Tim Hart’s version of Austin John Marshall’s song,Christy.Also known as ‘The Whitsun Dance’,tune is ‘A week before Easter’
Tim (RIP) was a gent and so obliging with time and advice when I started on the dulcimer playing addiction.Maddy,always brilliant…had a few chats with them in early Steeleye days…saw them once as a duo-spellbinding…
I remember Planxty and Steeleye at the Free Trade Hall…there should be a plaque on the (now hotel)site,marking the band’s instrumental encore as you and Maddy danced on stage…happy days!! D
Christy's reply
Bless your memory Dave…I’d forgotten about that Polka !! I have no recollection of Planxty and Steeleye @ Free Trade Hall…I do recall a gig at FTH when we played support to Stefan Grossman….. years before I went to hear Fairport Convention there..in my minds eye, that gig sowed the seed for what grew into Moving Hearts.
I was influenced by some great Bands and Players during my time in that green and pleasant land.. hearing Ewan, Bert Lloyd,Annie Briggs, Martin & Swarb, The Watersons,Hamish Imlach, Archie Fisher,Ralph McTell,Jim MacBeth,The Marsden Rattlers,John Doonan, Tom Gilfellon,Aly Bain, Barbara Dickson, Sara Gray,Tommy Dempsey &John Swift, Mick Hipkiss, Ian Cambell and a hundred more..learning a little every night, hearing verses and songs that still resound….
“when I was young and handy in my prime,
in Taverns I would sit and bide my time,
its there I met you company, I’d sit and drink my fill,
its there that you took hold of me ,I think you’ve got me still”
……….( from “The Foxy Devil”by Galway Joe Dolan)
Couple of years back we saw your show at the Corn Exchange Cambridge and you played Van Diemen’s Land. Fantastic song. I know you recorded it way back but I have been searching for a later live recording you may have done. Any chance on your next live album? All the best to you and we look look to your next visit to England, maybe Cambridge or the Festival Hall London again. Sean
Christy's reply
I learned that version of “Van Dieman’s Land” from Mike Waterson after a gig at The Blue Bell in Hull. The same night he gave me “The Lakes of Pontchartrain”. Both stellar songs. I recorded “Lakes” with Planxty in 1973 and it has gone on to be part of he national repertoire here…. I remember Mike saying he thought it was an Irish song ( neither of us had heard of Lake Ponchartrain back in 1968)….
Be nice to hit the Old Corn Exchange again or the RFH…lets see what way the wind blows…..
one of my favourite verses
“There was a female servant there Rosanna was her name,,
for 16 years a servant from Wolverhampton came
she often told her tale of love when she was young at home,
but now its rattling of her chains in a foreign land to roam”
chorus
“Young men all,be aware
lest you be drawn into a snare”
I seldom sing it now…sometimes at singing circles but never at gigs..
that said, maybe I’ll give it a whirl in Wexford tonight !!
Brilliant that Luka is singing at such a special event,with poignant links…the reflective song, ‘Dancing at Whitsun’ is in my head…
‘Down from the green farm lands and from their loved ones
marched husbands and brothers,fathers and sons…’
Wexford sounds mighty…Dave
Christy's reply
What version of “Whitsun” are you quoting here Dave? Two beautiful lines. I have an image of Maddy Prior (whom heard last week on Radio 4 last week talking of a Steeleye tour and some new music)…..crossed paths with herself and Tim Hart in the 60s…played at Tim’s local club and stayed with his family in St Albans where his Da was a Vicar…they both stayed with me in Halifax for a few nights….that was the way of it then…singers helped each other….in 5 years traversing the British Folk scene I never once stayed in a B&B, Hotel or Guesthouse (that I can recall !)…. I slept soundly on a thousand beds, couches and floors…guitar and sleeping bag ,will travel…it was where I recieved my third level degree, my doctorate in singing,dossing and navigating, ……a better degree perhaps then any I can think of….
as Andy Irvine sings..”Never tire of the road”
Christy, How’s our beloved Shane McGowan feeling these days? Miss him performing here in Boston on Lansdowne! I wish I could send him a message too…what a gentleman! I had the privilege of meeting him years ago. Just for a brief moment. But still, an honor. Character and a half! Very funny, so genuinely kind and extremely generous. I don’t think there’s anyone on this planet who comes close in comparoson. If there’s such a person. None of us have met them yet! So happy to see you’re still responding to fan mail and singing, performing, entertaining and just being YOU! Such a fan of your music, voice, stories…blessed be Christy !
Christy's reply
Have not met Shane for manys the year…. as far as I know he lives in Dublin these days …his Life’s work was celebrated at The National Concert Hall last year in the Presence of our President, Michael D. Higgins.
