Thanks for the back story re your 50th…some of the finest curry houses on the planet are within a mile of that theatre…it must have been late when John O’Dreams ended! What a brilliant celebration…
I’m glad you like Karine Polwart’s and Inge Thomson’s music so much…hugely talented and involved with so many wonderful projects…both their websites are well worth visiting and lead to an ace mix of spin offs…can’t beat the rabbit holes leading away from the lockdown bunker-ideal for companeros here…
Is is difficult to be isolated but we are happy with music/reading and keeping in touch with family. As soon as this is all over and it is safe to fly again we will be off to Ireland and to another CM concert! Something to look forward to. Be safe!
Christy's reply
Difficult but achievable ..let us all pull together and follow the suggested path towards recovery…
There remains a small minority who continue to “spit” in the face of reason..let us isolate them and shame them that their abhorrent behaviour be plain for all to see
Hi Christy,
Just heard you on Ray Darcy. Have to say I didn’t know of the show until I read all of the mentions on the platform here. Your appearance coincided with my birthday (April 30). What a lovely gift! Called my wife (of 30+ years) into the room for your performance of “The Voyage”. A few tears shed. What a wonderful gift to your friends and fans during these trying times. Thank you. Best.
Buck
Christy's reply
Fair play to Ray Darcy for giving me the opportunity to communicate with songsters near and far….
Just heard you on Ray Darcy. Thank you we loved it. You sounded fantastic. Maybe Galway in August though looks doubtful at moment. Take care Karen and Jamie
Christy's reply
we’ll meet again,
dont know where ,
dont know when,
a wee treat…Scotland’s finest…Karine Polwart (+ brother,Stephen and the superb Inge Thomson) 18 minutes of class for NPR in the US…a ‘tiny desk’ show…well worth a look on youtube…brightened up the bunker on a cold evening.
Keep well
Dave
Christy's reply
we’ll have a look at Karine and band..heard them here last year.beautiful gig…Inge painted beautiful colours on a variety of instruments..I thought how I’d love to sing some time to her accompaniments..have some of her albums here…and Karine’s…she posts some beautiful words and music on her platform
Well into the countdown to your birthday,I remember the buzz and reviews of the Manchester gig (Palace Theatre?) around your 50th…sadly,I couldn’t attend the gig,but the story went that your family.friends ‘invaded’ the stage ,at the end of the night,for ‘merry making’,congrats etc…I’m sure any memories/back story would be much appreciated by listeners..old and young…
Christy's reply
I celebrated my 50th at a gig in The Palace Theatre…I assumed it would be a quiet affair …then,during an encore many members of my family appeared on stage with a Birthday cake and 50 candles (I was half way thru “John O’ Dreams”)
Afterwards we went to a great Indian Restaraunt out in Rusholme..my Family, all my Bury cousins,Eleanor Shanley’s Band, the Crew…Rogan and Ras Mulai and a mighty Cake..
Thankfully I’ve made it to the week of my 75th…this will be a much quieter affair…
I give thanks
Dear Christy,
Having seen so many fab long haul listeners asking about your travel plans ,which i realise have to be restricted in recent years , i wondered about your gig list.
Can you say which countries you have played gigs in. The truly fabulous Box Set gives us one or two clues, but is there a definitive list?
Regards as always
Rory
ps the swallows are back
Christy's reply
I’ll take a stab at it
Ireland
England
Scotland
Wales
Jersey
Guernsey
France
Brittany
Germany
Holland
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Finland
Switzerland
Lichtenstein
Italy
Australia
New Zealand
Tasmania
America
Canada….still a few to go Rory so I’d better keep practicing….I also sang in Spain, Cuba and Jamaica, not in a gigging capacity
Hi Christy,
I heard a reply of your interview with Ray Darcy this morning, it set me up for the day. Great to hear you are keeping well.
