Christy I totally enjoyed the concert Friday night with Declan at the concert hall. you both were brilliant..
Christy's reply
The Listeners were in great singing form too…the atmosphere was very good and there were noble calls coming up from the room…played many different venues by The Treaty Stone over the years. Back in Planxty time ,1972, played The Savoy in Limerick which, at the time ,was the largest venue in Ireland holding 4,000. Played The Belltable many times when Bríd Dukes was at the helm….in the 80s played a Summer Gigs in The Two Mile Inn. Moving Hearts played in The Parkway after it opened and The Anti Nuclear Road Show hit Limerick in 1979. I think we played a Dance hall up near The Glentworth. My very first gig in Limerick was in the George Hotel back in 1964. I was a bank clerk out in Askeaton and got booked to play a for a group of American Tourists in that Hotel. I got £3 and all the porter I could drink, which back then was quite a drop.
A mighty match today. Well done, Clare. I hope it’s my last year watching matches from afar. I totally agree with what you have to say, Christy, on the alcohol issue.
Christy's reply
May you make your way to wherever you long to be…..The Banner were magnificent, The Lee Siders will be back…..
What a beautiful intimate attentive gig last night in UCH ….The song choice was beautiful and the crowd were great listeners , well done Declan on his new song its beautiful ….You played some of our favorites with Magdalen, Gortahagort, Honda 50, Thank you for Biko its an amazing song , hav’nt heard it since Ennis even a bit of Dylan . A bit of Brain freeze set in for Ruby and Amsterdam which was very entertaining too perhaps not for you of course It amazes me sometimes how you remember all the words to all the songs especially when a gig takes on a life of its own ……A beautiful response to Arthurs day last night and very important well said words afterwards. I just notice as i write this that I am always working the morning after a Christy Gig ….You’ll have to start Gigging on the sabath to tie in with my day off on a monday . Anyway one days work left and an All Ireland final at 5pm then off to Miami tomorrow .
Until next time
God Bless
Jimi .
Christy's reply
I loved that gig last night..The Limerick Conert Hall is a great room. (Thank You Chuck Feeney.) Hope you both have a great trip.
Excitement mounts here as The Banner and Rebel flex limbs and temper the Ash….Davey and Jimmy-Barry steering their boats towards Croker…crowds thronging all roads that lead to that great field of dreams….
Hi Christy
Just thought I’d pop in to say how much my family and I adore ya Music, all the way in little ol’ New Zealand. First heard ya a couple years back while flicking through the local radio stations, and never stopped listening since. My favourite songs are Black is the Colour, Does this Train stop on Mersyside, Motherland and America, I love you. Just heard Arthur’s Day too, which I find to be a great song. Plan on visiting ya country soon, one of my dreams is to see you live.
Ride on…
Shaquille, 18.
Christy's reply
greetings to The Bay of Plenty….I loved my visits to New Zealand…
Always wanted to thank you for sharing your wonderful gift of music and song. Ten years ago, during long sleepless nights following my dad’s sudden death, I came across your boxed set. Something in the rawness and, dare I say, fragility in those recordings soothed my aching heart and eased my bewildered mind. The breadth of experiences covered in those songs helped me appreciate my situation was not unique.
I am fortunate to say that life has been kind to me since then, but I will always be grateful to you for helping me find peace. As you sing, “let the music keep your spirits high”
See you in 2014!
Christy's reply
good to read that peace descended upon bewilderment and ache…every now and then someone reflects upon that old box set…it was quite an experience putting it together..I cherish the memory of that time….trojan work by my collaborator Luke T. who assembled all the archive into 96 CDs which we then culled down to 6…then long days in Enniskillen with Robyn Robbins as he tried to enhance and equalize the diverse quality of the recordings..I hear the sound of The Barrows calling
Plenty of spare bunks in the camper, it’s very much like the Tardis.
