And we’ve mentioned the session at The Press Room in Portsmouth NH…the session that’s a 25 year institution, and where Dave and I first met.

Well, tonight (5/14/2010), the two will get together for the first time. Terry is coming north from County Wakefield and is headed to The Press Room session to join in the craic…and then he’s is going to join us for the gig we have at Kate O’Shea’s in Seabrook. (We go on at 7:30 pm.)

I’m really looking forward to seeing his reaction to The Press Room. It can be wild and wooly sometimes, but the singing is always great and everyone there is like family. It will kind of be like introducing a long-lost cousin to the clan.

And, of course, Dave and I are really excited that Terry will be playing with us at Kates…he’s a terrific mandolin player and he’s got some great songs as well.

Hope you can join us for this special treat!

Actually, this year was a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day season, with lots of friends, music, dancing and all around great craic. The afternoon gig at Ri Ra was fantastic, and we enjoyed the evening at Feile Restaurant and Pub in Wells ME. The requests for songs were non-stop…and I thought I’d share two interesting requests.

First, if you’ve ever seen us perform, you’ve probably heard me make the joke that we welcome requests — “especially if they’re written on the back of a $5 bill.” For the first time, someone actually took me up on it. 

Payday!

It was while we were playing The Port Tavern in Newburyport with Terry Weir (as Sligo Road). As you can see, it was a plum request … Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town … which we did our best on since it’s not part of the regular repetiore. We even gave the guy a money-back guarantee in case our attempt was less than he expected. But he was happy enough and insisted we keep it.

The other request came while Dave and I were at Feile late on St. Patrick’s Day. A very nice, older woman was sitting with her friends and family at a table right in front of the stage … it was tight quarters, too. I could have swiped a chicken finger, no problem.

"Why, yes! I DO know that song!"

Anyway, we set up our gear and finally started playing and, part way through dessert (say 8pm), she handed up a note that read:

“When I was in Ireland a singer at a pub [sang] about a man trying to get blocks on a rope but kept falling up + down.”

After deciphering the handwriting, a huge grin came over my face. This lovely woman had requested one of my all-time favorites to sing. Pete Cooksey’s The Sick Note (also known as Dear Boss). I read the note aloud to the congregation, err, the crowd, and launched into it. I don’t want to brag, but the audience was pleased and impressed…either because I knew the song, or because they’d been drinking pints since 3 pm that afternoon.

The funny thing is: This song has twice made me look like a rock star. Dave actually has a recording from when we had the session at Molly Malone’s, and a woman requested it for her husband. On the recording, you can distinctly hear her squeal “Oh, yes! That’s it!”

But I’ll let you in on a secret – I love this song. I used to play Robbie O’Connell’s recording of it all the time, and the only reason I don’t sing it more often is that the joke loses its luster for those people who come to see us all the time. You have to pace yourself with that one.

Speaking of requests, if you have any and you haven’t seen us for  a bit, you might want to swing by KATE O’SHEA’s in Seabrook NH this weekend. We’ll be playing there on SATURDAY night, APRIL 10.

We’d love to see you and get you joining in the songs.

Glowing with the approach of St. Patrick's Day

I always loved that ole bit of poetry that goes “In Spring, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of St. Patrick’s Day…” or something like that.

Whatever the quote (yes, I know the real one), it is that time of year when we find people really DO want to listen to a variety of Irish songs and tunes…some they know, and some they have yet to discover. Well, we have a bunch of dates coming up that you may want to mark on the calendar…and we hope to see you soon so we can play the stuff you know, and maybe introduce you to a new favorite!

• March 15, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 16, 11:30a-1:30pm @ Brooksby Village Retirement Community, Peabody, MA (as Sligo Road w/ Terry Weir) 
• March 17, 1-4pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 17, 7:30-10:30pm  @ Feile Restaurant, Wells, ME
• March 21, 5:30-8:30pm  @ The Port Tavern, Newburyport, MA (as Sligo Road w/ Terry Weir)
• March 22, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 29, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH

Not that Irish love songs end particularly well, mind you. Seamus Eagan from Solas once opined that the relationships in Irish love songs “either never get off the ground, or they end particularly badly.”

Anyway, we recently had a few requests for a particular love song that I hadn’t heard in years, called “Grace”…so I went ahead and learned it. Now that I’ve done a bit of research about the song, I thought I’d share the history of this lovely classic.

This isn’t some kind of sentimental saccharine of this Hallmark holiday…this song made famous by Jim McCann tells a true story of love that is directly tied to the fight for Ireland’s independence.

Grace Gifford

At the turn of the last century, there was a young Irish woman named Grace Gifford. A cartoonist by trade, she was engaged to a poet and journalist by the name of Joseph Plunkett. They were supposed to be married on Easter Sunday in 1916 in University Chapel on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.

Now those who know about the Easter Rising in 1916 will recognize Plunkett’s name. He was one of the leaders of the rebellion and, at age 28, was the youngest to sign the Proclamation of the Republic that Patrick Pearse read at the General Post Office in Dublin.

