Hello Christy.Juat a big thank you for last night’s memorable gig at UL in Limerick last night.Myself and my good friend Tony Murphy and fellow Rebel were like two peas in a pod enjoying your wonderful show.A big thank you to fellow 4711er Hilary for sorting out the all important piece of paper to gets in.Thanks again for a memorable night fro. Myself and Tony.Let the music keep our spirits high.
Christy's reply
Went to hear The Young ‘Uns last night in The Pavilion Dun Laoire….great gig from the Teeside Trio….true descendents of the Northern English Folk Scene I followed in the 60s / 70s….Deeply emotional songs mixed with shanties delivered in the English Accapella style of The Watersons with plenty of good banter and crack throughout the two hours….good piano from Dave who runs around the stage like a March Hare…..well worth a listen if anyone gets the chance…..
Hi Christy,
Dexy’s have a new release The Feminine Divine, which is pretty decent and powerful.
Mr Rowland is proud of his Irish heritage, i recall him playing the traditional ‘curragh of kildare’ that you resurrected at the Irish Embassy ( its on youtube) with a somewhat different version.
I suppose almost all exiles are proud of their irish roots from presidents to pop stars to kango hàmmer operators.
Rory
Christy's reply
It was in 1962 that I stumbled cross “The Curragh of KIldare” in the P.W.Joyce collected borrowed from the Library in my home town of Newbridge….the edges of the Curragh Plains were ,literally, two miles from our front door…you can imagine my excitement when I saw the song…Donal Lunny and I set to work immediately and within days were singing the song….subsequently it grew wings and flew to the Four corners….the version by The Johnstons charted here in Ireland,,,since then it has gone on to be part of the National Repertoire….
Hello, Christy: The concert tonight was magical. It was also very kind of you to call out that we saw you in Culver City 30 years ago.
Your music has enriched our lives so much, and we are grateful. Also, we definitely won’t let 30 years go by before seeing you again (hopefully next year in fact).
Thank you,
Mark
Christy's reply
I glimpsed a wave from the balcony when I mentioned Culver City…..last night was uplifting for me….the venue,the setting,the audience that assembled, the buzz in the room as I stood side stage before the lights went down,the welcome, the respect shown to the songs old and new, “The Well Below The Valley”, “Lemon Sevens” bringing a silence to the room that, for me, is a sacred thing….Thank You for being there, for reminding me of that night in Culver City all those years ago….
Hello Christy,
My very best wishes for you and the very excited audience waiting to greet you tonight in Limerick. They’re revved up and ready to roll!
That workroom of yours must have hidden dimensions to fit the church organ in… Purcell’s trumpet voluntary.
Here’s an instrument that’s almost as unwieldy. https://youtu.be/HOabNkGpc-g
Beautiful noise, but fitting the bugger on a stage, car, practice room, or anywhere really, must be a challenge. makes my 34 stringed beauty look positively practical… I haven’t tried to get it on a bus yet but watching me go up and down steps is pretty funny.
Hello Christy, a very special young Limerick man can’t wait to see you Tonight in UCL 19th May. My Son Sean Gorman faces many challenges but still sings along to your music every day, it gives him great peace and it’s heart warming to witness. His favourites are Beeswing, Bright Blue Rose and Ride On, Many thanks, John.
And fancy meeting Dame Edna. He was honestly one of the most talented people ever to grace the international stage from Oz. An absolute icon & greatly mourned by those who recognised his brilliance.
We are from Newcastle which is afew hours away from Sydney. We saw you at The State Theatre in Sydney with support band being Roisin with Martin Doherty.,We used to frequent the Mercantile Hotel (Irish Pub) in Sydney where Martin played: Martin played at our wedding back in 1995. Our son has already sad he will be lining up to get front row seats. He will be singing along (quietly) to every song.
Hi Christy. We are so excited to have just secured tickets for 17/11. We are travelling from Australia to see you (& to visit my husband’s family in Dublin & Arklow). We were last there in 2017 & saw you in Arklow that visit. Our son was 12 then, he’s now 18. He’s so looking forward to seeing you this time as he’s always listening to your music. If I walk past the bathroom when he’s in the shower I hear Christy Moore playing. He’s grown up with your songs. We saw you in Sydney long before he was born. It will be an absolute highlight of our trip. Thank you for giving us such joy with your gift.
Christy's reply
always a great venue, rapturous chorus singing, chandeliers shaking, spiders scurrying for safety…..
its right “on the border”…dressing room is in the Republic, the stage partially in the other jurisdiction…
what part of Oz is home ? I miss my cavortions up there around Woolongong, Wooloomaloo and Warnambul…Cudgee,Mudgee and The Rocks….I shared a lift once with Dame Edna in Melbourne, with Charlie Pride in Sydney….