The Lowland Heavyweight Champion won’t be travelling, she’s too busy trying to knock some sense into our government after the budget they’ve come up with.
hoya Christy love the new song u are there agen for us all keep on giging will see u soon good look with the cd we will have to get u in to the sohow soon chat about it and a song or too……kk…..up the dubs
Christy's reply
kk..hope your gigs are going well..all good here this autumn morn..see you along the way
Hi Christy,, thanks two great nights in Carlow, still amazes me how different each gig is, esp two in a row, is their any instrument Declan cant play all i can say is roll on the uk gigs. Just lisening to Arthur’s day another fine song. keep them comeing, all the best Adam
Christy's reply
good man Adam, far as I know Declan plays neither Tuba nor Uileann Pipes. Hopefully he wont read this. Lest he turns up in Limerick tonight with a set of Uileann Pipes and goes tearing into all 7 parts of “The Frieze Britches” ( aka “The Friar’s Britches”)….it would be just like him to roll into Portlaoise next week with a Tuba in the boot. That said, a good roll of “oompahs” at the end of Joxer would be a fitting exit for the ageing ballad…yes indeed Adam,the Carlow gigs were very different..I love it when that happens….this being the start of a new season ( the 48th) I feel like bringing different material to the table. I must re-visit that 4711ers thread where listeners suggested songs they would like revived from the old repertoire….see you in Liverpool, thanks for all your support and encouragement
Ed, you have every right, as Christy does, to freely express an opinion and express it you have done. But… If you happen to take offence again on hearing the song, may I suggest, as the best antidote, that you switch if off and listen to more palatable entertainment, rather than telling Christy to get off the stage. The rest of us quite like having him up there 🙂
Christy's reply
Do you want your auld Lobby washed down m’lud..are them bleddy ducks laying up in Ros yet…hard to get a dacent egg in these parts
I thought I’d add the tuppence ha’penny because I’ve got a few quid spare. I warrant that we could mind our own business about Diageo who continue to flood the market with a particular toxin. We could keep quiet about the fact that the streets are awash with coke and crack and meth. But really got my goat was Ed’s swingeing attempt at sophistry. It is a poor argument to say that because Christy says nothing all year round about the cursed binge drinking or the state of the union that he has no business making remark upon Arthur’s Day. That’s like saying that because I said nothing about the war in Afghanistan I have no right to comment on the war in Syria. Ed makes a moot point. True debate in its purist and purest form is a great thing indeed. Xx
Christy's reply
now you’re talking…bring back Vinnie Jones…some crack if he signed up for Athlone Town…my Grandfather hailed from that great centre, my Godfather too..my Great Grandfather left his fortune to the Pope…my fathers side of the family are steeped in pre-paid plenary indulgences…no purgatory for our lot..its either heaven or hell, no halfway houses….greetings to all Wimbledon songsters..always uplifting to hear from you Anuk
Christy looking forward to seeing and more importantly listening to you in the UL concert hall tomorrow night. I brought my son Darragh who was 8 at the time to the last gig in limerick (thanks again for the lovely gesture )and he loved it so much so he asked to go again for his birthday this year and to bring his young brother Shane who is 6. They are full of excitement and it is great that your music encompasses both young and old. Honda Fifty would make their night. Thanks again Christy for the years of enjoyment you have given me and my wife and also the way you are giving the young a sense of identity with our traditional music and ballads.
My ‘main’ thrust of my piece in here yesterday is Christy’s OWN contribution to this debate. I only read the piece by John Meagher of the Indo where he reviews a Manic Street Preachers gig late yesterday evening in which Meagher himself exercises some bad vitriol on our Kildare troubadour.
Arthur’s Day and it’s pros and cons is beside the point; Christy’s exercising himself over it and putting himself ‘up there’ on this issue is……. well I’ve said it already
And, comment and debate is (indeed) free. I suppose we’re lucky to have it.
Amazing to see how the Arthur’s Day debate has taken wings and gained such widespread coverage. All shades of opinions abound from the young guys who see it all as a bit of crack to the families left behind to deal with the consequences when the fun turns to addiction, and all the various strands in between. I was going to stay out of the debate but i feel it’s a totally different scenario where someone thinks they have the right to order you not to express your opinion. I hope that Ed just got carried away whilst making his, perfectly legitimate, points, and made a careless comment. However, the day when our opinion becomes the only opinion, will be a sad one indeed. Keep giving your views Christy – some i’ll agree with, some i won’t – but hopefully i’ll always accept them as honest, fair and reasoned comment.