Trevor
Westmeath
Hi Christy
Re your list of remembered Mancunian folkies in the late 60s do you not remember the Johnstons at all? I was living down here in Kent but had met my future husband, on holiday in North Wales. He played quite often with a folk group guesting at the Taverners’ club in Blackpool. The Johnstons played at my local folk club and myself and schoolfriends went to see them and became great fans instantly. Then they played up at Blackpool and he became a fan too. Whenever the group was playing in the London area he would come down for the weekend so that we could go and see them. We still enjoy their old albums and they were instrumental in introducing us to the wonderful Irish music that we both still love. Looking forward to seeing you and Declan at Wexford next year if the show is rescheduled or maybe London (?) if it’s not. Take care now won’t you.
Christy's reply
Hi Jane…that list you mention was specific to Manchester Musicians I knew when I lived there. at that time The Johnsons were based in Ireland. I knew them very well and heard them many times.Still hear them occasionally on Irish radio and always admire their distinctive sound…
Hi Christy!
I hope you’re well and staying safe! I contacted you a while back about a video message for my other half Fionntan, on our wedding day if it was possible 🙂
All my family, the Mc Faddens, in Donegal are your biggest fans, so needless to say that Fionntan fits right in 🙂 My uncle Liam undoubtedly being your no1 fan.
If you do get a chance, It would be so very much appreciated. Thank you. lisanicp@hotmail.com
Christy's reply
I dont have the facility to video….cocooned with my Nokia
Dear Christy,
I awoke to the early sun streaming in through the crack in the bunker roof , refracting through the glass of the fermenting rhubarb gin container, so i went for a slow jog as the daily permitted constitutional.
I saw such richness in nature whilst listening to the ‘this is the day’ album, and return to find the postie has delivered Mary’s recommended book , david keenan has released more ‘made at home’ musical material ,and the lady indoors has made a breakthrough researching her ancestors in Lurgan.
It inspired me to set down my own lines to the opening verse of ‘So do I’ , which is a fantastically joyous song of celebration of a day just like today. My words pale into insignificance in contrast to Wally’s lyrics ,but i enjoyed constructing it.
The necessary lockdown may be restricting in some ways but today it was exillerating, expansive and illuminating.
Tis a great album, ‘this is the day’,( i remember buying it with glee on union street in aberdeen) ,such a mix of slow reflection and upbeat glory. Can i ask what the mechanism is for deciding which tracks eventually land on an album, and the order they sit on the album in, is it just down to you yourself?
Regards
Rory
Christy's reply
“when the rain put a shine on the chestnut spikes” sez Wally
I decide running order bearing in mind a number of factors…its important to vary the Key, the tempo, the spirit, the nature… usually these elements are not considered until the recording is finished which can become a problem should I end up with 6 slow sad songs all in the same key ….usually it works out in the end
That particular album was made at a good time…I’d not worked with Declan and Donal since the”Ride On” album 16 years previously.We took the same approach. Set up studio down in Kilkenny with Tim Martin and we had ourselves a good time in the making
‘Planxty ‘ is a great band name…’CLAD’ ,probably wasn’t missed too much,but if you’d fancy a go at movie soundtracks,’O’FILM’ might have been worth a punt!
Just playing some ‘Planxty’…always love ‘The Good Ship Kangaroo’-terrific live versions too…has she ever set sail for recent set lists?
Started the day with Mimi (Baez) and Richard Farina…what a class act…
Dave
Christy's reply
not played Kangaroo on stage since the last Planxty gig in 2005..
someone told me once that it originally from the English Music Hall era…yet it ended up in the repertoire of Bess Cronin in Ballyvourney, County Cork…Bess was a wonderful Lady and Singer…her repertoire unique she was recorded by Alan Lomax and Tom Munnelly..there is a great singing tradition still very much alive in that area Nellie Ní Cronan continues to carry the Family Flame as does Maire Ní Ceallachóir and others in that place…Seán Ó Ríada lived nearby in Coolea. His Son Peader remains at the heart of all things musical in that place …I think I met Richard Farina once here in Dublin…maybe it was a dream…he was with his wife,they had a VW camper van… way back in 1972
The results are surely worth the toil when you find duende,mojo,good juju…and we all share in song…
‘struck by the sounds before the sun
I knew the night had gone
the morning breeze like a bugle blew
against the drums of dawn’
There are rays of light streaming into the bunker and Californian falcons waiting for a late night visitor…with the words of Richard Farina in my head…
I love the idea of claiming for the wallpaper from the RTE DG!