Hey Christy so looking forward to your gig tomorrow night. Myself and best pal Sean Sullivan have travelled from Newfoundland Canada to catch you. With the help of one of your biggest fans Hillary we got a couple of seats arranged and could not be happier sir. Cheers and thanks for a lifetime of great music Christy .
Tom Donahue
Christy's reply
we’re ready to roll here Tom and soon to hit the road….its a good venue in a great City….see you later, by the broad majestic Shannon
Gerrup…just listening to Radio one here, Ray Cuddihy in for John Creedon (one of our best radio broadcasters) and he reminded us that it’s fifty years since Planxty’s Black Album was released. What a collection of songs…any stick out memories of the recordings and times around it ? Ray played, back to back, ‘Seven Gypsies’ by Stick In The wheel and ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ . Was rightly goosed after three nights of Bruce, but worth the stand for the joy..
would ya sit for a snap? L x
Christy's reply
it was an exciting time for Planxty….1972….a new sound..a London recording studio…a famous producer….we travelled by Ferry…met Mairtín Byrnes on the boat …. a mighty session…all hungover as we trundled the M6 towards the M1…pipes and harmonica on Sweet Thames….heard Finbar Dwyer in The Balloon at Chelsea…Raymond Roland and Liam Farrell in The White Hart on Fulham Broadway
Bruce declared for Kildare….I’m letting the hair grow ..soon as the pony-tail appears you can snap the bejasus out of it
Delighted to get a front row ticket for Belfast this morning! And then realised that on the very same date in 2013 I had flown over to Liverpool for a show at the Philharmonic. Roll on October!
Christy's reply
we’ll rock & roll with the help of god and her blessed mother
Hi Christy, you have such a wide repertoire of songs you could probably watch you live three nights on the run and never hear the same song twice. I was wondering are there any songs that you love to sing at home in the work room or maybe use every night for the sound check but for whatever reason never make it to the set list, they might make an intersting album ‘Songs I’ve Never Sang’. by Christy Moore?
P.S Concert tickets, flights and hotel all booked for Belfast in October all I need now is the best place in town for a pre/post concert Rogan Josh, any tips?
Christy's reply
Doonaree
Cool Water
The Garden where The Praties Grow
Kevin Barry
Metropolitan Avenue
Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff
Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary
Heartbreak Hotel
Lass of Aughrim
The Leaving of Liverpool
…………………………………..if you go for curry….put bog roll in fridge before retiring
Hi Christy,
Your recent, succinct, reply to a post struck a chord.
Kildare, like most of the mighty island, has been subjugated, trampled, manipulated and misinterpreted countless times over the centuries, and all of that uk and other ravages has left its mark musically in a depth of native feeling.
Green Island is a poetic, glorious work…no force on earth can ever trap the wind that shakes the barley….from my favourite album, encountered first in a wicklow living room 30 years or so ago, turning mystically before me with an LP cover that strikes that chord.
Best wishes to Chill Dara
Rory ( haw wick, the town of hawthorn hedges)
Christy's reply
Kildare was favoured by the invading English Army ….within 8 miles of my native home they barracked in Newbridge,Naas,Kildare and the Curragh….betimes as many as 30,000 squaddies garrisoned on the short grass….they departed before I was born but left their mark after them….many camp followers lingered and became the best of neighbours
Hello Christy,
Recordings in the Cork Marquee. Ooh yes please! Great to try and capture the unique sound of that huge airy space when the opportunity is there. It gives the audience such a sweet sound too.
I’d love to hear more songs recorded there. It’s a place that feels like no other. I guess the intensity of difference could be different from the stage, but I could be very wrong… I’m thinking about how well your monitors are looked after.
I’d like to hear that new song you wrote for Cork last year.
Here’s an article by Paraic Mcneela about learning to play Irish music if you started off with classical. I’ve been doing this for 5 years now and never looked back. For me the main thing is listening. I listen to recordings of great Irish players and singers for 3 hours a day. I love it, and it’s a great way to absorb the soul of the music.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
David will have the Revox wired for Cork….we’ll give it “Up De Banks”
Floyd Westerman. A name from the past. “Quiet Desperation.” Was that his song? Ordinary Man recording I think. I can be corrected. Hadnt reckoned on you ever visiting the Golden State. Am brought to mind of the Led Zep song, ‘Going to Califonia’.
