Day 10 – Another gig

The Birthday Boy!

Michael Flannagan , the senior Flannagan from the Brosna pub where we play every Monday. turned 94 and Jackie,Terrance & I were invited to play for his party at his seniors’ home in Listowell Co. Kerry. We took the Pound road north of the farm to the Lyracrompane road. These are tiny windy roads! I was driving. Hard to believe it is a 2 lane road. We played for a couple of hours. Michael wa in fine form, pouring the whiskey, chatting & singing. Jim and Mary from Albany New York were there as they are often at Flannagan’s on Monday nights. One of the best songs was Danny Boy by Eve who is one of the Aides at the home. Terrance noticed she had a lovely voice as we sang Happy Birthday and but for that she would not have sang at all. There is beauty everywhere in this country. Plenty of slides & polkas and Jackie always wants to play the new ones. There were favourite songs sung in Irish “we sang it at school”. Times like these I really feel I am allowed in the inner circle to share in a rich culture. Back at the farm in the evening Jackie & I had the tunes and started on a seldom heard Patrick O’Keeffe polka that was on an RTE broadcast recently.

Listen here;

RTE

“We must learn it for the festival” says Jackie.

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