Who quotes the lines from ‘The Sun is Burning’. A great song.
I have a cassette tape recording of you performing at a Cambridge Folk Festival from the 80s, I taped it from that ‘Folk on Two’ BBC 2 programme. I bet that Brocklehurst chap mentioned by Dagrab would have the time and exact date of that 80s gig.
And..and I’ve looked at those fledgling falcons.
Christy's reply
High above
a spot appears
a little blossom blooms
and then draws near ……….(Ian Cambell)
Brian Brocklehurst died in 2010 after a life of Music
Please come back to Glasgow or Edinburgh when things settle down. Your music means so much to me (and many others, I’m sure) for so many reasons.
Gutted about the cancelled shows this year.
Stay safe and please come back soon x
Christy's reply
Myself,the and and Crew have always loved our Scottish gigs….hopefully we’ll return some day and get the job done…
Hi Christy, I enjoyed your chat with Ray Darcy yesterday and the couple of songs, ’twas great to hear you live. I heard you mention that you have always kept a work diary. My friend and I were wondering if you had a record of playing in Clonmel in what was the Ormond Cinema or hotel on O’ Connell St Clonmel. It was the Planxty line up. As far as he can remember Liam Og and yourself came on stage first and did a set, then Donal and Andy came on and did their bit and finally the four of you together came on and finished off the night. Were ye ” Planxty ” at that stage?. None of us can remember the year..
Take care a while and stay safe. Regards…John
Christy's reply
before we decided upon the name Planxty we called ourselves Clad for a brief period. ( a dreadully lame and uninspiring monniker)
at the beginning the first part of the gig featured 3 separate 10 minute segments…an Andy and Donal set, a Liam set and a set from myself. these gigs would have been in 1972
I dont recall a Planxty gig in Clonmel….over the years I recall gigs in Collins Hall, The Hidden Inn Kilmanahan, Hotel Minella,Clonmel Park Hotel,Hearns Hotel, once I played support to Frank Patterson in the Theatre nr the Dog Track…Frank was home from Italy and the local Music Society held a celebration concert to mark his homecoming..this was circa 1964 when I was lodging in Annie Keogh’s 5 star accomodations …
the fact I that dont recall a Planxty gig in Clonmel should not suggest that one did not happen….back then the “Dannos” would be flyng, the “Sergeant” ruled the roost
Hiya Christy, long time no message ,hope you are staying safe and well.
Been away from the boards for a good while due to life and it’s ups and downs but revisiting songs and stories of recent years.
You and your listeners might be interested in the story of Martin O Meara,an emigrant from Lorrha in North Tipp who emigrated to Australia at the start of the last century and settled south of Perth in a little town called Collie where he worked as a wood cutter, making railway sleepers.
Not long after the outbreak of WW1 he signed up with the Australian Imperial Forces as a stretcher bearer as he was interested in preserving life not taking it.
Shortly after signing up he was sent to France and received the Victoria Cross for incredible acts of bravery during the battle of Pozieres where he rescued some 25 men from No Man’s Land .He survived the war physically but suffered from PTSD for the remainder of his years.
I was honoured to be asked to write a song for and about Martin by a Cork man Fred Rea who is living in Perth for 40 years now and who is involved in keeping Martin’s memory alive .
Martin’s VC was given to Ireland on loan last year and its going back later this year.
Here’s a link to a vid I put up some years ago which tells more.
Hi Christy
Thanks for the back story re your 50th…some of the finest curry houses on the planet are within a mile of that theatre…it must have been late when John O’Dreams ended! What a brilliant celebration…
I’m glad you like Karine Polwart’s and Inge Thomson’s music so much…hugely talented and involved with so many wonderful projects…both their websites are well worth visiting and lead to an ace mix of spin offs…can’t beat the rabbit holes leading away from the lockdown bunker-ideal for companeros here…
Dave
Is is difficult to be isolated but we are happy with music/reading and keeping in touch with family. As soon as this is all over and it is safe to fly again we will be off to Ireland and to another CM concert! Something to look forward to. Be safe!
