Christy what a great night at the Clanree, thank you!
Height of the night for me as a proud Glenravel man was of course McIlhatton! One legend singing about another! I was instantly transported 30 years to my father singing the song as he milked the cow.
Christy's reply
Cows can be the most discerning listeners, some of them like to boogie as their teats pour forth “Báinne an Bó”…but it can be a tricky process….sing the wrong song and she might very well kick the bucket
Dear Christy, I hope you are well. Just to thank you and the lads for a tremendous time in Belfast that we passed. A complex city. For me the first night was quietly sombre with a church like quality. Away Ye Broken Heart was magnificent. The 2nd night was as chalk to cheese. I sat in front of four lads of about 18 who knew all the words and sang vociferously and enthusiastically throughout. It was such a joy. Belfast was the first time I noticed so many young listeners. Perhaps it’s my ageing process. I was so utterly pleased to have been there. I was reminded of the ability of the songs to transport me to somewhere else where the better part of me rests. When I’m there I forget my differences, my petty angers and fears, and the mental gymnastics of thought. So thanks. We spent three more days on the Antrim coastline. From Portrush to Larne. The only word is magnificent. The highlight for me was Murlough Bay. Not far from Casements HomePlace. I would have stayed there forever. Another magnificent place was the museum at Bellaghy for Seamus Heaney. What a poet. To be immersed in the words. We walked to the church where he is buried and then crossed the road to the grave of the Boy from Tamlaghduff. And Bellaghy’s other boys. (thank you to John and Hilary for both recommendations). We look forward to your visit to London. My best regards and thanks to you all. Xx
Christy's reply
This ageing process offers us extra time to observe and appreciate the “darling buds of May”….
seeing a whole new generation of listeners coming out to hear the songs is uplifting…
Time and again I hear people comment upon the age diversity of our audience, I saw 4 generations in Letterkenny last night and my view is limited to the first few rows…
Its lovely to read of your trip to Antrim , of your time in Bellaghy, just last week I heard a song called Moorlough Bay….a fine Doc on BBC NI on the songs collected by Sam Henry…
Yes indeed, Belfast is “a complex City”… as I prepare for London I’m reminded just how complex cities can be…. as I warm to the challenge of performing in royal festival halls I must remind myself that , royal or no, every venue has (basically) 4 walls and a roof…… the smallest village venue at the back of beyond is nothing less then any royal albert hall…..
in the 60s and 70s here we used to Huckle Buck to The Royal Showband, Brendan Bowyer had this Taig nation gyrating where we never shook before,
in the 50s and 60s, the principal venue in Ireland was The Theatre Royal which held 4,800 in the heart of Dublin City….the resident troupe of Dancers were The Royalettes who kicked high and stirred the hearts,minds ( and trousars) of manys the patron…
I must not forget The Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna,,,,truly the royalest of all…where De Valera took porridge, where Moving Hearts blew the slates off, where Planxty reconvened, where The Trad Outfit was launched, where we had our very special Gaggle 10 years back…
Thank you for Norn Iron feedback….you have been a great supporter, ever since that Taj Mahal gig
Good morning Christy, Having just dug out of my collection the perhaps surprisingly fine collaboration between the chieftains and ziggy marley and their version of ‘redemption song’, it set me to wondering if you have had any collaborations which on paper may seem unusual but in reality ‘smashed it’ ?
Whilst i don’t expect the gig on 25th to feature a guest appearance by the remaining members of ‘motorhead’ , and of course the wonderful Dec will do, perhaps there has been a brilliant song by christy and the pan pipe orchestra, or christy duets with demis roussos, that would surprise us and is lurking in all those hidden archive tapes?