Christy's reply
til dismounting from my high horse,I could’nt find the handle of the bar room door
Continued…. Not only am I a reformed sinnrr I am also a trained professional who deals with the fallout of alcohol misuse every day and it aint pretty….I make no apoligises for speaking out against Diageo or anyone else who contines to promote binge drinking.Iin this Country….I respect and value peoples opinions but sadlyfrom where im standing I can always understand them….see you in Liverpool…Love & Respect Martin Mac
Greetings & Happy Arthurs Day to you Christy….even though I am currently somewhere in the middle of The Gulf of Finland en route from Tallinn to Helsinki I am nevertheless keeping abreast of things..As you know I like to get around a bit….Im not doing too bad for a reformed sinner like yourself…..didnt see the prime time piece but I have no doubt you gave a good account of yourself. Arthurs Day is a small but niggly part of the over problem..Alcohol is no ordinary commoditty
Christy's reply
Helsinki, now theres a place for gargle…keep in be the wall Marty..whatever you’re not havin yourself
Debate is good. I wonder if someone told Athlone man that he had no right to comment how it would go down with him.
The song itself is not the only cog to the debate on “Arthurs Day” but what it has done is to open up new channels to the argument….and there is nobody better than yourself Christy to put across a message in song.I also think that this particular songs message goes further than just Arthurs Day itself…..alcopops etc. I worked in the Drinks industry for more than 20 years and seen some of the marketing strategies up close. Any town with a third level college/university should see this….and the “promotions” that go on to entice the students in . …
Thanks Christy ,keep her lit . When you get the negative reactions then you know you’re hitting the nerve !!
Christy's reply
there has been a small amount of negative response, a lot of it from respondents who seem to have missed the point entirely…reaction has been overwhelmingly positive…a reward in itself but not the reason for writing the song….
Hi All. I read the post by Ed Coyle and was taken aback but dismissed it as I would a rude house guest,,, more to be pitied than to be blamed,,,, and quietly applauded Christy when he replied so graciously…..However something about it bothered me and continued to irk me,,, on re- reading the post this morning it clicked,,,, that final sentence with its clear order to desist and its warning,,,, it appears to that the advance party of the Taliban has arrived in Athlone….Beir bua and beannacht Christy. H
Christy's reply
the ditty has certainly riled up our Athlone correspondant….I was taken aback by his vitriol but will continue to provide him with a platform to vent his spleen..debate is always healthy….in fairness to Diageo,they have never suggested that the singer be silenced…on both Radio and Television they have respected my right to sing this song….
Hi Christy,I did not see Ed from Athlone comment when you sang Butterfly or Stitch in time also about the effects and consequences of drink.”it’s only one day” Ed we all know what Hitler could do in one day.Guiness were not at my home as a child or the hospital afterwards.Christy I know you did not have to put yourself out there,but thank you for doing so.Ed if your happy with these drink profit events why are you pissed of at 1 euro drinks and 2am mayhem, bit of a contradiction on your behalf.I don’t like someone tellin you Christy to go side stage on this issue.From all who have there eyes wide open ,THANK YOU..I’m off to get me baby sham git
Christy's reply
the song has certainly challenged the man from Athlone
Brilliant performance on Prime Time Christy. Fair play. Just came across this by Mick McConnell the brilliant song writer from Florencourt. Reckon you will enjoy it. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cL7jyXCQ2Zc
Christy's reply
Thanks Kevin. My sister sent me this song earlier today. Mickey has written some great songs over the years. I learned his “Only Our Rivers” from his brother Cathal back in 1971. My favourite Mickey McConnell song is “The Tinker’s Red Haired Daughter ” but I have never managed to sing it despite going back time and again. Its lovely to have this video of him singing.
Christy I totally enjoyed the concert Friday night with Declan at the concert hall. you both were brilliant..
