Hi Christy, I’ve never written before but have seen you numerous times in the U.S, Ireland and in Germany, Holland and Belgium.
The first time I saw you was at Memorial Hall at Harvard University, a few years back.
I wonder if you could give a shout out to support Eoin O”Neill’s Podcasts where he chats with music makers in Clare. I’m sure many of your fans would enjoy them. Especially at this time when we are all spending more time at home.
Thanks and I can’t wait to see you perform again, my last show was two nights last year at Bundoran
Patrick
Christy's reply
There is no better person on Irish Radio for supporting our native music and song…I catch Eoin on Clare FM wherever I go…..he is an important player of Irish Music both as a practitioner and broadcaster….I had the good fortune to record with him once and I hope to get the opportunity again some time……he will be gigging with my Brother Luka in Doolin next Sat night
Begobs Dave, great tip about the lovely Louth group Kern, ordered myself a bundle set of the two albums. Grand stuff.
Christy, you recently listed a lot of gigs in different places, and I got to wondering if you have a favourite like, dislike for venue? “oh no, not the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, never again”, or how about “Barrowlands, great, they don’t even need me onstage to have a great gig!” “Vicar St, magic”
I have seen you in a few places, Ireland and Germany, but I think one of the finest gigs was in the Sliabh Russell Hotel, when I was home for a weekend, and your good friend Robbie got me a second row seat in a sold out hall.
As you came out on stage I saw a surprising thing. You rubbed your hands together, once, twice, before picking up the guitar. I thought to myself, Christy is happy. You see, I don’t know how widespread that gesture is, but in the wee county it is a sign of happiness, contentment.
All was explained at the end. You said that when you arrived for the soundcheck you saw the chandeliers and plush seats and thought it’s a bit cold here. But you then said that as you came out for the gig, you felt the warmth that we had brought in with us, and that made it a lovely gig for you, and for us.
So I got to thinking, does it take a lot to get warmth throughout a hall?
God bless, and keep safe.
Christy's reply
Hard to bate the Sliabh Russell on a good night..or the Slieve Donard or The Pound Loney or De Barras in Clon, Ryston in Newbridge, dear old Vicar Street of a Christmas Break or The Royal Spa Lisdoonvarna or Jasper Farrells in Sausalito,The Dogs Bollocks in New Zealand,The Lansdowne Hotel in The Bronx,Mags McIvors in Glasgow,Nells Cafe in London,Annie Keoghs in Clonmel, Cleeres Theatre in Kilkenny, Kate Reillys on the Tramore Rd,Half Moon Putney, Merriman Scariff,
all it takes is the embrace of a higher power….willing listeners…a bunch of songs
They may sound like a firm of accountants,but ‘Bracken,Botham and Harding’ is a rare gathering for a morning’s chat…always enjoy the links that emerge from varied posts here.
Following Pat riffing about Co Louth music,recently,I’ m greatly enjoying ‘Kern’,having come across them by chance.
Like you,many performers are making the best of their gig free zones.Liz Hanks is Sheffield based and an ace cellist.Lots of interesting projects and sounds at http://www.lizhankscello.com If I’d ever applied myself to learn a classical instument it would be cello…lovely contrasts in tone -Liz plays so well.
Enjoy the music making… a fascinating process…
Dave
Christy's reply
Once played a gig in Sligo…leaving the venue after a feed of pints I was loading the H&H s into the Hi-Ace,,,,I noticed a Solicitors office next door called
Argue & Phibbs
I’ll be looking out for Kern next time I hit South Yorkshire….the Cello is a mighty source of deep penetration….I’m thinking now of Jacqueline Du Pre….
Hello Christy,
I’ve been listening to your album Listen.
The ballsiness of live is usually where I’m found but I’ve been stepping out further recently.
There’s 4 songs on there that binged straight at me.
Crazy diamond. It’s kind of a ghostly, off-kilter waltz. Talks about singers so well.
Rubt Walsh is a cracker. I love the words you wrote. I’ve been trying to work out if a jig matches any of the horse rhythms. Or is it the blood rising feel of it, like joxer?
Gortatagort is already in my heart. I’m getting somewhere with it.
Listen sits in the air where gortatagort is in the earth.