Go well
Rory
Christy's reply
nothing as exotic as Paddy & Ziggy
but, for me, memorable duets would include
“Gentle Swallow” with Mickser Reid on the Liffey Banks,Newbridge in 1961
“Kevin Barry” with Jack White in Hugh Neeson’s Lounge Easter 1966
“Wild Colonial Boy” with Maggie Barry, Willesden Junction 1967
“The Yellow Bittern” with Liam Óg O’Flynn in the NCH in the 80s
“Lord Baker” with Big Dan backstage Marquee Cork 2012
“Little Musgrave” with Planxty, Matt Molloy and members of Clannad back stage at Nyon Festival Switzerland in 1979
“Burning Times” with Charlie Murphy Backstage in RFH London circa 2005-2010
“Two Conneeleys”with Micheal Ó Suilleabháin somewhere in the 80s…
I have a basket full of memorable duets recorded in my head
sorry I have to cut this short but I have an 11am rehearsal here in Letterkenny and I hear the Companeros gathering outside….
Christy!
Thank you for the mention for Philippa at the Clanree. As predicted it made her night ( year, birthday) I enjoyed it too which surprised me a little. A great concert and a very good substitute for the Maldives. Enjoy tonight.
Her sister .
Christy's reply
it was lovely to see her stand and take a bow….magic moments are made of such
Hello Christy, I’ve been a big fan for almost 40 years (ask Mark Mackie). I’m a Scottish lawyer. Made a public statement about cover up and failure to investigate child abuse and exploitation @AdvocateHalley. Too important to ignore. To you and all fans, follow me? I have a song for you.
Amazing. …. how do you do it….. better and better…
Raising the bar over and over.
A lively , singing crowd ….. privelage to be part of it.
And we get to breathe it all in again tomorrow.
Christy's reply
Sound Marty…. “How do you do it” you ask
Its fairly straight forward….being obsessive about songs helps…this makes the endless trawl interesting…..a willingness to practice is essential, every day I simply must sing and play
….thinking ahead is important…every audience is geographically unique and I like to try and respect that….constant tweeking,re arranging,re phrasing, key changing,….
having such trusty Companeros is constantly uplifting,they are always willing to rehearse,to surround the songs with VistaVision and Technicolour….
good too to introduce new songs (occasionally), revive old favourites (regularly), take chances (constantly),
look out and see that sea of listeners young and old, among them our regulars who travel farand wide within the gaggle,to see youngsters from The Glens, comrades from old campaigns, travellers from distant lands….hear that full throated singing, drink in that intense listening….
these are some of the factors that keep the show on the road…I’ll try and vary it tomorrow night…especially for those of you rejoining us for the second night in the Metropolis of Letterkenny
What can I say Christy? Such a powerful high energy gig tonight and the audience bought into the whole vibe. Great to hear Morecambe Bay getting an outing too. I love how some songs drift in and out of the set at times and come back better than ever. Sadly I can’t make tomorrow night’s gig but no doubt the Donegal and Derry folk will raise the roof. Thank you for a wonderful week of gigs that help to keep the spirits up. Hopefully see you along the road again soon.
Christy's reply
Say no more John….twas good to have you on board….safe travels ’til we meet again…
Belated birthday wishes ! I always think of “the back of Donnelly’s hollow” on May 7th ! Hope all’s well Christy.
Christy's reply
“the night before Pa Connolly
drove the Roadstone Lorry
into the Seven Springs”
Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have sent Birthday greetings….a busy time here prevents me from responding individually to all your communications..greetings flooded in here to the site, as well as email and text, the postmans bag was bursting with good vibrations from near and far…from what I’ve heard, at least 3 Radio programmes broadcast greetings for my 74th Birthday. Even the dogs on the street barked happy birthday at me and I loved every bark of it…My heart has been gladdenend by all the good juju that has come my way…most precious of all was the time spent with my family ….as a young man I assumed an early departure date (and did my best to fulfil that assumption) ..in these later years I have nothing but gratitude for this extension, for this life and for all the good things that have evolved in my personal and my working life.
I thank you all for being part of it
Yes Christy hope the birthday was well, there’s a gang of young lads from Ghaoth Dobhair about to undergo the leaving cert in a few weeks would you be able to belt out, “The city of Chicago” it would me much appreciated
Shaun
Hope the cake is all eaten and the candles blown out…… wishes made for the year ahead. The red carpet is ready to be rolled out here. All reports from Belfast tell of two mighty gigs. The appetite is whetted for sure.
Hello Christy! Attending your show at the Clanree Hotel on the 11th all the way from Newfoundland Canada! Love to hear the great Song from Newfoundland “Sonnys Dream” You do a great of job of it! Cheers! Ryan Ward!