Hi Christy! I married into Killoran Family. Was Paddy Killoran from Salt Hill, Galway? My first name was my Mum’s maiden name. “Kelly”…Patricia Rose Kelly married my Dad, Arthur Joseph McCaulley. Was married at Galway Cathedral in the City. Grandparents married in Clifden. Spent my childhood summers in Galway and Donegal. My husband’s family Killoran name from Galway but his mom Mary Barry-McCarthy from Bantry Bay, Co. Cork. My dad’s side are so far back American we traced our roots to Ulysses Grant and one tall handsome decedent was George Washington’s body guard. In the books in Cambridge, MA! ” Oh take me home to Mayo, where once I roamed so free!”….Blessed are We! Myou children, Patrick, Brigid and Mary have yet to experience the glory of old Ireland. 3 more years! Saving me pence!
Christy's reply
Patrick J. “Paddy” Killoran (1903-1965) was an Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison and Michael Coleman, as one of the finest exponents of the south Sligo fiddle style in the “golden age” of the ethnic recording industry of the 1920s and 1930s.
Killoran was born September 21, 1903 and grew up in the townland of Emlaghgissan near Ballymote, County Sligo, Ireland.[1] His father Patrick played the flute and his mother Mary the concertina but the young Killoran was also influenced by local fiddle master Philip O’Beirne, who had earlier tutored Michael Coleman.[2] As a teenager, Killoran was a volunteer with the Ballymote-based 3rd Battalion of the south Sligo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the war for independence.[3]
In 1925, Killoran emigrated to New York City where he lodged with James Morrison in his Columbus Avenue apartment on Manhattan’s West Side. A 1927 newspaper ad for “Morrison’s Orchestra” offered “Irish music by P. Killoran and J. Morrison, celebrated violinists,” giving 507 West 133d Street in west Harlem as the contact address. [4] Killoran soon launched his own career as a soloist and bandleader. A publicity photo of Killoran’s quartet c. 1928 includes button accordionist D. Casey, tenor banjo player Richard Curran and second fiddler Denis Murphy. [5] By the next year, Killoran was performing on a weekly radio program sponsored by the Pride of Erin Ballrooms, located at the corner of Bedford and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn.
At the Pride of Erin, and later at the Sligo Ballroom at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, Killoran’s “Irish Orchestra” provided music for Irish dancing, while Jack Healy, another Ballymote native, led a group for “American” dancing.[6] Healy, as a singer and tenor sax player, also performed and recorded with Killoran’s group, the membership of which over the course of the 1930s included fiddler Paddy Sweeney (another Sligo native), fiddle and clarinet player Paul Ryan, Ryan’s brother Jim on the C Melody sax, pianists Eileen O’Shea, Edmund Tucker and Jim McGinn, button accordionists Tommy Flanagan and William McElligott and tenor banjo/tenor guitar player Michael “Whitey” Andrews.
Killoran’s band was variously billed as his “Pride of Erin Orchestra,” “Radio Dance Orchestra,” “Sligo Ballroom Orchestra,” “Lakes of Sligo Orchestra” and “Barn Dance Boys.” The group was a popular choice for county association functions, particularly those of Sligo and Roscommon. In 1932, he led a band that accompanied Cardinal O’Connell of Boston to the Eucharistic Congress in Ireland, and briefly billed his group as the “Pride of Erin Eucharistic Congress Orchestra.” [7] He would regularly perform at Irish beach resorts on the Rockaway peninsula and in East Durham in the Catskill Mountains.
Starting in 1931, Killoran made dozens of recordings as a soloist, in duets with Paddy Sweeney, and with various ensembles for Crown, Decca and other labels. His recording career continued into the 1950s, when he recorded EP discs with Paul Ryan and guitarist Jack McKenna, as well as some tracks with Sligo flute player Mike Flynn. Some of Killoran’s recordings were later reissued on LP or CD compilations. Killoran was known as a composer of Irish dance tunes, including “The Maid of Mt. Kisco,” a still-popular reel that he recorded in 1937 and named for Ann Mulligan, a friend who lived in that Westchester County surburb.[8] In 1956, he was a co-founder of the “Dublin Recording Company,” later better known simply as “Dublin Records,” which was organized to record new Irish discs in New York.[9]
In 1942, Killoran opened “Killoran’s Tavern,” a bar/restaurant at 42 West 60th Street in Manhattan, taking over a business founded by fellow musicians Jim Clark and George White. He would later operate a bar on 138th Street near Third Avenue in the Bronx.[10] He was a founding member of the Emerald Irish Musicians Benevolent Society, a group that staged “Night of Shamrocks” concerts to raise money for the benefit of sick and deceased Irish musicians in New York. Killoran was also a member of the Irish Musicians Association of America, and a New York branch of that organization (which later merged with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) was named for him.
