around Ireland and further afield …then varied genres began to emerge with bands Like The Chieftains, Planxty, De Dannan going in one direction while other bands went in another….
I dont know where all this came from Ruairi !! it was all sparked by you mentioning your Leaving Cert !!!
PS.In my early days gigging I used to boil strings and re-use them…dont know if it made them sound any better….money was scarce the first few years
So much rain here in CA that I can almost imagine it being Ireland. I love reading the comments on your lovely site here, and your replies. It’s like sitting around a fire.
It’s such a different universe from the one I inhabit now. There’s just this sense of insanity and danger and depression and a hopeless feeling that no matter how much we write, and march, and call, and protest, nothing will be done. The ugly mean voices seem to be in charge, the ones that believe in guns, the ones that own them.
As for you, deep gratitude for the music and the poetry and rich color that you and your compatriots bring here and to the world. I cherish it. And my heart breaks to return there again.
xo
Hey Wolf,
there may be some music coming your way….watch your mails
Hi Christy,
Nothing much to say really but was just sitting here, at the kitchen table, in an empty house, trying to see Belullet through an Atlantic mist and listening to Planxty, The Black Album (as I call it), on the iPod yoke that kids got me last Christmas.
I got up to make ANOTHER cup of tea and was struck by the complete silence. It’s the kind of silence that I remember praying for, when the kids – 7 of them – were younger and the four lads ‘into it’ like a wannabe Connor McGregors, while the three women screeched encouragement and derision, like banshees before a major battle. I remember wondering, will I ever know peace again?
Well, now I have it and it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be! The two youngest (19 & 17) are at their friend’s houses and the other five are scattered: one in UL, Limerick, two in Carlow, one in Ballina and one in England…and I miss them.
True, I can go to the fridge and there’s actually some food left in it…true, the electricity bill doesn’t frighten me anymore…true, a trolley of shopping seems smaller and lasts longer and…true, I can nearly always get a matching pair of socks back from the washing machine, that for years was blamed for devouring at least one of every pair put into it. But you know what? I’d go barefoot sometimes, just for a day of the bedlam that I used to despair of. Hard to please haha.
Oh, I can hear ‘Sweet Thames Flow Softly’ buzzing away there from the ould earphones, on the table – God, I love that song. I’ll leave he with a little thing that I wrote for the mood I’m in…good luck and good health to all.
Empty
Endless days; empty!
Unvaried routines;
rising, realizing,
dusting, staring
at photo-spattered walls
and empty chairs,
where once their feet
did not reach the floor.
Thanks for sharing Casper…the company of loving memories does not match the real thing….good though that you have loved ones whom you long to see..and doubtless you will….I remember thinking once that I could hear the spiders fart..so quiet was the house….Ballina,Limerick, 2 in Carlow, 2 in the neighbours and one across the road in England….they’ll be with you before you know it…. (but their feet will reach the floor)….
Hi Christy, can’t wait to see you in the city north hotel next Friday night, my wife Oonagh got us 2 tickets for my 40th birthday, and we will be 6 years married in June, our first dance was to the voyage, this will be my 5th time seeing you play, love all your songs and we can’t wait, many thanks Noel Kelly ??
Sound Noel…feel free to dance with Oonagh next Friday Night….Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary
Hi Christy,
I play a little, and sing a lot of your songs. In fact, it was you and your music which inspired me to pick up, and learn how to play a guitar. “They never came home” is one of my favorites, and while I have tried to sing it so many times, I fail, as I break down in the middle of the song. The lyrics are so heart breaking, as was the event. How do you sing it without the emotion breaking through???
Anyhow, thank you for many years of musical enjoyment, and I look forward to many more..
Regards John
When I sing that song I am focused entirely upon the elements. I am remembering the 48 youngsters tragically lost, I am remembering the hundreds scarred and emotionally injured…I am thinking of the injustice still suffered…I am thinking of Butterly and the cruel neck of him…I am remembering Judge Frank Murphy….