Yes Christy theres a gang of us out at your gig at the clanree from ghaoth dobhair any chnace you could play only our rivers run free or ordinary man, if its no bother for the Ghaoth Dobhair Boys
Happy Birthday Christy, hope you had a great day with friends and family. Taylor will be 17 tomorrow and has started driving the Morris minor with me as the co pilot, it’s so good to hear the chats and questions from the music lovers on the site. New songs developing and changing with the times. I got the garden started out the back, and the gardener comes to mind as I plant the vegetables, spring is here and summer will be soon upon us . Tandoori and Samosas, no wonder ye be sweating, apple tart and ice cream, Take Care Love and best wishes today and always Fin
Happy Birthday Christy! Even though it’s your birthday, I’m wondering could you do me a massive* favour (*massive being subjective of course!) I’m not sure how often you get requests like this but here’s hoping there’s not too many hopeful fans that are chancers!
I’m getting married to my lovely fiancé this Saturday in Louth and when we first got engaged and thought about our guest list, one of the things that popped into my head was ‘jaysus, how amazing would it be if Christy Moore came to our wedding’ as we’re both huge fans of yours. I stowed that thought away and went about planning the wedding. When we did set a date and got down to sending out the invites, I realised that, to my dismay, you’re otherwise engaged this Saturday (11th May). Fast forward a few weeks and here I am, thinking of what present could be the best present for my hubby to be, and I keep going back to yourself (he’s hinting at is a very expensive watch so you would get me out of a big hole there too!)
My question is Christy, is there any way you could record a little video message wishing Eoin and I all the best for our wedding that I could play for him on the day with maybe some words of advice for the groom? Or a little song even? 😉
Now, I know fine well that nothing comes for nothing, especially when planning a wedding, so I don’t expect your time and effort in exchange for fresh air and my gratitude. I have something very valuable that could be worth more than anybody could put a price on.
I haven’t mentioned as of yet but I’m actually in a highly influential job with a lot of pull over people (people of extreme power might I add!)
That’s right… I’m a primary school teacher. Now I don’t usually engage in bribes but think of it more as ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ kind of deal.
So what would this actually mean for you? I have 30 new Dublin children (ranging from 4-12, depending on the year) that could be listening to Christy Moore tracks every break time, every day, and through most lessons. Here’s just a tiny example:
Geography: Places in Ireland (Curragh of Kildare, Lisdoonvarna etc.,)
Jobs (don’t forget your shovel)
History: Minority Groups (go, move, shift)
WWII (Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette)
Famine (city of Chicago)
Wonders of the World (knock song)
Music: Percussion (play along with Christy Moore)
Tempo (identify the beat in Christy Moore songs)
Performing (you guessed it, perform Christy Moore songs!)
Drama: ‘The Songs of Christy Moore’ as a dramatized play
PE: Dance to Christy
I could go on but I’m sure you get the drift here. I’ve a good 35 years left before retirement so imagine that could be over 1,000 extra young people that might be exposed to Christy if they haven’t already been listening at home.
I think you’re getting an awful bargain here Christy so I’d urge you to take me up on the offer while it’s going… it’s too good an opportunity to miss!
Anyway, if you’ve stayed with me this long… fair play! Thanks for reading and sure if I don’t hear from you, I’ll see you in the NCH in June! (And don’t worry, I’ll continue to play your music for my classes either way :))
Happy birthday Christy. Was a great lift to the spirits getting to the Belfast gigs and all being well will be more of the same in the Clanree on Friday night. Hearing about CS getting locked in reminded me of the late Brian Moore”s Paddy on the Road play which I saw Cruncher O’Neill perform a few times. Greatly appreciate the great work you have done over my lifetime and look forward to more of the same. Have a good one.
Christy, all the best for you. I hope you enjoyed your day and you have a relaxing birthday.
Happy to see you in Sligo this June.
Kind regards from Germany,
Carsten
Christy what a great night at the Clanree, thank you!
Height of the night for me as a proud Glenravel man was of course McIlhatton! One legend singing about another! I was instantly transported 30 years to my father singing the song as he milked the cow.