I need more hours in the day.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Thank You Rebecca….its always heart warming to recieve reflections upon past recordings….always brings me back to the time…..”Listen” was a joyful time…and I still like the cover….would have made a great LP sleeve…..
I’m gathering a fresh collection these days..fully occupied…..slaving over the Atkin
Hi I am one of five houses in Cotton Mills and we have been working on a small plot seating area by the river I would love to contact Christy regarding small opening with the residents would it be possible,
My boy Ben turned 3 last week. He is a massive fan and sings along to many of your songs. He has taken to requesting some of your hits in his creche lately, expanding your fan base even further! Current favourites of his include A Pair of Brown Eyes, Lisdoonvarna and Sail On Jimmy. Hopefully he’ll be able to come along with myself and his Nanny and Grandad to hear you live sometime in the future. Best wishes from Tipperary.
Christy's reply
sounds like you got a premier songster on your hands D_
the very thought of Ben leading the chorus of “Sail on Jimmy” in the creche brings joy..
I look forward to singing it with him when we all get together again in Tipperary so far away..
we’ll face the puck out together
Hi Christy!
Thanks for the reply, hope your keeping sane!
I sent a message about my sister niamh and her fiancé Sean getting married in September. Could you do a wee shoutout in one of your Facebook videos to them please? Thank you!
Christy's reply
Conor…I gotta long list of call-out requests from far flung corners….Niamh & Sean have gone into the hat…thats the best that I can do
Dagrab keeps us all going with the memories. I must tune into that folk radio, sounds great, interesting. So Planxty and Edinburgh. Sounds interesting, is there a tape to get unearthed?
Great news that the Atkin is ringing on old and new songs – all eagerly awaited,near and far.
I’m working on a version of ‘Cold,haily, windy night’ (Carthy and Steeleye delivered it to my ears c 1970).Also love your/Planxty ‘Cold,blow…’take.Endlessly fascinating how the old songs adapt through the ages…any idea how it came to your attention -and might it see the lockdown/gigs light of day?
Dave
Christy's reply
I learned this song from my good mucker Mike Harding ….we used to swop verses back in the day…Mike still points me towards songs..the last one being Kevin Fleetwood’s “Morecambe Bay”
Mike and Patricia also gave me my very first Folk Club gig…on a Sunday night in 1966 I was the “booked turn” at The Old House at Home pub in Blakeley where Mike & Pat ran their wonderful Folk Club….
I’ve not sung “Cold Blow” since leaving Planxty im 1973
Sadly,there was no crowd to witness Ireland’s cricket victory over England in Southampton…but,that shouldn’t stop a Joxer sequel! After the dreams in Stuttgart,there could be some mighty banter celebrating the ‘Saints’ win.
I remember a chat with a farmer in Slane,years ago.He and his friends had formed a cricket team and played on the outskirts of the village.Being less than an hour from Dublin,they played a few home and away fixtures each year-mainly against Embassy teams from different countries. .After a few seasons,they mainly had home games as the visitors enjoyed the trip to Slane and the local hospitality so much…we both know about that,so well!
Have a good day
Dave
Christy's reply
sorry to say that I know very little about cricket…
Andy Irvine used to don the pads annually…..
another slight connection to cricket was thru my late God-Mother
….Maeve Laffan came from Beauparc…she was our Mother’s closest and life-long friend…all their lives they remained loyal and true to each other…I could not have had a better God-Mother (despite the fact that she showed little or no interest whatsoever in my spiritual well being)
Maeve had two half-brothers….the older one was Brendan Bracken who achieved world wide notoriety by becoming Churchill’s right hand man…the younger one was Pat Laffan who went on to become a leading actor on the Abbey stage….
Maeve nor our Mother never once spoke of Bracken but I got to meet Pat Laffan occasionally….his best known part was that of “Mr Burgess” in the film of Roody Doyle’s “The Snapper”….He also played cricket
Well Christy ….In the distance there’s cricket in Cloughjordan, the distant clack of croquet on the lawn.
Ireland beating England at cricket ‘on the mainland’.
‘The other side’ has had their Cloughjordan practice pay off.
I suspect there was some singing in the irish team cricket dressingroom last night.
Now where do the irish sea croquet championships get held?
cheers
Rory
Christy's reply
I’m gonna look into that Rory,
I’ll see if I can get a pair of sideline tickets..