………Thank you for singing it John….its OK to break down…shows you care, that you remember….it reminds us too that there are still fire hazards out there and proprietors prepared to ignore them
A lovely return to Naas, and Killashee House last Friday. As we waked through Naas earlier in the day and passed the steps of the courthouse, Veronica Guerin flashed into my mind. Thank you so much for singing “Veronica”. It was a truly wonderful gig, you were as proud as punch to play for the “Lily Whites” and why wouldn’t you be. (where do you get the energy) Loved every second of the music ,feeling the vibes. Already counting the days to the Tullamore gig at the end of March. Thanks to Declan and Jimmy and to all the crew. We meet some lovely people, including Mike and Sinead, thanks to Hiliary too, great gig. Jean D
So glad you requested “Veronica”…it was indeed a noble call,Thank You.
The energy comes from the excitement engendered when playing with great musicians to a room thronged with appreciative listeners….the preparation is important too and also having such a dedicated crew who insure that everything is in place when we hit the stage….they build the stage, erect the lights, move in the sound system, check every aspect of the production….its truly wonderful to be part of such a team of dedicated people..
Killashee has a very personal connection for me….
Hi Christy,
Thanks for another wonderful Gig tonight in Mullingar; a lively Saturday night audience. You certainly pulled out some showstoppers….. “Ann Lovett” “They never came home”, ” Motherland” ” Knock” etc.
Your generosity in playing requests from the listeners never ends; I often wonder how you manage to keep it all together with the constant demands from the room.
N.B I will pass on your good wished to Dessie.
Best Regards,
Patsy
tell you the truth Patsy…there are never “demands from the room”..I find it heartwarming to be recieveing requests for songs like “Anne Lovett”, “Veronica”and “Stardust” In earlier years it was usually requests for successful airplay songs, now there is a willingness to listen to the more reflective songs as well as Joxer,Lisdoon, Amsterdam…great to have these rollickers to lash out but its always a joy to hear someone quietly ask for the quieter ones…
..that room in Mullingar Park has been very good for us these past 14 years….still remember the earlier times in The ‘Gar Town…Bloomfield, The Greville, Swarbriggs, played The Town Hall with Planxty in 1972………..years back there would be “demands”..back when I’d be trying to compete with The Bar !! but I’d be skullin the large bottles myself during gigs which sometimes led to nights best forgotten …thanks for all your feedback and support
Christy, beidh fáilte romhraibh go léir! Belfast chowder abú…lorries not allowed! Re Hillary’s post…Boys of Barr na Sráide a great song. Mary
“But now they toil in foreign soil where they have made their way,
deep in the heart of London Town or over in Broadway.
John Dalaigh and Batt Andy, The Sheehans Con and Dan,
those Boys of Barr na Sráide, who hunted for the Wren”
I first heard this song sung by Michael Hipkiss in Birmingham in 1967.Having played in his Folk Club I had the pleasure of staying with Michael, Eileen and their young family in Erdington.We swapped a few songs. Along with this Sigerson Clifford Ballad he also taught me “Come by the Hill” which was one of the great sing-along songs of the time.
Re post below…. ” gigs and reels “… Freudian slip or what ??? H
who is this Freud ..did he play for Kerry.?…or was it the Freudian Slip Jig that Pádraig O’Keefe played with Denis Murphy in Con Curtin’s the day the crow shit on the hen’s lip and two guards were wrestlin for stirabout…thats the thing about tunes..there can be a right suck in thinkin its one tune only to find its another
“Labhrás O Murchú has a right auld holt of us
in the drivin seat the permanently head of Comhaltas” ( Bob Dylan)
“Turn it Michael” sez Maggie Barry
abroad in Harlesden that Summer’s night in 1966….later we saw the dawn in as Mairtín Byrnes played a long set of slow reels..Michael Dwyer played slow airs like no one else..his brother Finbar went on to write some of the very finest tunes…..