The Listeners were in great singing form too…the atmosphere was very good and there were noble calls coming up from the room…played many different venues by The Treaty Stone over the years. Back in Planxty time ,1972, played The Savoy in Limerick which, at the time ,was the largest venue in Ireland holding 4,000. Played The Belltable many times when Bríd Dukes was at the helm….in the 80s played a Summer Gigs in The Two Mile Inn. Moving Hearts played in The Parkway after it opened and The Anti Nuclear Road Show hit Limerick in 1979. I think we played a Dance hall up near The Glentworth. My very first gig in Limerick was in the George Hotel back in 1964. I was a bank clerk out in Askeaton and got booked to play a for a group of American Tourists in that Hotel. I got £3 and all the porter I could drink, which back then was quite a drop.
A mighty match today. Well done, Clare. I hope it’s my last year watching matches from afar. I totally agree with what you have to say, Christy, on the alcohol issue.
May you make your way to wherever you long to be…..The Banner were magnificent, The Lee Siders will be back…..
What a beautiful intimate attentive gig last night in UCH ….The song choice was beautiful and the crowd were great listeners , well done Declan on his new song its beautiful ….You played some of our favorites with Magdalen, Gortahagort, Honda 50, Thank you for Biko its an amazing song , hav’nt heard it since Ennis even a bit of Dylan . A bit of Brain freeze set in for Ruby and Amsterdam which was very entertaining too perhaps not for you of course It amazes me sometimes how you remember all the words to all the songs especially when a gig takes on a life of its own ……A beautiful response to Arthurs day last night and very important well said words afterwards. I just notice as i write this that I am always working the morning after a Christy Gig ….You’ll have to start Gigging on the sabath to tie in with my day off on a monday . Anyway one days work left and an All Ireland final at 5pm then off to Miami tomorrow .
Until next time
God Bless
Jimi .
I loved that gig last night..The Limerick Conert Hall is a great room. (Thank You Chuck Feeney.) Hope you both have a great trip.
Excitement mounts here as The Banner and Rebel flex limbs and temper the Ash….Davey and Jimmy-Barry steering their boats towards Croker…crowds thronging all roads that lead to that great field of dreams….
Hi Christy
Just thought I’d pop in to say how much my family and I adore ya Music, all the way in little ol’ New Zealand. First heard ya a couple years back while flicking through the local radio stations, and never stopped listening since. My favourite songs are Black is the Colour, Does this Train stop on Mersyside, Motherland and America, I love you. Just heard Arthur’s Day too, which I find to be a great song. Plan on visiting ya country soon, one of my dreams is to see you live.
Ride on…
Shaquille, 18.
greetings to The Bay of Plenty….I loved my visits to New Zealand…
Hi Christy, got my Barrowlands ticket booked.
Always wanted to thank you for sharing your wonderful gift of music and song. Ten years ago, during long sleepless nights following my dad’s sudden death, I came across your boxed set. Something in the rawness and, dare I say, fragility in those recordings soothed my aching heart and eased my bewildered mind. The breadth of experiences covered in those songs helped me appreciate my situation was not unique.
I am fortunate to say that life has been kind to me since then, but I will always be grateful to you for helping me find peace. As you sing, “let the music keep your spirits high”
See you in 2014!
good to read that peace descended upon bewilderment and ache…every now and then someone reflects upon that old box set…it was quite an experience putting it together..I cherish the memory of that time….trojan work by my collaborator Luke T. who assembled all the archive into 96 CDs which we then culled down to 6…then long days in Enniskillen with Robyn Robbins as he tried to enhance and equalize the diverse quality of the recordings..I hear the sound of The Barrows calling
Plenty of spare bunks in the camper, it’s very much like the Tardis.
The Lowland Heavyweight Champion won’t be travelling, she’s too busy trying to knock some sense into our government after the budget they’ve come up with.
Barrowland …here we come
hoya Christy love the new song u are there agen for us all keep on giging will see u soon good look with the cd we will have to get u in to the sohow soon chat about it and a song or too……kk…..up the dubs
kk..hope your gigs are going well..all good here this autumn morn..see you along the way
Just got my tickets for Edinburgh, Barrowland and RCH.