Great Dessies Island Disc show this pm when Ted Walsh ws the guest….
Ted may well be your biggest fan….. or maybe 2nd biggest fan …… anyway he gave you a great auld report to Des.
The half hour is not long enough for this show.
Christy's reply
I had a grand chat with Dessie a few weeks back….its going out over two evenings this week…Thu & Fri….
I loved the Ted Walsh chat….his dialect is very close to home for me and him being from Kildorrery….
Liam O’Flynn was a neighbour and friend of Ted’s
An excellent,in depth piece about music in times of significance/mourning…very Covid related and great examples at http://www.nodepression.com
Thanks again for your lockdown sessions.When people look back at Covid times,your posts will be enduring.
Dave
Christy's reply
you are some man for one man Dave….I’d need 48 hour days to keep up with all you share !!…..the Atkin is ringing these days…a few new songs resounding…just a few…but a few old ones resurfacing too
what a pleasure twas to bump into dear Brendan Kennelly that day on Drury Street….we stood into a quiet corner and had a grand blather….we spoke of “The Humours of Ballylongford”,we remembered Con Houlihan, GAA within The Civil War,
time flew past as we chatted on blissfully unaware of the snapping photographer…thank you both Hilary and Rebecca for letting me see these pics…
Really sorry to read about the buried Planxty tapes.It’s always sad when artists can’t access their work, be given chance to evaluate the subject matter and,hopefully,share with the wider world.
There’d be a lot of interest in the Edinburgh recordings.Let’s hope for some karma – that the music sees the light of day.
All the best
Dave
Christy's reply
sometimes it boils down to the chips on our shoulders…
auld resentments are a constant source of disharmony…
thankfully, new tunes are blinking in the light of day
Hi Christy, I’ve never written before but have seen you numerous times in the U.S, Ireland and in Germany, Holland and Belgium.
The first time I saw you was at Memorial Hall at Harvard University, a few years back.
I wonder if you could give a shout out to support Eoin O”Neill’s Podcasts where he chats with music makers in Clare. I’m sure many of your fans would enjoy them. Especially at this time when we are all spending more time at home.
Thanks and I can’t wait to see you perform again, my last show was two nights last year at Bundoran
Patrick
There is no better person on Irish Radio for supporting our native music and song…I catch Eoin on Clare FM wherever I go…..he is an important player of Irish Music both as a practitioner and broadcaster….I had the good fortune to record with him once and I hope to get the opportunity again some time……he will be gigging with my Brother Luka in Doolin next Sat night
Hi Christy, looking forward to hearing you on Des’s Island Discs RTÉ Radio 1 this evening at 6.30.🎵
after the dinner
Begobs Dave, great tip about the lovely Louth group Kern, ordered myself a bundle set of the two albums. Grand stuff.
Christy, you recently listed a lot of gigs in different places, and I got to wondering if you have a favourite like, dislike for venue? “oh no, not the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, never again”, or how about “Barrowlands, great, they don’t even need me onstage to have a great gig!” “Vicar St, magic”
I have seen you in a few places, Ireland and Germany, but I think one of the finest gigs was in the Sliabh Russell Hotel, when I was home for a weekend, and your good friend Robbie got me a second row seat in a sold out hall.
As you came out on stage I saw a surprising thing. You rubbed your hands together, once, twice, before picking up the guitar. I thought to myself, Christy is happy. You see, I don’t know how widespread that gesture is, but in the wee county it is a sign of happiness, contentment.
All was explained at the end. You said that when you arrived for the soundcheck you saw the chandeliers and plush seats and thought it’s a bit cold here. But you then said that as you came out for the gig, you felt the warmth that we had brought in with us, and that made it a lovely gig for you, and for us.
So I got to thinking, does it take a lot to get warmth throughout a hall?
God bless, and keep safe.
Hard to bate the Sliabh Russell on a good night..or the Slieve Donard or The Pound Loney or De Barras in Clon, Ryston in Newbridge, dear old Vicar Street of a Christmas Break or The Royal Spa Lisdoonvarna or Jasper Farrells in Sausalito,The Dogs Bollocks in New Zealand,The Lansdowne Hotel in The Bronx,Mags McIvors in Glasgow,Nells Cafe in London,Annie Keoghs in Clonmel, Cleeres Theatre in Kilkenny, Kate Reillys on the Tramore Rd,Half Moon Putney, Merriman Scariff,
all it takes is the embrace of a higher power….willing listeners…a bunch of songs
Hi Christy
They may sound like a firm of accountants,but ‘Bracken,Botham and Harding’ is a rare gathering for a morning’s chat…always enjoy the links that emerge from varied posts here.
