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Irish Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Johnny McEvoy still singing at 80
JOHNNY McEvoy, from Banagher in Co. Offaly, has a unique place in Irish entertainment. Neither pure showband, folk, nor country, he occupies a space all of his own, somewhere between all three. And, unlike many of his contemporaries and those who followed in his footsteps, he has written much of his own material. In the early days, a lot of this was vaguely seditious: anti-war songs, protest songs—leading to frequent comparisons with Bob Dylan. Over the years, however, his songwriting developed strongly, and he can lay fair claim to having written some genuine classics: Long Before Your Time (a hit in 1976), Rich Man's Garden, You Seldom Come to See Me Anymore, and Michael, a tribute to Michael Collins. Johnny pictured at Killmainham in 1979 (Pics: Johnny McEvoy) But it was with a song of unclear origins (see panel) that Johnny scored his first hit. In 1966, he reached No. 1 in the Irish charts with the definitive version of Mursheen Durkin, instantly turning the song into an essential part of any ballad singer's repertoire. The air to which it is sung is Cailíní Deasa Mhuigheo (Pretty Girls of Mayo), a popular reel dating from the 19th century. The lyrics were added, it is believed, in the early 20th century by our old friend Anon. Whatever its origins, the song clicked with the public. But Mursheen was no overnight success—Johnny had a sackful of Irish ballads over his back. 'From the early sixties I was doing folk clubs and fleadhs. I was brought up on traditional music—I used to spend every summer at my grandmother's in Co. Galway, and I was virtually fed folk music and storytelling intravenously. It's one of the abiding memories of my childhood.' Johnny's Gaiety Show in the 1960s As Johnny reached his twenties, he fell under the influence of the wider contemporary folk scene—Hank Williams, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. In Ireland, the ballad scene was underway, and The Dubliners and The Clancys were beginning their steady trek to folk superstardom. It was against this background that Johnny achieved his first hit: 'In 1965 I recorded Today Is the Highway—which didn't do a lot. But the folk boom had begun, and I had a go with Mursheen a year later. It just clicked and sped up the charts. Getting to number one then was about the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me.' Two further massive hits followed—The Boston Burglar in 1967, and Nora in 1968. Johnny McEvoy was on his way—he soon had his own series on Ulster Television, played the Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall, and toured America, Ireland and Europe. 'They were great days, alright,' Johnny nods appreciatively. 'I even did a week at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. I was the first singer to try a one-man show—and it was a roaring success.' With this background—hit records, telly shows, appearances at some of the world's greatest concert halls, plus an abundance of natural talent in writing, presenting and performing his material—the obvious question has to be asked: why isn't Johnny McEvoy today an international star of the same order as Christy Moore? Or why doesn't he sell records by the lorryload like Daniel O'Donnell? Johnny pictured in 1982 Johnny, a thoughtful man, has obviously pondered this question many times before: 'Well, paradoxically, it was the demise of the showband that really hit me. Up till then, there was a circuit of venues that could host an act like mine for forty-five minutes or so. But with the end of the showband era, and the closure of a lot of the big ballrooms, that circuit no longer existed. And it was then that I made a big tactical error. Instead of going solo as an out-and-out folk performer, I took the wrong course. 'I formed a country & Irish band and started touring what was left of the old ballrooms. I was never happy in that band—neither the material nor the format really suited me. In a way, I felt I had sold out.' But Johnny seems totally without rancour. 'Yeah, there were a lot of mistakes. At the end of the sixties there was, as they say, a time and a tide—and I didn't catch either of them. But I can't complain. I've had decades doing what I love—and I'm not finished yet; not by a long chalk!' The more lenient hours of the concert circuit mean that Johnny has time to indulge in his hobbies—particularly reading. 'I've always been especially interested in biographies and history—especially the Second World War and the American Civil War.' Evidence of this is obvious in his songwriting. His 1977 hit Leaves in the Wind is a poignant anti-war song. 'I am a committed pacifist, and have been since my twenties. And I've always stayed true to those ideals.' By the 1970s it looked like Johnny would provide much of the soundtrack for the rest of the century. That he didn't emulate the likes of The Dubliners or Christy Moore is probably due to a combination of the vagaries of the entertainment business, the fickleness of Madam Luck, and ill-judged career moves. But Johnny remains indomitable. In 2014, he recorded his first album in over ten years, Basement Sessions 1, and it broke the Top 30 in the album charts. As he said himself, 'Not bad for a folky like me.' The singer pictured in 2020 He followed that up in 2015 with Basement Sessions 2—second in a series of five studio albums to be recorded and released over a five-year period. Into the Cauldron was his third studio album, with the hit recordings of My Father's House and Every Night I Dream of Being a Cowboy. While celebrating 50 years in the business, Johnny became part of Trad Nua's exclusive limited edition The Signature Series, with the first edition of his book My Songs, My Stories, My Life in Music. In April, Johnny celebrated his 80th birthday and a career spanning 60 years. He has a brand-new album entitled Both Sides—a collection of 14 songs and six audio stories, recorded and read by Johnny. These delve into the things that are important to him. 'I may not always have stayed true to my music,' he concludes, 'but I've always stayed true to myself.' Mursheen—a music hall song or folk tradition? MURSHEEN DURKIN could be a product of the Irish folk tradition — or a relic of the 19th-century music hall. Like many popular ballads, its history is somewhat murky. Some scholars trace its roots to the stage: a comic music hall song from the 1880s titled Digging for Lumps of Gold, penned by English songwriter Felix McGlennon, shares a strikingly similar storyline — right down to the Irish emigrant heading west in search of riches. A dispute even arose in 1885 when McGlennon sought damages after the song was performed without permission in a Gravesend music hall, allegedly by Irish comedian Pat Harvey. That version features a character named Corny (or Carney), lending weight to the idea that the stage may have shaped what we now recognise as Muirsheen Durkin. On the other hand, the tune has been collected and preserved within Irish folk tradition. It appeared in Colm Ó Lochlainn's More Irish Street Ballads in the 1960s and is often sung to the air of Cailíní deasa Mhuigheo (The Pretty Girls of Mayo), a traditional Irish reel from the 19th century. This gives the song strong roots in oral transmission and suggests it may have evolved as a folk pastiche of existing melodies and emigration themes. See More: Irish, Johnny McEvoy, Singer