I’m a happy camper now.
any spare bunks in your camper?..will the Lowland Heavyweight Champion be travelling ?
Hi Christy,, thanks two great nights in Carlow, still amazes me how different each gig is, esp two in a row, is their any instrument Declan cant play all i can say is roll on the uk gigs. Just lisening to Arthur’s day another fine song. keep them comeing, all the best Adam
good man Adam, far as I know Declan plays neither Tuba nor Uileann Pipes. Hopefully he wont read this. Lest he turns up in Limerick tonight with a set of Uileann Pipes and goes tearing into all 7 parts of “The Frieze Britches” ( aka “The Friar’s Britches”)….it would be just like him to roll into Portlaoise next week with a Tuba in the boot. That said, a good roll of “oompahs” at the end of Joxer would be a fitting exit for the ageing ballad…yes indeed Adam,the Carlow gigs were very different..I love it when that happens….this being the start of a new season ( the 48th) I feel like bringing different material to the table. I must re-visit that 4711ers thread where listeners suggested songs they would like revived from the old repertoire….see you in Liverpool, thanks for all your support and encouragement
Ed, you have every right, as Christy does, to freely express an opinion and express it you have done. But… If you happen to take offence again on hearing the song, may I suggest, as the best antidote, that you switch if off and listen to more palatable entertainment, rather than telling Christy to get off the stage. The rest of us quite like having him up there 🙂
Do you want your auld Lobby washed down m’lud..are them bleddy ducks laying up in Ros yet…hard to get a dacent egg in these parts
I thought I’d add the tuppence ha’penny because I’ve got a few quid spare. I warrant that we could mind our own business about Diageo who continue to flood the market with a particular toxin. We could keep quiet about the fact that the streets are awash with coke and crack and meth. But really got my goat was Ed’s swingeing attempt at sophistry. It is a poor argument to say that because Christy says nothing all year round about the cursed binge drinking or the state of the union that he has no business making remark upon Arthur’s Day. That’s like saying that because I said nothing about the war in Afghanistan I have no right to comment on the war in Syria. Ed makes a moot point. True debate in its purist and purest form is a great thing indeed. Xx
now you’re talking…bring back Vinnie Jones…some crack if he signed up for Athlone Town…my Grandfather hailed from that great centre, my Godfather too..my Great Grandfather left his fortune to the Pope…my fathers side of the family are steeped in pre-paid plenary indulgences…no purgatory for our lot..its either heaven or hell, no halfway houses….greetings to all Wimbledon songsters..always uplifting to hear from you Anuk
Christy looking forward to seeing and more importantly listening to you in the UL concert hall tomorrow night. I brought my son Darragh who was 8 at the time to the last gig in limerick (thanks again for the lovely gesture )and he loved it so much so he asked to go again for his birthday this year and to bring his young brother Shane who is 6. They are full of excitement and it is great that your music encompasses both young and old. Honda Fifty would make their night. Thanks again Christy for the years of enjoyment you have given me and my wife and also the way you are giving the young a sense of identity with our traditional music and ballads.
Slán go Fóill
Denis
sound Dinny…hope the lads have a great night…
My ‘main’ thrust of my piece in here yesterday is Christy’s OWN contribution to this debate. I only read the piece by John Meagher of the Indo where he reviews a Manic Street Preachers gig late yesterday evening in which Meagher himself exercises some bad vitriol on our Kildare troubadour.