In addition to the 1932 trip to the Eucharistic Congress, Killoran returned to Ireland at least twice. In 1949, he played on a Radio Éireann program hosted by piper and folkorist Séamus Ennis. Some selections from that broadcast were recorded on a private disc and were later released on CD.[11] On a 1960 visit, he visited Sligo and Clare, and performed at a concert in Co. Longford.[12] Killoran was married twice. His first wife, Anna Gorman, a native of Co. Roscommon, died in 1935.[13] His second wife was Betty (Bridget) Hayes, an immigrant from Shanaway West, Co. Clare, who survived him. Paddy Killoran died in New York City on April 24, 1965.[14]
A “Paddy Killoran Traditional Festival” is celebrated in the third week of June in Ballymote, where a monument in Killoran’s honor was erected in 2012.[15][16]
References
The Advocate, New York, September 26 and October 3, 1942. Barry O’Neill, liner notes to Paddy Killoran’s Back in Town (Shanachie Records LP 33003, 1977).
liner notes to Milestone at the Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era (Rounder CD 1123, 1996. A recorded excerpt from the RTÉ program was issued on Tuning the Radio: Early traditional music recordings from the RTÉ Libraries and Archives, RTE285CD.
Paddy Killoran’s Back in Town (Shanachie LP 33003, 1977). Included reissued Killoran solos and duets with Paddy Sweeney from 1930s 78 rpm sides. All 14 tracks from the LP were later reissued on the Coleman Music Centre CD From Ballymote to Brooklyn (CHC 007, 2002) along with most tracks from Shanachie’s James Morrison LP.
Compilations that include Killoran selections:
Old-Country Music in a New Land (New World LP NW264, 1977).
From Galway to Dublin: Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Music (Rounder CD 1087, 1993).
Milestone at the Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era (Rounder CD 1123, 1996).
The Wheels of the World: Early Irish-American Music, vol. 1 and vol. 2 (Yazoo CD 7008, 1996 and 1997).
Past Masters of Irish Dance Music (Topic TSCD604, 2000).
Past Masters of Irish Fiddle Music (Topic TSCD605, 2001).
Traditional Irish Recordings from 1923 to 1947: Vol. 1 U.S. Recordings (Oldtime Records, OTR 101, 2006).
Traditional Irish Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s: Vol. 2. U.S. Recordings (Oldtime Records, OTR 102, 2007).
The Fiddler’s Delight: Rare 78rpm Irish Fiddle Recordings 1921-1945 (Oldtime Records CD OTR 107, 2016).
I recall previous comments when you mentioned your Co Meath/Slane family involvement in The Great War…so,very apt that Luka will be playing in Ypres,Belgium as part of a memorial concert on 11/11/19.Very poignant times when so many combatants are remembered…
Also ,good to remember the writings of Slane’s poet,Francis Ledwidge…killed in WW1.Not a ‘war poet’,but one who went to war,to ‘do his bit’ and never returned home…
Thinking of Gay Byrne today and wishing you all the best for weekend gigs.
Dave
Christy's reply
When I was a young lad I once met with Joe Ledwidge in Slane..I think he was a nephew of Francis…he told me that Francis and Joe Sheeran joined the Army together and then marched off from Meath never to return again…Luka is singing 3 songs at the Memorial Concert come Monday…he will perform with and an orchestra and choir..I hope we get to hear it..
Just back in from a gig in Newtownmountkennedy in the County of Wicklow…a grand gathering of listeners for myself and Decky..we are doing a couple of two-Handers ..afterwards we travelled down the road to Gorey in County Wexford where tomorrows gig takes place….remember playing here back in 1972 with Planxty..an old friend called Paul Funge opened an independent Theatre here at the back of his family home…it was a very special space..Paul ran a series of annual festivals there called “The Gorey Detail”….I remember him very fondly….
Hi Christy I hope all’s well with you. It’s a poignant week with Gay Byrnes passing, so much reminiscing and reflection going on. I’m sure you were fond of him as he was of you. Two constants for us all the years….
Anyway I’m sorry my plans for the UK gigs fell but I’m catching up now and headed for Gorey on Saturday. Really looking forward to hearing the old and the new.. Magic, thanks. Brian.
Hi Christy
we are delighted that we can attend another gig next Saturday in Gorey. Lars, our son, who is a big fan of you, can’t join us this time as he has to play basket ball with his team. He asked us to bring over his best regards.
This time our daughter Eva, will join us. Eva struggled for some time with health problems but it is now again in a very good shape. And she is looking forward to travel to Ireland, as we all do.
See you in Gorey !
Eva, Els & Piet
Christy's reply
you are always welcome aboard …Sail On Piet, Els,Eva & Lars
Hi Christy, i spent a rainy day ,and now night, in manchester wishing there was another Bridgewater tonight.