Difficult but achievable ..let us all pull together and follow the suggested path towards recovery…
There remains a small minority who continue to “spit” in the face of reason..let us isolate them and shame them that their abhorrent behaviour be plain for all to see
Hi Christy,
Just heard you on Ray Darcy. Have to say I didn’t know of the show until I read all of the mentions on the platform here. Your appearance coincided with my birthday (April 30). What a lovely gift! Called my wife (of 30+ years) into the room for your performance of “The Voyage”. A few tears shed. What a wonderful gift to your friends and fans during these trying times. Thank you. Best.
Buck
Fair play to Ray Darcy for giving me the opportunity to communicate with songsters near and far….
Just heard you on Ray Darcy. Thank you we loved it. You sounded fantastic. Maybe Galway in August though looks doubtful at moment. Take care Karen and Jamie
we’ll meet again,
dont know where ,
dont know when,
Hi Christy
a wee treat…Scotland’s finest…Karine Polwart (+ brother,Stephen and the superb Inge Thomson) 18 minutes of class for NPR in the US…a ‘tiny desk’ show…well worth a look on youtube…brightened up the bunker on a cold evening.
Keep well
Dave
we’ll have a look at Karine and band..heard them here last year.beautiful gig…Inge painted beautiful colours on a variety of instruments..I thought how I’d love to sing some time to her accompaniments..have some of her albums here…and Karine’s…she posts some beautiful words and music on her platform
Hi Christy
Well into the countdown to your birthday,I remember the buzz and reviews of the Manchester gig (Palace Theatre?) around your 50th…sadly,I couldn’t attend the gig,but the story went that your family.friends ‘invaded’ the stage ,at the end of the night,for ‘merry making’,congrats etc…I’m sure any memories/back story would be much appreciated by listeners..old and young…
I celebrated my 50th at a gig in The Palace Theatre…I assumed it would be a quiet affair …then,during an encore many members of my family appeared on stage with a Birthday cake and 50 candles (I was half way thru “John O’ Dreams”)
Afterwards we went to a great Indian Restaraunt out in Rusholme..my Family, all my Bury cousins,Eleanor Shanley’s Band, the Crew…Rogan and Ras Mulai and a mighty Cake..
Thankfully I’ve made it to the week of my 75th…this will be a much quieter affair…
I give thanks
Dear Christy,
Having seen so many fab long haul listeners asking about your travel plans ,which i realise have to be restricted in recent years , i wondered about your gig list.
Can you say which countries you have played gigs in. The truly fabulous Box Set gives us one or two clues, but is there a definitive list?
Regards as always
Rory
ps the swallows are back
I’ll take a stab at it
Ireland
England
Scotland
Wales
Jersey
Guernsey
France
Brittany
Germany
Holland
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Finland
Switzerland
Lichtenstein
Italy
Australia
New Zealand
Tasmania
America
Canada….still a few to go Rory so I’d better keep practicing….I also sang in Spain, Cuba and Jamaica, not in a gigging capacity
Hi Christy,
I heard a reply of your interview with Ray Darcy this morning, it set me up for the day. Great to hear you are keeping well.
Trevor
Westmeath
Keeping well here Trevor..Thanks Be
I hope you get the best cake you can imagine. Several of them. 😊🙂☺️
Thankyou for goodness knows how many things
Rebecca
In 1969 celebrated my 24th birthday on Syke Lane, Causeway Foot,
the same week I played Castleford, Great Longstone and The Grove in Leeds
Hi Christy
Re your list of remembered Mancunian folkies in the late 60s do you not remember the Johnstons at all? I was living down here in Kent but had met my future husband, on holiday in North Wales. He played quite often with a folk group guesting at the Taverners’ club in Blackpool. The Johnstons played at my local folk club and myself and schoolfriends went to see them and became great fans instantly. Then they played up at Blackpool and he became a fan too. Whenever the group was playing in the London area he would come down for the weekend so that we could go and see them. We still enjoy their old albums and they were instrumental in introducing us to the wonderful Irish music that we both still love. Looking forward to seeing you and Declan at Wexford next year if the show is rescheduled or maybe London (?) if it’s not. Take care now won’t you.