Christy's reply
Thats the very man…met Floyd here in Ireland and again in CA….I shared “Irish Ways and Irish Laws” with him here circa 1983/4…..he carried John Gibbs song back to Dakota where he sang it to the Sioux nation as “Indian Ways, Indian Laws”…..I love his “Quiet Desperation”…Floyd’s name was (is) Kanghi Duta or “Red Crow”….
When we first met he was very interested in the Bodhrán…I gifted him a drum made by Nicky Kelly in Portlaois Prison..it had The Plough and Stars motif decorating the front..I sometimes wonder where it might be now…hopefully its resonating somewhere on the Black Hills of Dakota…
Hello, Christy: We are so excited to see you in Limerick. We are coming from California – the show was listed as fully booked, but we somehow found 4 seats in the balcony and we are on our way. Have not seen you live since Culver City 30 years ago. Thank you for your music – and thanks for your sessions during Covid – they were a bright light in a dark time!
Christy's reply
I remember that particular night in Culver City for a number of reasons…Jackson Brown came along that night…Floyd Westerman too…afterwards I went to hear Colm Gallagher’s gig in the City..
I wish you a good Journey from CA to UCL….that your visit here be a happy one…..”let the music keep your spirits high” (Jackson)
Hello Christy,
That was a great response…
I was listening to Albert Niland’s Sail on Jimmy yesterday. That marquee makes an amazing noise. Something to do with how the sound bounces off soft surfaces, I guess? Has Dave worked it out? Anyway, you get a great noise out of the space. All full of air. And it’s instantly recognisable. I like how on that album, Magic Nights, you list all the venues by the tracks, and who was playing. It’s a superfan guessing game.
I’ll keep an eye out for Albert Niland gigs when we’re in Galway. Might be lucky.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Recording that song ( “Pagan Ritual” aka “Sail On Jimmy” ) in The Marquee was, for me, quite astonishing….the audience were hearing the song for the very first time … they certainly rose to the occasion..sang the chorus like they’d known it all their lives….I might try and capture another song there this year… maybe a Cork album !…
Hello Christy.Juat a big thank you for last night’s memorable gig at UL in Limerick last night.Myself and my good friend Tony Murphy and fellow Rebel were like two peas in a pod enjoying your wonderful show.A big thank you to fellow 4711er Hilary for sorting out the all important piece of paper to gets in.Thanks again for a memorable night fro. Myself and Tony.Let the music keep our spirits high.
Went to hear The Young ‘Uns last night in The Pavilion Dun Laoire….great gig from the Teeside Trio….true descendents of the Northern English Folk Scene I followed in the 60s / 70s….Deeply emotional songs mixed with shanties delivered in the English Accapella style of The Watersons with plenty of good banter and crack throughout the two hours….good piano from Dave who runs around the stage like a March Hare…..well worth a listen if anyone gets the chance…..
Hi Christy,
Dexy’s have a new release The Feminine Divine, which is pretty decent and powerful.
Mr Rowland is proud of his Irish heritage, i recall him playing the traditional ‘curragh of kildare’ that you resurrected at the Irish Embassy ( its on youtube) with a somewhat different version.
I suppose almost all exiles are proud of their irish roots from presidents to pop stars to kango hàmmer operators.
Rory
It was in 1962 that I stumbled cross “The Curragh of KIldare” in the P.W.Joyce collected borrowed from the Library in my home town of Newbridge….the edges of the Curragh Plains were ,literally, two miles from our front door…you can imagine my excitement when I saw the song…Donal Lunny and I set to work immediately and within days were singing the song….subsequently it grew wings and flew to the Four corners….the version by The Johnstons charted here in Ireland,,,since then it has gone on to be part of the National Repertoire….
Hello, Christy: The concert tonight was magical. It was also very kind of you to call out that we saw you in Culver City 30 years ago.
Your music has enriched our lives so much, and we are grateful. Also, we definitely won’t let 30 years go by before seeing you again (hopefully next year in fact).
Thank you,
Mark
I glimpsed a wave from the balcony when I mentioned Culver City…..last night was uplifting for me….the venue,the setting,the audience that assembled, the buzz in the room as I stood side stage before the lights went down,the welcome, the respect shown to the songs old and new, “The Well Below The Valley”, “Lemon Sevens” bringing a silence to the room that, for me, is a sacred thing….Thank You for being there, for reminding me of that night in Culver City all those years ago….
On my way to see you tonight in Limerick. Looking forward to another musical masterpiece. 🎼 Best of luck tonight Christy.
is it right or left for Kanturk
Hello Christy,
My very best wishes for you and the very excited audience waiting to greet you tonight in Limerick. They’re revved up and ready to roll!