However my last week has been enriched by returning to the album ‘the poet and the piper’ and i turned to her again tonight.
Is ‘digging’ the parallel of ‘where i come from’, did st brendan and his albatross ever meet ‘st kevin and the blackbird’ and was ‘the tollund man’ another story echoing the song ‘natives’?
By the way i reckon that a different poem, not on the cd,Beacons at Bealtaine ,should be read to the 3 brexiteers.
Do not worry, i am not expecting answers, just letting my brain work on the beauty of it all, echoes of brilliant poems and tunes by these two great men in songs we know from your gigs, or am i just talking horsesh… again!
Have a great time in Gorey, John Spillane will be singing of the battle in the background somewhere.
Goodnight
Rory
Christy's reply
We should never underestimate the value of Horse Shite….I know Mushroom Farmers who cant get enough of it…mix it well into the loam and ,before you know it, the spores will fill he air in gay profusion
The Poet and The Piper, what a great pair of Human Kind….and they were well matched, One with the Words of The true Poet, the other with The Music of the Master Uilleann Piper…..what a gathering as they come together with all those gone on before
(“tell everybody, we’re going away for ten years”….. Pierce Turner)
I am hoping the new album is available from Amazon US before Christmas. Bought plane tickets and tickets to January 14th show at Vicar Street for my spouse, Rick, for Christmas. Can’t wait to see his face! Can’t wait to see the concert! Kathleen
Hi Christy,
I hope you are keeping well. Thanks very much for the heads up about Rob Corcoran’s music. I’ve bought his album and it’s really strong. Really looking forward to Friday night in the Parkview. Hopefully you might give us a blast of “The boy from Tamlaghtduff“
See you then.
Paul.
Thnaks for the offer to visit next time your up in Belfast. We are based right beside St Patrick’s Church in Donegal Street, (just up from the Irish News) drop me a note at mcnairney .damian@gmail.comso I can get the kettle on! The Soup Kitchen is run by volunteers and depends on donations from the public to continue. When Frances Black visited, we saw a big increase in donations. I and the rest of the volunteers look forward to seeing you. Go raibh maith agat Christy!
Christy's reply
Thats a date then Damian….and dont be afraid to remind me !!
Tony H is quoted that Jones’ gig was one the best he had there back in the days of yore, Jolly Mariner Folk Club. I spent some time yesterday myself listening online to some of his great music.
Christy's reply
Many who heard Nic in his hay day would concur…his gigs were always superb
Christy
We are heading to Gorey this Saturday all the way from North Ayrshire to once again enjoy a fantastic nights entertainment from you and the boys.
We had a brilliant night and experience watching you earlier this year in April at Carrick on Shannon where you treated us brilliantly.
My son Frank and his wife Michelle will be with myself and Agnes my wife and we are heading to Gorey this Saturday morning. We are really looking forward to the show this Saturday.
All the best.
Frank Millar Snr
Christy's reply
Sound Frank..welcome to Gorey
“You can visit New Ross, gallant Wexford, and Gorey,
Where the green was last seen by the Saxon and the Tory,
where the soil is sanctified by the blood of each true man
Where they died satisfied, their enemies they did not run from”. ( as sung by Luke Kelly…..”Come to The Bower”)
No harm in throwing them out there.i hope it’s not too annoying.
Christy's reply
it don’t annoy me Marty….
makes me think…when it comes to annoying..(is’nt it an ugly lookin little word)..no matter what we say or do we are sure to annoy someone…there were those who found Gandhi himself annoying….as for Mother Teresa, did’nt she drive poor Christopher Hitchins to drink….some of us need to be annoyed betimes..others among us live in a state of perpetual annoyance…
so far today, Thanks Be, I’ve not been annoyed once ( and I’ve been awake for two hours)
good luck with your Guitar/Banjo…chances are that will really annoy certain purists
Did some looking up online, the accident seems to have occurred in ’82, some sites have good biogs of him, a Living Tradition website is good plus I found several You Tube tracks of his playing. I’m reasonably certain it was either 1978 or ’79. He may have done some tour of Ireland back at that time and presumably got into a few venues countrywide.
Christy's reply
Thanks Ed….its always a pleasure to re-visit Nic’s music
Circa 1978, prior to this famed car accident that put him out of action for a long time. The Tom McHale Folk Club, based back then in the Jolly Mariner basement run by Tony Holleran now living in Ferbane Co Offaly. Tony himself originally from Clonbur, Galway, I believe some of his family involved in music and traditional singing.