Hi Jane…that list you mention was specific to Manchester Musicians I knew when I lived there. at that time The Johnsons were based in Ireland. I knew them very well and heard them many times.Still hear them occasionally on Irish radio and always admire their distinctive sound…
Hi Christy!
I hope you’re well and staying safe! I contacted you a while back about a video message for my other half Fionntan, on our wedding day if it was possible 🙂
All my family, the Mc Faddens, in Donegal are your biggest fans, so needless to say that Fionntan fits right in 🙂 My uncle Liam undoubtedly being your no1 fan.
If you do get a chance, It would be so very much appreciated. Thank you.
lisanicp@hotmail.com
I dont have the facility to video….cocooned with my Nokia
Hi Christy it’s my husband Trevor 40th birthday today he is a big fan I’d love a birthday video message it would make his day, year, decade.
not possible on the Nokia….I’m 75 next week, I’d love a cake..
Dear Christy,
I awoke to the early sun streaming in through the crack in the bunker roof , refracting through the glass of the fermenting rhubarb gin container, so i went for a slow jog as the daily permitted constitutional.
I saw such richness in nature whilst listening to the ‘this is the day’ album, and return to find the postie has delivered Mary’s recommended book , david keenan has released more ‘made at home’ musical material ,and the lady indoors has made a breakthrough researching her ancestors in Lurgan.
It inspired me to set down my own lines to the opening verse of ‘So do I’ , which is a fantastically joyous song of celebration of a day just like today. My words pale into insignificance in contrast to Wally’s lyrics ,but i enjoyed constructing it.
The necessary lockdown may be restricting in some ways but today it was exillerating, expansive and illuminating.
Tis a great album, ‘this is the day’,( i remember buying it with glee on union street in aberdeen) ,such a mix of slow reflection and upbeat glory. Can i ask what the mechanism is for deciding which tracks eventually land on an album, and the order they sit on the album in, is it just down to you yourself?
Regards
Rory
“when the rain put a shine on the chestnut spikes” sez Wally
I decide running order bearing in mind a number of factors…its important to vary the Key, the tempo, the spirit, the nature… usually these elements are not considered until the recording is finished which can become a problem should I end up with 6 slow sad songs all in the same key ….usually it works out in the end
That particular album was made at a good time…I’d not worked with Declan and Donal since the”Ride On” album 16 years previously.We took the same approach. Set up studio down in Kilkenny with Tim Martin and we had ourselves a good time in the making
Hi Christy
It’s my birthday today 43 I’m a huge fan of you.My daughter made me a lovy card with you on the front.
Happy Birthday Mary
Hi Christy
‘Planxty ‘ is a great band name…’CLAD’ ,probably wasn’t missed too much,but if you’d fancy a go at movie soundtracks,’O’FILM’ might have been worth a punt!
Just playing some ‘Planxty’…always love ‘The Good Ship Kangaroo’-terrific live versions too…has she ever set sail for recent set lists?
Started the day with Mimi (Baez) and Richard Farina…what a class act…
Dave
not played Kangaroo on stage since the last Planxty gig in 2005..
someone told me once that it originally from the English Music Hall era…yet it ended up in the repertoire of Bess Cronin in Ballyvourney, County Cork…Bess was a wonderful Lady and Singer…her repertoire unique she was recorded by Alan Lomax and Tom Munnelly..there is a great singing tradition still very much alive in that area Nellie Ní Cronan continues to carry the Family Flame as does Maire Ní Ceallachóir and others in that place…Seán Ó Ríada lived nearby in Coolea. His Son Peader remains at the heart of all things musical in that place …I think I met Richard Farina once here in Dublin…maybe it was a dream…he was with his wife,they had a VW camper van… way back in 1972
Hi Christy
The results are surely worth the toil when you find duende,mojo,good juju…and we all share in song…
‘struck by the sounds before the sun
I knew the night had gone
the morning breeze like a bugle blew
against the drums of dawn’
There are rays of light streaming into the bunker and Californian falcons waiting for a late night visitor…with the words of Richard Farina in my head…
G’night D
we’re away with the Falcons
I love the idea of claiming for the wallpaper from the RTE DG!