That workroom of yours must have hidden dimensions to fit the church organ in… Purcell’s trumpet voluntary.
Here’s an instrument that’s almost as unwieldy.
https://youtu.be/HOabNkGpc-g
Beautiful noise, but fitting the bugger on a stage, car, practice room, or anywhere really, must be a challenge. makes my 34 stringed beauty look positively practical… I haven’t tried to get it on a bus yet but watching me go up and down steps is pretty funny.
Rebecca
Hello Christy, a very special young Limerick man can’t wait to see you Tonight in UCL 19th May. My Son Sean Gorman faces many challenges but still sings along to your music every day, it gives him great peace and it’s heart warming to witness. His favourites are Beeswing, Bright Blue Rose and Ride On, Many thanks, John.
And fancy meeting Dame Edna. He was honestly one of the most talented people ever to grace the international stage from Oz. An absolute icon & greatly mourned by those who recognised his brilliance.
We are from Newcastle which is afew hours away from Sydney. We saw you at The State Theatre in Sydney with support band being Roisin with Martin Doherty.,We used to frequent the Mercantile Hotel (Irish Pub) in Sydney where Martin played: Martin played at our wedding back in 1995. Our son has already sad he will be lining up to get front row seats. He will be singing along (quietly) to every song.
Hi Christy. We are so excited to have just secured tickets for 17/11. We are travelling from Australia to see you (& to visit my husband’s family in Dublin & Arklow). We were last there in 2017 & saw you in Arklow that visit. Our son was 12 then, he’s now 18. He’s so looking forward to seeing you this time as he’s always listening to your music. If I walk past the bathroom when he’s in the shower I hear Christy Moore playing. He’s grown up with your songs. We saw you in Sydney long before he was born. It will be an absolute highlight of our trip. Thank you for giving us such joy with your gift.
always a great venue, rapturous chorus singing, chandeliers shaking, spiders scurrying for safety…..
its right “on the border”…dressing room is in the Republic, the stage partially in the other jurisdiction…
what part of Oz is home ? I miss my cavortions up there around Woolongong, Wooloomaloo and Warnambul…Cudgee,Mudgee and The Rocks….I shared a lift once with Dame Edna in Melbourne, with Charlie Pride in Sydney….
Hey Christy so looking forward to your gig tomorrow night. Myself and best pal Sean Sullivan have travelled from Newfoundland Canada to catch you. With the help of one of your biggest fans Hillary we got a couple of seats arranged and could not be happier sir. Cheers and thanks for a lifetime of great music Christy .
Tom Donahue
we’re ready to roll here Tom and soon to hit the road….its a good venue in a great City….see you later, by the broad majestic Shannon
Gerrup…just listening to Radio one here, Ray Cuddihy in for John Creedon (one of our best radio broadcasters) and he reminded us that it’s fifty years since Planxty’s Black Album was released. What a collection of songs…any stick out memories of the recordings and times around it ? Ray played, back to back, ‘Seven Gypsies’ by Stick In The wheel and ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ . Was rightly goosed after three nights of Bruce, but worth the stand for the joy..
would ya sit for a snap? L x
it was an exciting time for Planxty….1972….a new sound..a London recording studio…a famous producer….we travelled by Ferry…met Mairtín Byrnes on the boat …. a mighty session…all hungover as we trundled the M6 towards the M1…pipes and harmonica on Sweet Thames….heard Finbar Dwyer in The Balloon at Chelsea…Raymond Roland and Liam Farrell in The White Hart on Fulham Broadway
Bruce declared for Kildare….I’m letting the hair grow ..soon as the pony-tail appears you can snap the bejasus out of it
Delighted to get a front row ticket for Belfast this morning! And then realised that on the very same date in 2013 I had flown over to Liverpool for a show at the Philharmonic. Roll on October!
we’ll rock & roll with the help of god and her blessed mother
Hi Christy, you have such a wide repertoire of songs you could probably watch you live three nights on the run and never hear the same song twice. I was wondering are there any songs that you love to sing at home in the work room or maybe use every night for the sound check but for whatever reason never make it to the set list, they might make an intersting album ‘Songs I’ve Never Sang’. by Christy Moore?
P.S Concert tickets, flights and hotel all booked for Belfast in October all I need now is the best place in town for a pre/post concert Rogan Josh, any tips?