Christy's reply
That explains it Ed…anywhere Tony Holleran lands good music will soon follow…met Tony a short time back when we played in Tullamore..him
Tim Hart’s version of Austin John Marshall’s song,Christy.Also known as ‘The Whitsun Dance’,tune is ‘A week before Easter’
Tim (RIP) was a gent and so obliging with time and advice when I started on the dulcimer playing addiction.Maddy,always brilliant…had a few chats with them in early Steeleye days…saw them once as a duo-spellbinding…
I remember Planxty and Steeleye at the Free Trade Hall…there should be a plaque on the (now hotel)site,marking the band’s instrumental encore as you and Maddy danced on stage…happy days!! D
Bless your memory Dave…I’d forgotten about that Polka !! I have no recollection of Planxty and Steeleye @ Free Trade Hall…I do recall a gig at FTH when we played support to Stefan Grossman….. years before I went to hear Fairport Convention there..in my minds eye, that gig sowed the seed for what grew into Moving Hearts.
I was influenced by some great Bands and Players during my time in that green and pleasant land.. hearing Ewan, Bert Lloyd,Annie Briggs, Martin & Swarb, The Watersons,Hamish Imlach, Archie Fisher,Ralph McTell,Jim MacBeth,The Marsden Rattlers,John Doonan, Tom Gilfellon,Aly Bain, Barbara Dickson, Sara Gray,Tommy Dempsey &John Swift, Mick Hipkiss, Ian Cambell and a hundred more..learning a little every night, hearing verses and songs that still resound….
“when I was young and handy in my prime,
in Taverns I would sit and bide my time,
its there I met you company, I’d sit and drink my fill,
its there that you took hold of me ,I think you’ve got me still”
……….( from “The Foxy Devil”by Galway Joe Dolan)
Couple of years back we saw your show at the Corn Exchange Cambridge and you played Van Diemen’s Land. Fantastic song. I know you recorded it way back but I have been searching for a later live recording you may have done. Any chance on your next live album? All the best to you and we look look to your next visit to England, maybe Cambridge or the Festival Hall London again. Sean
I learned that version of “Van Dieman’s Land” from Mike Waterson after a gig at The Blue Bell in Hull. The same night he gave me “The Lakes of Pontchartrain”. Both stellar songs. I recorded “Lakes” with Planxty in 1973 and it has gone on to be part of he national repertoire here…. I remember Mike saying he thought it was an Irish song ( neither of us had heard of Lake Ponchartrain back in 1968)….
Be nice to hit the Old Corn Exchange again or the RFH…lets see what way the wind blows…..
one of my favourite verses
“There was a female servant there Rosanna was her name,,
for 16 years a servant from Wolverhampton came
she often told her tale of love when she was young at home,
but now its rattling of her chains in a foreign land to roam”
chorus
“Young men all,be aware
lest you be drawn into a snare”
I seldom sing it now…sometimes at singing circles but never at gigs..
that said, maybe I’ll give it a whirl in Wexford tonight !!
Hi Christy
Brilliant that Luka is singing at such a special event,with poignant links…the reflective song, ‘Dancing at Whitsun’ is in my head…
‘Down from the green farm lands and from their loved ones
marched husbands and brothers,fathers and sons…’
Wexford sounds mighty…Dave
What version of “Whitsun” are you quoting here Dave? Two beautiful lines. I have an image of Maddy Prior (whom heard last week on Radio 4 last week talking of a Steeleye tour and some new music)…..crossed paths with herself and Tim Hart in the 60s…played at Tim’s local club and stayed with his family in St Albans where his Da was a Vicar…they both stayed with me in Halifax for a few nights….that was the way of it then…singers helped each other….in 5 years traversing the British Folk scene I never once stayed in a B&B, Hotel or Guesthouse (that I can recall !)…. I slept soundly on a thousand beds, couches and floors…guitar and sleeping bag ,will travel…it was where I recieved my third level degree, my doctorate in singing,dossing and navigating, ……a better degree perhaps then any I can think of….
as Andy Irvine sings..”Never tire of the road”
Christy, How’s our beloved Shane McGowan feeling these days? Miss him performing here in Boston on Lansdowne! I wish I could send him a message too…what a gentleman! I had the privilege of meeting him years ago. Just for a brief moment. But still, an honor. Character and a half! Very funny, so genuinely kind and extremely generous. I don’t think there’s anyone on this planet who comes close in comparoson. If there’s such a person. None of us have met them yet! So happy to see you’re still responding to fan mail and singing, performing, entertaining and just being YOU! Such a fan of your music, voice, stories…blessed be Christy !
Have not met Shane for manys the year…. as far as I know he lives in Dublin these days …his Life’s work was celebrated at The National Concert Hall last year in the Presence of our President, Michael D. Higgins.