Who quotes the lines from ‘The Sun is Burning’. A great song.
I have a cassette tape recording of you performing at a Cambridge Folk Festival from the 80s, I taped it from that ‘Folk on Two’ BBC 2 programme. I bet that Brocklehurst chap mentioned by Dagrab would have the time and exact date of that 80s gig.
And..and I’ve looked at those fledgling falcons.
High above
a spot appears
a little blossom blooms
and then draws near ……….(Ian Cambell)
Brian Brocklehurst died in 2010 after a life of Music
Please come back to Glasgow or Edinburgh when things settle down. Your music means so much to me (and many others, I’m sure) for so many reasons.
Gutted about the cancelled shows this year.
Stay safe and please come back soon x
Myself,the and and Crew have always loved our Scottish gigs….hopefully we’ll return some day and get the job done…
Hi Christy, I enjoyed your chat with Ray Darcy yesterday and the couple of songs, ’twas great to hear you live. I heard you mention that you have always kept a work diary. My friend and I were wondering if you had a record of playing in Clonmel in what was the Ormond Cinema or hotel on O’ Connell St Clonmel. It was the Planxty line up. As far as he can remember Liam Og and yourself came on stage first and did a set, then Donal and Andy came on and did their bit and finally the four of you together came on and finished off the night. Were ye ” Planxty ” at that stage?. None of us can remember the year..
Take care a while and stay safe. Regards…John
before we decided upon the name Planxty we called ourselves Clad for a brief period. ( a dreadully lame and uninspiring monniker)
at the beginning the first part of the gig featured 3 separate 10 minute segments…an Andy and Donal set, a Liam set and a set from myself. these gigs would have been in 1972
I dont recall a Planxty gig in Clonmel….over the years I recall gigs in Collins Hall, The Hidden Inn Kilmanahan, Hotel Minella,Clonmel Park Hotel,Hearns Hotel, once I played support to Frank Patterson in the Theatre nr the Dog Track…Frank was home from Italy and the local Music Society held a celebration concert to mark his homecoming..this was circa 1964 when I was lodging in Annie Keogh’s 5 star accomodations …
the fact I that dont recall a Planxty gig in Clonmel should not suggest that one did not happen….back then the “Dannos” would be flyng, the “Sergeant” ruled the roost
Hiya Christy, long time no message ,hope you are staying safe and well.
Been away from the boards for a good while due to life and it’s ups and downs but revisiting songs and stories of recent years.
You and your listeners might be interested in the story of Martin O Meara,an emigrant from Lorrha in North Tipp who emigrated to Australia at the start of the last century and settled south of Perth in a little town called Collie where he worked as a wood cutter, making railway sleepers.
Not long after the outbreak of WW1 he signed up with the Australian Imperial Forces as a stretcher bearer as he was interested in preserving life not taking it.
Shortly after signing up he was sent to France and received the Victoria Cross for incredible acts of bravery during the battle of Pozieres where he rescued some 25 men from No Man’s Land .He survived the war physically but suffered from PTSD for the remainder of his years.
I was honoured to be asked to write a song for and about Martin by a Cork man Fred Rea who is living in Perth for 40 years now and who is involved in keeping Martin’s memory alive .
Martin’s VC was given to Ireland on loan last year and its going back later this year.
Here’s a link to a vid I put up some years ago which tells more.
https://youtu.be/w32L3BfZboc
Dave Cork
Morra Dave,
you have honored Martin O’Meara with this Ballad…beautifully written and performed here…thanks for sharing it with us…