Following Pat riffing about Co Louth music,recently,I’ m greatly enjoying ‘Kern’,having come across them by chance.
Like you,many performers are making the best of their gig free zones.Liz Hanks is Sheffield based and an ace cellist.Lots of interesting projects and sounds at http://www.lizhankscello.com If I’d ever applied myself to learn a classical instument it would be cello…lovely contrasts in tone -Liz plays so well.
Enjoy the music making… a fascinating process…
Dave
Once played a gig in Sligo…leaving the venue after a feed of pints I was loading the H&H s into the Hi-Ace,,,,I noticed a Solicitors office next door called
Argue & Phibbs
I’ll be looking out for Kern next time I hit South Yorkshire….the Cello is a mighty source of deep penetration….I’m thinking now of Jacqueline Du Pre….
Hello Christy,
I’ve been listening to your album Listen.
The ballsiness of live is usually where I’m found but I’ve been stepping out further recently.
There’s 4 songs on there that binged straight at me.
Crazy diamond. It’s kind of a ghostly, off-kilter waltz. Talks about singers so well.
Rubt Walsh is a cracker. I love the words you wrote. I’ve been trying to work out if a jig matches any of the horse rhythms. Or is it the blood rising feel of it, like joxer?
Gortatagort is already in my heart. I’m getting somewhere with it.
Listen sits in the air where gortatagort is in the earth.
I need more hours in the day.
Rebecca
Thank You Rebecca….its always heart warming to recieve reflections upon past recordings….always brings me back to the time…..”Listen” was a joyful time…and I still like the cover….would have made a great LP sleeve…..
I’m gathering a fresh collection these days..fully occupied…..slaving over the Atkin
Hi I am one of five houses in Cotton Mills and we have been working on a small plot seating area by the river I would love to contact Christy regarding small opening with the residents would it be possible,
Morra Tommy..
we’ll give you a shout…
Hi Christy,
My boy Ben turned 3 last week. He is a massive fan and sings along to many of your songs. He has taken to requesting some of your hits in his creche lately, expanding your fan base even further! Current favourites of his include A Pair of Brown Eyes, Lisdoonvarna and Sail On Jimmy. Hopefully he’ll be able to come along with myself and his Nanny and Grandad to hear you live sometime in the future. Best wishes from Tipperary.
sounds like you got a premier songster on your hands D_
the very thought of Ben leading the chorus of “Sail on Jimmy” in the creche brings joy..
I look forward to singing it with him when we all get together again in Tipperary so far away..
we’ll face the puck out together
Hi Christy!
Thanks for the reply, hope your keeping sane!
I sent a message about my sister niamh and her fiancé Sean getting married in September. Could you do a wee shoutout in one of your Facebook videos to them please? Thank you!
Conor…I gotta long list of call-out requests from far flung corners….Niamh & Sean have gone into the hat…thats the best that I can do
Glad it worked
😊
Ta Bec
Dagrab keeps us all going with the memories. I must tune into that folk radio, sounds great, interesting. So Planxty and Edinburgh. Sounds interesting, is there a tape to get unearthed?
there is Ed but tis buried deep
Hi Christy
Great news that the Atkin is ringing on old and new songs – all eagerly awaited,near and far.
I’m working on a version of ‘Cold,haily, windy night’ (Carthy and Steeleye delivered it to my ears c 1970).Also love your/Planxty ‘Cold,blow…’take.Endlessly fascinating how the old songs adapt through the ages…any idea how it came to your attention -and might it see the lockdown/gigs light of day?
Dave
I learned this song from my good mucker Mike Harding ….we used to swop verses back in the day…Mike still points me towards songs..the last one being Kevin Fleetwood’s “Morecambe Bay”
Mike and Patricia also gave me my very first Folk Club gig…on a Sunday night in 1966 I was the “booked turn” at The Old House at Home pub in Blakeley where Mike & Pat ran their wonderful Folk Club….