Hi Christy! I married into Killoran Family. Was Paddy Killoran from Salt Hill, Galway? My first name was my Mum’s maiden name. “Kelly”…Patricia Rose Kelly married my Dad, Arthur Joseph McCaulley. Was married at Galway Cathedral in the City. Grandparents married in Clifden. Spent my childhood summers in Galway and Donegal. My husband’s family Killoran name from Galway but his mom Mary Barry-McCarthy from Bantry Bay, Co. Cork. My dad’s side are so far back American we traced our roots to Ulysses Grant and one tall handsome decedent was George Washington’s body guard. In the books in Cambridge, MA! ” Oh take me home to Mayo, where once I roamed so free!”….Blessed are We! Myou children, Patrick, Brigid and Mary have yet to experience the glory of old Ireland. 3 more years! Saving me pence!
Patrick J. “Paddy” Killoran (1903-1965) was an Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison and Michael Coleman, as one of the finest exponents of the south Sligo fiddle style in the “golden age” of the ethnic recording industry of the 1920s and 1930s.
Killoran was born September 21, 1903 and grew up in the townland of Emlaghgissan near Ballymote, County Sligo, Ireland.[1] His father Patrick played the flute and his mother Mary the concertina but the young Killoran was also influenced by local fiddle master Philip O’Beirne, who had earlier tutored Michael Coleman.[2] As a teenager, Killoran was a volunteer with the Ballymote-based 3rd Battalion of the south Sligo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the war for independence.[3]
In 1925, Killoran emigrated to New York City where he lodged with James Morrison in his Columbus Avenue apartment on Manhattan’s West Side. A 1927 newspaper ad for “Morrison’s Orchestra” offered “Irish music by P. Killoran and J. Morrison, celebrated violinists,” giving 507 West 133d Street in west Harlem as the contact address. [4] Killoran soon launched his own career as a soloist and bandleader. A publicity photo of Killoran’s quartet c. 1928 includes button accordionist D. Casey, tenor banjo player Richard Curran and second fiddler Denis Murphy. [5] By the next year, Killoran was performing on a weekly radio program sponsored by the Pride of Erin Ballrooms, located at the corner of Bedford and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn.
At the Pride of Erin, and later at the Sligo Ballroom at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, Killoran’s “Irish Orchestra” provided music for Irish dancing, while Jack Healy, another Ballymote native, led a group for “American” dancing.[6] Healy, as a singer and tenor sax player, also performed and recorded with Killoran’s group, the membership of which over the course of the 1930s included fiddler Paddy Sweeney (another Sligo native), fiddle and clarinet player Paul Ryan, Ryan’s brother Jim on the C Melody sax, pianists Eileen O’Shea, Edmund Tucker and Jim McGinn, button accordionists Tommy Flanagan and William McElligott and tenor banjo/tenor guitar player Michael “Whitey” Andrews.
Killoran’s band was variously billed as his “Pride of Erin Orchestra,” “Radio Dance Orchestra,” “Sligo Ballroom Orchestra,” “Lakes of Sligo Orchestra” and “Barn Dance Boys.” The group was a popular choice for county association functions, particularly those of Sligo and Roscommon. In 1932, he led a band that accompanied Cardinal O’Connell of Boston to the Eucharistic Congress in Ireland, and briefly billed his group as the “Pride of Erin Eucharistic Congress Orchestra.” [7] He would regularly perform at Irish beach resorts on the Rockaway peninsula and in East Durham in the Catskill Mountains.
Starting in 1931, Killoran made dozens of recordings as a soloist, in duets with Paddy Sweeney, and with various ensembles for Crown, Decca and other labels. His recording career continued into the 1950s, when he recorded EP discs with Paul Ryan and guitarist Jack McKenna, as well as some tracks with Sligo flute player Mike Flynn. Some of Killoran’s recordings were later reissued on LP or CD compilations. Killoran was known as a composer of Irish dance tunes, including “The Maid of Mt. Kisco,” a still-popular reel that he recorded in 1937 and named for Ann Mulligan, a friend who lived in that Westchester County surburb.[8] In 1956, he was a co-founder of the “Dublin Recording Company,” later better known simply as “Dublin Records,” which was organized to record new Irish discs in New York.[9]
In 1942, Killoran opened “Killoran’s Tavern,” a bar/restaurant at 42 West 60th Street in Manhattan, taking over a business founded by fellow musicians Jim Clark and George White. He would later operate a bar on 138th Street near Third Avenue in the Bronx.[10] He was a founding member of the Emerald Irish Musicians Benevolent Society, a group that staged “Night of Shamrocks” concerts to raise money for the benefit of sick and deceased Irish musicians in New York. Killoran was also a member of the Irish Musicians Association of America, and a New York branch of that organization (which later merged with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) was named for him.