and on it goes, young generations slowly becoming old timers, vamps change..guitars ,bouzuokis, piano drivers, bodhrans but the soul of the music strives on through thick and thin….
about four years ago I was diggin the land
with a cock in me hat and a spade in me hand
sez I to myself what a pity to see
such a fine strappin lad cuttin turf near Tralee (Noreen O Sullivan)
Hi All. With the recent reference to the album ” Whatever Tickles Your Fancy ” I started listening to other earlier CDs,,,,from the 70s “Live in Dublin “,,, “The Iron behind the Velvet “….some great performers,, Andy Irvine, Noel Hill, Gabriel McKeown, Barry Moore,Jimmy Faulkner, Donal Lunny, Tony Linnane, with pipes, concertinas, all sorts of stringed instruments, bodhran, etc , etc.,,its great to hear again Ballads like Dunlavin Green and The Sun is Burning, Little Mother, Boys of Barr na Sraide,, as well as gigs and reels. you have gathered and shared great gems over time and continue to do so,,,, Beir bua agus beannacht. H
mention of those albums evoke memories of times and bands past, rehearsing on the Castlecomer Plateau..gigging in The Merriman Tavern in Scariff, touring Germany Switzerland Lichtenstein with Jimmy Faulkner, large bottles and sweet chaos in The Hidden Inn in Kilmanahan, leaving The Embankment in Tallaght in broad day light 10 hours after the gig finished….when Barney famously said ” is’nt there a great stretch in the evenings” (at 9am the following morning !).Coolera House beneath Queen Maeve’s Bed where we played our gig and then partied all night with Pumpkinhead ,that great American Band who settled in Sligo in the early 70s (their music still resonates)…all this in the pre Lidoonvarna/Ballisodare years in a very different Ireland …..nice that those albums are still being heard and referenced….Luka’s (Barry Moore) album Treaty Stone also from that era..some lovely songs on that album too ….on we go,heel to the toe,dancing the reel in the flickering light
Christy, the ‘Rebel Buchall’ and my interest in Arlington House/Aisling Project refer. I am particularly drawn to the Dagenham Yanks…Buachaillí Chorcaí from the Leeside who emigrated to work in the Fords factory in Dagenham in the early 1930’s, so many that it was known as Little Cork. Following the closure of Ford and Dunlop in the 80’s thousands of young Cork people were forced to emigrate in search of work. My father worked for a number of years in Cobh’s dry-dock and in later years worked for Dunlop. Boxes of floor tiles stored in our garage in West Belfast and labelled Dunlop Semtex during the 70’s, went down a treat with the many foot patrols that patrolled our streets on a daily basis! The next time you are in town make sure you call in to An Cultúrlann (across the road from St Mary’s University) you would be well looked after! Mary
Ceart go leór, beimíd go léir isteach ‘san Cultúrlann ag “lorrying into” an “Falls Road Chowder”
I did visit Arlington in the 80s…I think I did a gig with Vince Power for the project………
2o years before I trudged the Great West Road seeking work in some of the factories located there….no success so I enlisted with George Wimpey for a spell (We Imply More Paddies Every Year)
Being the day that was in it yesterday I got a beautiful bouquet of …words. John Spillane’s wonderful book ‘Will we brilliant or what’. A collection of his songs and the inspiration for same. A lovely gentle and encouraging read. Nice intro! Mary
its a grand book from the Rebel Buachall…he do be writin them
I love to sing “Magic Nights” “Gortatagort” and “The Ballad of Patrick Murphy”
Hoping to hear him sing again soon
“another ball in the back of the net for John Spillane”
re: my query on February 9, 2017 about some songs I wanted to send ~ and ? Manager.
REPLY was:-
Christy’s reply
his manager is in america…
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Please can I have details about WHERE to make contact.
Thanks.
at the moment Christy has fallen far behind in the task of assessing songs from other writers. he regrets that he cannot accept further submissions at this time…he is currently focusing on his own work and wishes you well with your own writing….