I’ve not sung “Cold Blow” since leaving Planxty im 1973
Found some great rabbit holes on the cricket pitch,Christy
starting with the history section of http://www.phoenixcricketclub.com
cheers to Rory for starting the day with an unusual topic!
Dave
I’m gonna stick with the hurling Dave…
Mornin’ Christy
Sadly,there was no crowd to witness Ireland’s cricket victory over England in Southampton…but,that shouldn’t stop a Joxer sequel! After the dreams in Stuttgart,there could be some mighty banter celebrating the ‘Saints’ win.
I remember a chat with a farmer in Slane,years ago.He and his friends had formed a cricket team and played on the outskirts of the village.Being less than an hour from Dublin,they played a few home and away fixtures each year-mainly against Embassy teams from different countries. .After a few seasons,they mainly had home games as the visitors enjoyed the trip to Slane and the local hospitality so much…we both know about that,so well!
Have a good day
Dave
sorry to say that I know very little about cricket…
Andy Irvine used to don the pads annually…..
another slight connection to cricket was thru my late God-Mother
….Maeve Laffan came from Beauparc…she was our Mother’s closest and life-long friend…all their lives they remained loyal and true to each other…I could not have had a better God-Mother (despite the fact that she showed little or no interest whatsoever in my spiritual well being)
Maeve had two half-brothers….the older one was Brendan Bracken who achieved world wide notoriety by becoming Churchill’s right hand man…the younger one was Pat Laffan who went on to become a leading actor on the Abbey stage….
Maeve nor our Mother never once spoke of Bracken but I got to meet Pat Laffan occasionally….his best known part was that of “Mr Burgess” in the film of Roody Doyle’s “The Snapper”….He also played cricket
just remembered…I met Ian Botham once
Well Christy ….In the distance there’s cricket in Cloughjordan, the distant clack of croquet on the lawn.
Ireland beating England at cricket ‘on the mainland’.
‘The other side’ has had their Cloughjordan practice pay off.
I suspect there was some singing in the irish team cricket dressingroom last night.
Now where do the irish sea croquet championships get held?
cheers
Rory
I’m gonna look into that Rory,
I’ll see if I can get a pair of sideline tickets..
Great Dessies Island Disc show this pm when Ted Walsh ws the guest….
Ted may well be your biggest fan….. or maybe 2nd biggest fan …… anyway he gave you a great auld report to Des.
The half hour is not long enough for this show.
I had a grand chat with Dessie a few weeks back….its going out over two evenings this week…Thu & Fri….
I loved the Ted Walsh chat….his dialect is very close to home for me and him being from Kildorrery….
Liam O’Flynn was a neighbour and friend of Ted’s
Hi Christy
An excellent,in depth piece about music in times of significance/mourning…very Covid related and great examples at http://www.nodepression.com
Thanks again for your lockdown sessions.When people look back at Covid times,your posts will be enduring.
Dave
you are some man for one man Dave….I’d need 48 hour days to keep up with all you share !!…..the Atkin is ringing these days…a few new songs resounding…just a few…but a few old ones resurfacing too
Thank you for listening, Christy xx
Forgotten how to spell
Rebecca
Hello Christy,
I really hope this works. Can’t think of another way to do it right now. It’s the 3 drury Street pics.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10163673877765136&id=847680135&sfnsn=scwspmo&extid=0SHzrEyh4cK21JYg
Reb
what a pleasure twas to bump into dear Brendan Kennelly that day on Drury Street….we stood into a quiet corner and had a grand blather….we spoke of “The Humours of Ballylongford”,we remembered Con Houlihan, GAA within The Civil War,
time flew past as we chatted on blissfully unaware of the snapping photographer…thank you both Hilary and Rebecca for letting me see these pics…
Mornin’ Christy
Really sorry to read about the buried Planxty tapes.It’s always sad when artists can’t access their work, be given chance to evaluate the subject matter and,hopefully,share with the wider world.
There’d be a lot of interest in the Edinburgh recordings.Let’s hope for some karma – that the music sees the light of day.
All the best
Dave
sometimes it boils down to the chips on our shoulders…
auld resentments are a constant source of disharmony…
thankfully, new tunes are blinking in the light of day