Doonaree
Cool Water
The Garden where The Praties Grow
Kevin Barry
Metropolitan Avenue
Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff
Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary
Heartbreak Hotel
Lass of Aughrim
The Leaving of Liverpool
…………………………………..if you go for curry….put bog roll in fridge before retiring
Hi Christy,
Your recent, succinct, reply to a post struck a chord.
Kildare, like most of the mighty island, has been subjugated, trampled, manipulated and misinterpreted countless times over the centuries, and all of that uk and other ravages has left its mark musically in a depth of native feeling.
Green Island is a poetic, glorious work…no force on earth can ever trap the wind that shakes the barley….from my favourite album, encountered first in a wicklow living room 30 years or so ago, turning mystically before me with an LP cover that strikes that chord.
Best wishes to Chill Dara
Rory ( haw wick, the town of hawthorn hedges)
Kildare was favoured by the invading English Army ….within 8 miles of my native home they barracked in Newbridge,Naas,Kildare and the Curragh….betimes as many as 30,000 squaddies garrisoned on the short grass….they departed before I was born but left their mark after them….many camp followers lingered and became the best of neighbours
Oh dear, here’s the link
https://blog.mcneelamusic.com/switching-from-classical-to-traditional-irish-music-read-this-first/
I hope I don’t have to do anything important today…
I’d an awful time trying to switch from Mozart to The Clancy Brothers….I needed gallons of porter to ease my passage
Hello Christy,
Recordings in the Cork Marquee. Ooh yes please! Great to try and capture the unique sound of that huge airy space when the opportunity is there. It gives the audience such a sweet sound too.
I’d love to hear more songs recorded there. It’s a place that feels like no other. I guess the intensity of difference could be different from the stage, but I could be very wrong… I’m thinking about how well your monitors are looked after.
I’d like to hear that new song you wrote for Cork last year.
Here’s an article by Paraic Mcneela about learning to play Irish music if you started off with classical. I’ve been doing this for 5 years now and never looked back. For me the main thing is listening. I listen to recordings of great Irish players and singers for 3 hours a day. I love it, and it’s a great way to absorb the soul of the music.
Rebecca
David will have the Revox wired for Cork….we’ll give it “Up De Banks”
Floyd Westerman. A name from the past. “Quiet Desperation.” Was that his song? Ordinary Man recording I think. I can be corrected. Hadnt reckoned on you ever visiting the Golden State. Am brought to mind of the Led Zep song, ‘Going to Califonia’.
Thats the very man…met Floyd here in Ireland and again in CA….I shared “Irish Ways and Irish Laws” with him here circa 1983/4…..he carried John Gibbs song back to Dakota where he sang it to the Sioux nation as “Indian Ways, Indian Laws”…..I love his “Quiet Desperation”…Floyd’s name was (is) Kanghi Duta or “Red Crow”….
When we first met he was very interested in the Bodhrán…I gifted him a drum made by Nicky Kelly in Portlaois Prison..it had The Plough and Stars motif decorating the front..I sometimes wonder where it might be now…hopefully its resonating somewhere on the Black Hills of Dakota…
Hello, Christy: We are so excited to see you in Limerick. We are coming from California – the show was listed as fully booked, but we somehow found 4 seats in the balcony and we are on our way. Have not seen you live since Culver City 30 years ago. Thank you for your music – and thanks for your sessions during Covid – they were a bright light in a dark time!
I remember that particular night in Culver City for a number of reasons…Jackson Brown came along that night…Floyd Westerman too…afterwards I went to hear Colm Gallagher’s gig in the City..
I wish you a good Journey from CA to UCL….that your visit here be a happy one…..”let the music keep your spirits high” (Jackson)
Dear Christy
Thank you for the tought of dedicating a song to us but for us it was still a perfect evening.
Ride on…
Chris
Hope we meet again along the way
Hello Christy,
That was a great response…
I was listening to Albert Niland’s Sail on Jimmy yesterday. That marquee makes an amazing noise. Something to do with how the sound bounces off soft surfaces, I guess? Has Dave worked it out? Anyway, you get a great noise out of the space. All full of air. And it’s instantly recognisable. I like how on that album, Magic Nights, you list all the venues by the tracks, and who was playing. It’s a superfan guessing game.
I’ll keep an eye out for Albert Niland gigs when we’re in Galway. Might be lucky.
Rebecca
Recording that song ( “Pagan Ritual” aka “Sail On Jimmy” ) in The Marquee was, for me, quite astonishing….the audience were hearing the song for the very first time … they certainly rose to the occasion..sang the chorus like they’d known it all their lives….I might try and capture another song there this year… maybe a Cork album !…