In planning the revolt, the secrecy required meant that Joseph couldn’t tell Grace that their wedding plans would be replaced by the Easter Rising.

Joseph Plunkett

Following the failed revolt, Plunkett and the other leaders were sentenced to death by firing squad at Kilmainham Jail. When Grace learned that her darling Joseph was to be killed the next day, she bought a ring and rushed to the jail at night. She and Joseph were married in the chapel in the early morning of May 4 under guard from 20 soldiers and, as soon as the ceremony ended, Plunkett was taken back to his cell. Later that morning, he was marched to the courtyard and shot.

I can’t imagine what it would have been like for Grace to look into his eyes and pledge her undying love, knowing that he’d be taken from her in just a few hours. As the last line of the song’s chorus says: “There won’t be time to share our love, for we must say goodbye.”

Some people may point to Romeo and Juliet as a great love story, but that was fiction. The true story of Grace and Joseph takes my breath away. I don’t view the song a republican anthem, it’s a terrific reminder that we should always let those we love know how we feel every chance we get.

However, if you were planning to stop by RiRa’s on Monday night (1/25) to see us, you’ll be out of luck. They’ll be closed for a private function, so we get the night off. We’ll be back the following Monday, of course.

Such is the life of musicians…which reminds me of a joke, which should tide you over until we see you in-person again:

We're not getting in, no how...

A road in Sligo...Terry's family owns the land on the right hand side of the road. Is that authentic Irish or what?

The dust has officially settled regarding McMenemy’s and I’m realizing that, in all the excitement, we only briefly mentioned that we’re going to be back at The Port Tavern with Terry Weir this Sunday (11/8).

We’ll again be performing under the name Sligo Road, but don’t worry…we’ll still have all that tasty òran mór goodness. 

We start at 5:30, so we’d love to see you if can make it!

And if you want to show-up a little early, you can help me cheer for a Pats win over the Miami Dolphins.

I was all excited to write a completely positive post today. I was going to start by thanking everyone who came to our show on this past Sunday at The Port Tavern in Newburyport. The support was great and, as a result, it looks like we’ll be part of the regular Sunday rotation there. We’ll be performing again as Sligo Road with our friend Terry Weir on Nov. 8, Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 20.  We’re psyched because the crowds and the staff are great, and they really seem to dig the music we’re doing. Your support helped make it possible…thanks.

That’s the good news. Unfortunately, there’s also some bad news in the world of òran mór.

We just learned that our regular pub, McMenemy’s in Portsmouth, NH, has closed. Kind of out of the blue. Kind of on the one year anniversary of the new ownership. And, considering the place is haunted, it’s kind of spooky that it’s happening two days before Halloween.

We want to thank Bob and Traci Shaake, the owners of McMenemy’s, for being such gracious hosts during the past year. Every Thursday and Saturday, they’d open their doors and give us a table in the corner where we could play music, sing songs, and have a laugh with the customers.

It was nice. I’d have a lovely meal after work (usually the rueben, chicken ceasar, or their amazing meatloaf and mash). Our local friends would stop in and join us. Occassionally, we’d have musicians visiting from Montreal, Tucson, Wexford, or some other far-flung place sit-in because they had heard about our session.

More importantly, we became friends with Bob, Traci, and their amazing staff. It’ll be odd to not see them on a regular basis…I’m hoping they’ve at least bookmarked this site or ‘friended’ us on Facebook so they can stay in touch.

I’m sure we’ll find another home for the session — maybe even a place that can accommodate more than five players. In the meantime we’ve got plenty of gigs lined up, so if you need an òran mór fix, don’t worry.

I just worried about where I’m going to get a good meatloaf dinner…Traci’s kicked butt.

Terry Weir

So a couple of weeks ago, our friend Terry Weir (from Co. Wakefield) asked if Dave and I could would be interested in playing a gig with him in Newburyport at The Port Tavern. It would be a slightly different set-up than usual – normally we play his session at Harringtons or he joins us in Portsmouth — but this collaboration would be more song-focused and a gig instead of a session. We figured it’d be great craic, however, so off we went to Newburyport to play under the name Sligo Road, which is the band name he uses on occasion.

The Port Tavern

As always, it was great fun to play with Terry. His mandolin added a great deal to the songs we do, and we had a blast keeping up with him on his songs. He definitely attacks the songs in a unique way, flavoring the Irish music he loves with hints of bluegrass from his musical past.

If you missed that show, however, and want to see what the collaboration was like, we’ll be doing another Sligo Road gig at The Port Tavern on Sunday, August 30 starting at 5:30 pm. If the weather cooperates, they’ll be throwing the front windows open for a blast of summer fun. Hope to see you there!

The session runs from 7-10PM every Monday.  They want to get the word out and invite all to drop by.

You know you’ll be in for some great music AND a bunch of laughs (what, when Mike plays the banjo, and all).

See how many folks you can identify in this collage of last nights group…
(click to enlarge)