In addition to the 1932 trip to the Eucharistic Congress, Killoran returned to Ireland at least twice. In 1949, he played on a Radio Éireann program hosted by piper and folkorist Séamus Ennis. Some selections from that broadcast were recorded on a private disc and were later released on CD.[11] On a 1960 visit, he visited Sligo and Clare, and performed at a concert in Co. Longford.[12] Killoran was married twice. His first wife, Anna Gorman, a native of Co. Roscommon, died in 1935.[13] His second wife was Betty (Bridget) Hayes, an immigrant from Shanaway West, Co. Clare, who survived him. Paddy Killoran died in New York City on April 24, 1965.[14]
A “Paddy Killoran Traditional Festival” is celebrated in the third week of June in Ballymote, where a monument in Killoran’s honor was erected in 2012.[15][16]
References
The Advocate, New York, September 26 and October 3, 1942. Barry O’Neill, liner notes to Paddy Killoran’s Back in Town (Shanachie Records LP 33003, 1977).
liner notes to Milestone at the Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era (Rounder CD 1123, 1996. A recorded excerpt from the RTÉ program was issued on Tuning the Radio: Early traditional music recordings from the RTÉ Libraries and Archives, RTE285CD.
Paddy Killoran’s Back in Town (Shanachie LP 33003, 1977). Included reissued Killoran solos and duets with Paddy Sweeney from 1930s 78 rpm sides. All 14 tracks from the LP were later reissued on the Coleman Music Centre CD From Ballymote to Brooklyn (CHC 007, 2002) along with most tracks from Shanachie’s James Morrison LP.
Compilations that include Killoran selections:
Old-Country Music in a New Land (New World LP NW264, 1977).
From Galway to Dublin: Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Music (Rounder CD 1087, 1993).
Milestone at the Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era (Rounder CD 1123, 1996).
The Wheels of the World: Early Irish-American Music, vol. 1 and vol. 2 (Yazoo CD 7008, 1996 and 1997).
Past Masters of Irish Dance Music (Topic TSCD604, 2000).
Past Masters of Irish Fiddle Music (Topic TSCD605, 2001).
Traditional Irish Recordings from 1923 to 1947: Vol. 1 U.S. Recordings (Oldtime Records, OTR 101, 2006).
Traditional Irish Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s: Vol. 2. U.S. Recordings (Oldtime Records, OTR 102, 2007).
The Fiddler’s Delight: Rare 78rpm Irish Fiddle Recordings 1921-1945 (Oldtime Records CD OTR 107, 2016).
Hi Christy
I recall previous comments when you mentioned your Co Meath/Slane family involvement in The Great War…so,very apt that Luka will be playing in Ypres,Belgium as part of a memorial concert on 11/11/19.Very poignant times when so many combatants are remembered…
Also ,good to remember the writings of Slane’s poet,Francis Ledwidge…killed in WW1.Not a ‘war poet’,but one who went to war,to ‘do his bit’ and never returned home…
Thinking of Gay Byrne today and wishing you all the best for weekend gigs.
Dave
When I was a young lad I once met with Joe Ledwidge in Slane..I think he was a nephew of Francis…he told me that Francis and Joe Sheeran joined the Army together and then marched off from Meath never to return again…Luka is singing 3 songs at the Memorial Concert come Monday…he will perform with and an orchestra and choir..I hope we get to hear it..
Just back in from a gig in Newtownmountkennedy in the County of Wicklow…a grand gathering of listeners for myself and Decky..we are doing a couple of two-Handers ..afterwards we travelled down the road to Gorey in County Wexford where tomorrows gig takes place….remember playing here back in 1972 with Planxty..an old friend called Paul Funge opened an independent Theatre here at the back of his family home…it was a very special space..Paul ran a series of annual festivals there called “The Gorey Detail”….I remember him very fondly….
Hi Christy I hope all’s well with you. It’s a poignant week with Gay Byrnes passing, so much reminiscing and reflection going on. I’m sure you were fond of him as he was of you. Two constants for us all the years….
Anyway I’m sorry my plans for the UK gigs fell but I’m catching up now and headed for Gorey on Saturday. Really looking forward to hearing the old and the new.. Magic, thanks. Brian.
beidh failte romhat a Bhrían
Hi Christy
we are delighted that we can attend another gig next Saturday in Gorey. Lars, our son, who is a big fan of you, can’t join us this time as he has to play basket ball with his team. He asked us to bring over his best regards.
This time our daughter Eva, will join us. Eva struggled for some time with health problems but it is now again in a very good shape. And she is looking forward to travel to Ireland, as we all do.
See you in Gorey !
Eva, Els & Piet
you are always welcome aboard …Sail On Piet, Els,Eva & Lars
Hi Christy, i spent a rainy day ,and now night, in manchester wishing there was another Bridgewater tonight.
However my last week has been enriched by returning to the album ‘the poet and the piper’ and i turned to her again tonight.
Is ‘digging’ the parallel of ‘where i come from’, did st brendan and his albatross ever meet ‘st kevin and the blackbird’ and was ‘the tollund man’ another story echoing the song ‘natives’?