Cows can be the most discerning listeners, some of them like to boogie as their teats pour forth “Báinne an Bó”…but it can be a tricky process….sing the wrong song and she might very well kick the bucket
Dear Christy, I hope you are well. Just to thank you and the lads for a tremendous time in Belfast that we passed. A complex city. For me the first night was quietly sombre with a church like quality. Away Ye Broken Heart was magnificent. The 2nd night was as chalk to cheese. I sat in front of four lads of about 18 who knew all the words and sang vociferously and enthusiastically throughout. It was such a joy. Belfast was the first time I noticed so many young listeners. Perhaps it’s my ageing process. I was so utterly pleased to have been there. I was reminded of the ability of the songs to transport me to somewhere else where the better part of me rests. When I’m there I forget my differences, my petty angers and fears, and the mental gymnastics of thought. So thanks. We spent three more days on the Antrim coastline. From Portrush to Larne. The only word is magnificent. The highlight for me was Murlough Bay. Not far from Casements HomePlace. I would have stayed there forever. Another magnificent place was the museum at Bellaghy for Seamus Heaney. What a poet. To be immersed in the words. We walked to the church where he is buried and then crossed the road to the grave of the Boy from Tamlaghduff. And Bellaghy’s other boys. (thank you to John and Hilary for both recommendations). We look forward to your visit to London. My best regards and thanks to you all. Xx
This ageing process offers us extra time to observe and appreciate the “darling buds of May”….
seeing a whole new generation of listeners coming out to hear the songs is uplifting…
Time and again I hear people comment upon the age diversity of our audience, I saw 4 generations in Letterkenny last night and my view is limited to the first few rows…
Its lovely to read of your trip to Antrim , of your time in Bellaghy, just last week I heard a song called Moorlough Bay….a fine Doc on BBC NI on the songs collected by Sam Henry…
Yes indeed, Belfast is “a complex City”… as I prepare for London I’m reminded just how complex cities can be…. as I warm to the challenge of performing in royal festival halls I must remind myself that , royal or no, every venue has (basically) 4 walls and a roof…… the smallest village venue at the back of beyond is nothing less then any royal albert hall…..
in the 60s and 70s here we used to Huckle Buck to The Royal Showband, Brendan Bowyer had this Taig nation gyrating where we never shook before,
in the 50s and 60s, the principal venue in Ireland was The Theatre Royal which held 4,800 in the heart of Dublin City….the resident troupe of Dancers were The Royalettes who kicked high and stirred the hearts,minds ( and trousars) of manys the patron…
I must not forget The Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna,,,,truly the royalest of all…where De Valera took porridge, where Moving Hearts blew the slates off, where Planxty reconvened, where The Trad Outfit was launched, where we had our very special Gaggle 10 years back…
Thank you for Norn Iron feedback….you have been a great supporter, ever since that Taj Mahal gig
Good morning Christy, Having just dug out of my collection the perhaps surprisingly fine collaboration between the chieftains and ziggy marley and their version of ‘redemption song’, it set me to wondering if you have had any collaborations which on paper may seem unusual but in reality ‘smashed it’ ?
Whilst i don’t expect the gig on 25th to feature a guest appearance by the remaining members of ‘motorhead’ , and of course the wonderful Dec will do, perhaps there has been a brilliant song by christy and the pan pipe orchestra, or christy duets with demis roussos, that would surprise us and is lurking in all those hidden archive tapes?
Go well
Rory
nothing as exotic as Paddy & Ziggy
but, for me, memorable duets would include
“Gentle Swallow” with Mickser Reid on the Liffey Banks,Newbridge in 1961
“Kevin Barry” with Jack White in Hugh Neeson’s Lounge Easter 1966
“Wild Colonial Boy” with Maggie Barry, Willesden Junction 1967
“The Yellow Bittern” with Liam Óg O’Flynn in the NCH in the 80s
“Lord Baker” with Big Dan backstage Marquee Cork 2012
“Little Musgrave” with Planxty, Matt Molloy and members of Clannad back stage at Nyon Festival Switzerland in 1979
“Burning Times” with Charlie Murphy Backstage in RFH London circa 2005-2010
“Two Conneeleys”with Micheal Ó Suilleabháin somewhere in the 80s…
I have a basket full of memorable duets recorded in my head
sorry I have to cut this short but I have an 11am rehearsal here in Letterkenny and I hear the Companeros gathering outside….