Arthur’s Day and it’s pros and cons is beside the point; Christy’s exercising himself over it and putting himself ‘up there’ on this issue is……. well I’ve said it already
And, comment and debate is (indeed) free. I suppose we’re lucky to have it.
whatever your not havin yourself
Amazing to see how the Arthur’s Day debate has taken wings and gained such widespread coverage. All shades of opinions abound from the young guys who see it all as a bit of crack to the families left behind to deal with the consequences when the fun turns to addiction, and all the various strands in between. I was going to stay out of the debate but i feel it’s a totally different scenario where someone thinks they have the right to order you not to express your opinion. I hope that Ed just got carried away whilst making his, perfectly legitimate, points, and made a careless comment. However, the day when our opinion becomes the only opinion, will be a sad one indeed. Keep giving your views Christy – some i’ll agree with, some i won’t – but hopefully i’ll always accept them as honest, fair and reasoned comment.
til dismounting from my high horse,I could’nt find the handle of the bar room door
Continued…. Not only am I a reformed sinnrr I am also a trained professional who deals with the fallout of alcohol misuse every day and it aint pretty….I make no apoligises for speaking out against Diageo or anyone else who contines to promote binge drinking.Iin this Country….I respect and value peoples opinions but sadlyfrom where im standing I can always understand them….see you in Liverpool…Love & Respect Martin Mac
Riding the high stool, expanding and expounding..
Greetings & Happy Arthurs Day to you Christy….even though I am currently somewhere in the middle of The Gulf of Finland en route from Tallinn to Helsinki I am nevertheless keeping abreast of things..As you know I like to get around a bit….Im not doing too bad for a reformed sinner like yourself…..didnt see the prime time piece but I have no doubt you gave a good account of yourself. Arthurs Day is a small but niggly part of the over problem..Alcohol is no ordinary commoditty
Helsinki, now theres a place for gargle…keep in be the wall Marty..whatever you’re not havin yourself
Debate is good. I wonder if someone told Athlone man that he had no right to comment how it would go down with him.
The song itself is not the only cog to the debate on “Arthurs Day” but what it has done is to open up new channels to the argument….and there is nobody better than yourself Christy to put across a message in song.I also think that this particular songs message goes further than just Arthurs Day itself…..alcopops etc. I worked in the Drinks industry for more than 20 years and seen some of the marketing strategies up close. Any town with a third level college/university should see this….and the “promotions” that go on to entice the students in . …
Thanks Christy ,keep her lit . When you get the negative reactions then you know you’re hitting the nerve !!
there has been a small amount of negative response, a lot of it from respondents who seem to have missed the point entirely…reaction has been overwhelmingly positive…a reward in itself but not the reason for writing the song….
Hi All. I read the post by Ed Coyle and was taken aback but dismissed it as I would a rude house guest,,, more to be pitied than to be blamed,,,, and quietly applauded Christy when he replied so graciously…..However something about it bothered me and continued to irk me,,, on re- reading the post this morning it clicked,,,, that final sentence with its clear order to desist and its warning,,,, it appears to that the advance party of the Taliban has arrived in Athlone….Beir bua and beannacht Christy. H
the ditty has certainly riled up our Athlone correspondant….I was taken aback by his vitriol but will continue to provide him with a platform to vent his spleen..debate is always healthy….in fairness to Diageo,they have never suggested that the singer be silenced…on both Radio and Television they have respected my right to sing this song….
Hi Christy,I did not see Ed from Athlone comment when you sang Butterfly or Stitch in time also about the effects and consequences of drink.”it’s only one day” Ed we all know what Hitler could do in one day.Guiness were not at my home as a child or the hospital afterwards.Christy I know you did not have to put yourself out there,but thank you for doing so.Ed if your happy with these drink profit events why are you pissed of at 1 euro drinks and 2am mayhem, bit of a contradiction on your behalf.I don’t like someone tellin you Christy to go side stage on this issue.From all who have there eyes wide open ,THANK YOU..I’m off to get me baby sham git
the song has certainly challenged the man from Athlone
Brilliant performance on Prime Time Christy. Fair play. Just came across this by Mick McConnell the brilliant song writer from Florencourt. Reckon you will enjoy it. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cL7jyXCQ2Zc
Thanks Kevin. My sister sent me this song earlier today. Mickey has written some great songs over the years. I learned his “Only Our Rivers” from his brother Cathal back in 1971. My favourite Mickey McConnell song is “The Tinker’s Red Haired Daughter ” but I have never managed to sing it despite going back time and again. Its lovely to have this video of him singing.