By the way i reckon that a different poem, not on the cd,Beacons at Bealtaine ,should be read to the 3 brexiteers.
Do not worry, i am not expecting answers, just letting my brain work on the beauty of it all, echoes of brilliant poems and tunes by these two great men in songs we know from your gigs, or am i just talking horsesh… again!
Have a great time in Gorey, John Spillane will be singing of the battle in the background somewhere.
Goodnight
Rory
We should never underestimate the value of Horse Shite….I know Mushroom Farmers who cant get enough of it…mix it well into the loam and ,before you know it, the spores will fill he air in gay profusion
The Poet and The Piper, what a great pair of Human Kind….and they were well matched, One with the Words of The true Poet, the other with The Music of the Master Uilleann Piper…..what a gathering as they come together with all those gone on before
(“tell everybody, we’re going away for ten years”….. Pierce Turner)
https://youtu.be/tQpqNEpqYYk
Here’s another one
The West Cork Brigade
I am hoping the new album is available from Amazon US before Christmas. Bought plane tickets and tickets to January 14th show at Vicar Street for my spouse, Rick, for Christmas. Can’t wait to see his face! Can’t wait to see the concert! Kathleen
It probably will hit Amazon….see you in Dublin
Hi Christy,
I hope you are keeping well. Thanks very much for the heads up about Rob Corcoran’s music. I’ve bought his album and it’s really strong. Really looking forward to Friday night in the Parkview. Hopefully you might give us a blast of “The boy from Tamlaghtduff“
See you then.
Paul.
Apologies. Address is mcnairney.damian@gmail.com Go raibh maith agat
fair enough
I’m playing in Newtownmountkennedy tonight
it reminds me of your email address !!
Thnaks for the offer to visit next time your up in Belfast. We are based right beside St Patrick’s Church in Donegal Street, (just up from the Irish News) drop me a note at mcnairney .damian@gmail.comso I can get the kettle on! The Soup Kitchen is run by volunteers and depends on donations from the public to continue. When Frances Black visited, we saw a big increase in donations. I and the rest of the volunteers look forward to seeing you. Go raibh maith agat Christy!
Thats a date then Damian….and dont be afraid to remind me !!
Tony H is quoted that Jones’ gig was one the best he had there back in the days of yore, Jolly Mariner Folk Club. I spent some time yesterday myself listening online to some of his great music.
Many who heard Nic in his hay day would concur…his gigs were always superb
Christy
We are heading to Gorey this Saturday all the way from North Ayrshire to once again enjoy a fantastic nights entertainment from you and the boys.
We had a brilliant night and experience watching you earlier this year in April at Carrick on Shannon where you treated us brilliantly.
My son Frank and his wife Michelle will be with myself and Agnes my wife and we are heading to Gorey this Saturday morning. We are really looking forward to the show this Saturday.
All the best.
Frank Millar Snr
Sound Frank..welcome to Gorey
“You can visit New Ross, gallant Wexford, and Gorey,
Where the green was last seen by the Saxon and the Tory,
where the soil is sanctified by the blood of each true man
Where they died satisfied, their enemies they did not run from”. ( as sung by Luke Kelly…..”Come to The Bower”)
https://youtu.be/YQIgGQHbqV4
Hi Christy .I started that banjo/guitar build .not sure your into that stuff..there’s three videos covering the build up to now.
go for it
https://youtu.be/ru3-CHxX0Oo
No harm in throwing them out there.i hope it’s not too annoying.
it don’t annoy me Marty….
makes me think…when it comes to annoying..(is’nt it an ugly lookin little word)..no matter what we say or do we are sure to annoy someone…there were those who found Gandhi himself annoying….as for Mother Teresa, did’nt she drive poor Christopher Hitchins to drink….some of us need to be annoyed betimes..others among us live in a state of perpetual annoyance…
so far today, Thanks Be, I’ve not been annoyed once ( and I’ve been awake for two hours)
good luck with your Guitar/Banjo…chances are that will really annoy certain purists
Did some looking up online, the accident seems to have occurred in ’82, some sites have good biogs of him, a Living Tradition website is good plus I found several You Tube tracks of his playing. I’m reasonably certain it was either 1978 or ’79. He may have done some tour of Ireland back at that time and presumably got into a few venues countrywide.
Thanks Ed….its always a pleasure to re-visit Nic’s music
Circa 1978, prior to this famed car accident that put him out of action for a long time. The Tom McHale Folk Club, based back then in the Jolly Mariner basement run by Tony Holleran now living in Ferbane Co Offaly. Tony himself originally from Clonbur, Galway, I believe some of his family involved in music and traditional singing.
That explains it Ed…anywhere Tony Holleran lands good music will soon follow…met Tony a short time back when we played in Tullamore..him