Christy!
Thank you for the mention for Philippa at the Clanree. As predicted it made her night ( year, birthday) I enjoyed it too which surprised me a little. A great concert and a very good substitute for the Maldives. Enjoy tonight.
Her sister .
it was lovely to see her stand and take a bow….magic moments are made of such
Hello Christy, I’ve been a big fan for almost 40 years (ask Mark Mackie). I’m a Scottish lawyer. Made a public statement about cover up and failure to investigate child abuse and exploitation @AdvocateHalley. Too important to ignore. To you and all fans, follow me? I have a song for you.
post it here if you wish….
Amazing. …. how do you do it….. better and better…
Raising the bar over and over.
A lively , singing crowd ….. privelage to be part of it.
And we get to breathe it all in again tomorrow.
Sound Marty…. “How do you do it” you ask
Its fairly straight forward….being obsessive about songs helps…this makes the endless trawl interesting…..a willingness to practice is essential, every day I simply must sing and play
….thinking ahead is important…every audience is geographically unique and I like to try and respect that….constant tweeking,re arranging,re phrasing, key changing,….
having such trusty Companeros is constantly uplifting,they are always willing to rehearse,to surround the songs with VistaVision and Technicolour….
good too to introduce new songs (occasionally), revive old favourites (regularly), take chances (constantly),
look out and see that sea of listeners young and old, among them our regulars who travel farand wide within the gaggle,to see youngsters from The Glens, comrades from old campaigns, travellers from distant lands….hear that full throated singing, drink in that intense listening….
these are some of the factors that keep the show on the road…I’ll try and vary it tomorrow night…especially for those of you rejoining us for the second night in the Metropolis of Letterkenny
What can I say Christy? Such a powerful high energy gig tonight and the audience bought into the whole vibe. Great to hear Morecambe Bay getting an outing too. I love how some songs drift in and out of the set at times and come back better than ever. Sadly I can’t make tomorrow night’s gig but no doubt the Donegal and Derry folk will raise the roof. Thank you for a wonderful week of gigs that help to keep the spirits up. Hopefully see you along the road again soon.
Say no more John….twas good to have you on board….safe travels ’til we meet again…
Belated birthday wishes ! I always think of “the back of Donnelly’s hollow” on May 7th ! Hope all’s well Christy.
“the night before Pa Connolly
drove the Roadstone Lorry
into the Seven Springs”
Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have sent Birthday greetings….a busy time here prevents me from responding individually to all your communications..greetings flooded in here to the site, as well as email and text, the postmans bag was bursting with good vibrations from near and far…from what I’ve heard, at least 3 Radio programmes broadcast greetings for my 74th Birthday. Even the dogs on the street barked happy birthday at me and I loved every bark of it…My heart has been gladdenend by all the good juju that has come my way…most precious of all was the time spent with my family ….as a young man I assumed an early departure date (and did my best to fulfil that assumption) ..in these later years I have nothing but gratitude for this extension, for this life and for all the good things that have evolved in my personal and my working life.
I thank you all for being part of it
Christy, Jimmy sailed through the letterbox this morning…tá mé faoi chomain duit. Mary
Yes Christy hope the birthday was well, there’s a gang of young lads from Ghaoth Dobhair about to undergo the leaving cert in a few weeks would you be able to belt out, “The city of Chicago” it would me much appreciated
Shaun
Hope the cake is all eaten and the candles blown out…… wishes made for the year ahead. The red carpet is ready to be rolled out here. All reports from Belfast tell of two mighty gigs. The appetite is whetted for sure.
Hello Christy! Attending your show at the Clanree Hotel on the 11th all the way from Newfoundland Canada! Love to hear the great Song from Newfoundland “Sonnys Dream” You do a great of job of it! Cheers! Ryan Ward!
Yes Christy theres a gang of us out at your gig at the clanree from ghaoth dobhair any chnace you could play only our rivers run free or ordinary man, if its no bother for the Ghaoth Dobhair Boys
Happy belated birthday wishes, dear Christy! Good health and many happy moments for the year ahead! Lots of love from Petra + Uwe
Happy Birthday Christy, hope you had a great day with friends and family. Taylor will be 17 tomorrow and has started driving the Morris minor with me as the co pilot, it’s so good to hear the chats and questions from the music lovers on the site. New songs developing and changing with the times. I got the garden started out the back, and the gardener comes to mind as I plant the vegetables, spring is here and summer will be soon upon us . Tandoori and Samosas, no wonder ye be sweating, apple tart and ice cream, Take Care Love and best wishes today and always Fin
Happy Birthday Christy! Even though it’s your birthday, I’m wondering could you do me a massive* favour (*massive being subjective of course!) I’m not sure how often you get requests like this but here’s hoping there’s not too many hopeful fans that are chancers!
I’m getting married to my lovely fiancé this Saturday in Louth and when we first got engaged and thought about our guest list, one of the things that popped into my head was ‘jaysus, how amazing would it be if Christy Moore came to our wedding’ as we’re both huge fans of yours. I stowed that thought away and went about planning the wedding. When we did set a date and got down to sending out the invites, I realised that, to my dismay, you’re otherwise engaged this Saturday (11th May). Fast forward a few weeks and here I am, thinking of what present could be the best present for my hubby to be, and I keep going back to yourself (he’s hinting at is a very expensive watch so you would get me out of a big hole there too!)
My question is Christy, is there any way you could record a little video message wishing Eoin and I all the best for our wedding that I could play for him on the day with maybe some words of advice for the groom? Or a little song even? 😉
Now, I know fine well that nothing comes for nothing, especially when planning a wedding, so I don’t expect your time and effort in exchange for fresh air and my gratitude. I have something very valuable that could be worth more than anybody could put a price on.
I haven’t mentioned as of yet but I’m actually in a highly influential job with a lot of pull over people (people of extreme power might I add!)
That’s right… I’m a primary school teacher. Now I don’t usually engage in bribes but think of it more as ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ kind of deal.
So what would this actually mean for you? I have 30 new Dublin children (ranging from 4-12, depending on the year) that could be listening to Christy Moore tracks every break time, every day, and through most lessons. Here’s just a tiny example:
Geography: Places in Ireland (Curragh of Kildare, Lisdoonvarna etc.,)
Jobs (don’t forget your shovel)
History: Minority Groups (go, move, shift)
WWII (Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette)
Famine (city of Chicago)
Wonders of the World (knock song)
Music: Percussion (play along with Christy Moore)
Tempo (identify the beat in Christy Moore songs)
Performing (you guessed it, perform Christy Moore songs!)
Drama: ‘The Songs of Christy Moore’ as a dramatized play
PE: Dance to Christy
I could go on but I’m sure you get the drift here. I’ve a good 35 years left before retirement so imagine that could be over 1,000 extra young people that might be exposed to Christy if they haven’t already been listening at home.
I think you’re getting an awful bargain here Christy so I’d urge you to take me up on the offer while it’s going… it’s too good an opportunity to miss!
Anyway, if you’ve stayed with me this long… fair play! Thanks for reading and sure if I don’t hear from you, I’ll see you in the NCH in June! (And don’t worry, I’ll continue to play your music for my classes either way :))
Go Raibh Míle Maith Agat,
Ann-Marie 🙂
Happy birthday Christy. Was a great lift to the spirits getting to the Belfast gigs and all being well will be more of the same in the Clanree on Friday night. Hearing about CS getting locked in reminded me of the late Brian Moore”s Paddy on the Road play which I saw Cruncher O’Neill perform a few times. Greatly appreciate the great work you have done over my lifetime and look forward to more of the same. Have a good one.
Hope you had a lovely Birthday, Christy.
Christy, all the best for you. I hope you enjoyed your day and you have a relaxing birthday.
Happy to see you in Sligo this June.
Kind regards from Germany,
Carsten
Happy birthday Christy!
John