Extra.ie
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: 'Watching Aaron, I knew that I had just witnessed a star of the future'
A most enjoyable week in London included a trip to the London local on Wednesday evening for the launch of some new music by a singer-songwriter you might not have heard of just yet, but I reckon could be a household name by the end of the year. I met Aaron Rowe a few months ago at The Devonshire, and he was telling me that things were going well in his music career as he was attracting the attention of people like Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi. They spotted Aaron's talent from a mile off and have been putting a gentle wind in his sails as he leaves the harbour of anonymity for the headwinds of global domination! Since we last met, Aaron has supported David Gray at his gigs at the 3Arena in Dublin, duetted with the aforementioned Ed and stunned a crowd of 20,000 in Boston when he joined Dermot Kennedy on stage for a knockout rendition of The Parting Glass. Ryan Tubridy and singer Aaron Rowe. Pic: Supplied On Friday, Aaron released his beautiful single, Hey Ma, and I urge you to download it today as it's an instant classic. At the launch on Wednesday, a crowd of friends and supporters gathered to hear him perform a small but powerful selection of songs. Surrounded by the brilliant trad house band, Aaron belted out the tunes with a gusto I haven't seen since a memorable appearance by Liam Clancy on Tubridy Tonight nearly 20 years ago. It was electric, authentic and distinctly Irish, but with beautiful twists of Motown and The Dubliners – depending on the song. Aaron thanked some of the people who had been backing his ascent and then invited Ed Sheeran to join him for a haunting version of The Parting Glass. The crowd went wild, and the short but perfectly formed launch came to a close. Aaron hugged and shook hands with everyone in the room; the feeling was that we had witnessed something and someone special whose future is big, bright and beautiful. Ryan Tubridy with Vogue Williams and her sister Amber. Pic: File I've always loved chatting with and interviewing Vogue Williams, top right, and since I've moved to London, we see a lot more of each other than either of us would have anticipated. I've always found her to be very authentic and great fun, which explains why her new book, Big Mouth, is so enjoyable. Beginning with a dictionary of Irish slang/expressions for her loyal UK readers, this is a series of episodes in Vogue's life rather than a typical A-Z autobiography, and it's all the better for that. There are stories about her sister Amber, bottom right, her late father (a bon viveur whom they buried with €20 and a packet of Benson & Hedges) and her shock at being divorced and childless at 31. There's a bizarre fantasy moment where she envisions a future in which her husband comes out as gay, living with his husband in a brownstone house in New York's East Village! All told, it's a thoughtful, funny and often poignant tiptoe through the life of a hard-working, thoughtful and entertaining woman who is surfing the pop cultural waves with aplomb. Every so often, a book lands on your lap that you know within a few pages will be an 'event' book, one that everyone will read or want to get their hands on. The Names by Florence Knapp. Pic: File Books like The Time Traveller's Wife and Star Of The Sea would go on to be career-defining tomes for authors and fan favourites for readers. This week, I finished The Names, below, by Florence Knapp. A great name, beautiful cover, and perfect length meant this was a great start before a word was read, and things got better from there. Pitch-wise: A mother carries a baby in one arm while holding the hand of an older child as they make their way to have the baby's name registered. On the way out the door, her husband forcefully reminds her to call the baby Gordon after him and his father and so on. At the registry office, she is asked what she wants to call the baby, and she pauses before giving a name – it's not Gordon. Chapter 2 sees the same scenario, but another name is given, and in the third chapter, she gives the name Gordon. What follows is a series of alternate chapters that imagine how life transpires for each of the characters depending on the name they were given. The consequences are devastating and sometimes painful to read, but that's a testament to the author, who has constructed the most extraordinary series of stories that confront ugliness, fear, kindness, and so much more. The book looks at the power of the names we are given at birth and the impact they can have on the rest of our lives. I've spent a lot of time this week telling everyone about this book, as it's a rare thing to be able to make such a general recommendation that is highly unlikely to disappoint anyone. My favourite comment came from a listener who said that she hasn't read a book in 20 years, but after hearing me rhapsodising about The Names, she went and bought it. With any luck, the book will bring that person back onto the reading bus and she'll never be bored again!
Irish Post
28-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
Sir Robert McAlpine returns to profitability
THE civil engineering and construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine has reported a return to profitability, posting a pre-tax profit of £10.4 million for the year ending October 2024, a significant turnaround from the £104.6 million loss recorded the previous year. The construction company, with strong ties to the Irish community in Britain, has released its latest accounts. The company also reported a 7% increase in turnover to £940 million and a cash balance of £143.5 million, up from £100.8 million in 2023, while remaining debt-free. The order book stands at £1.3 billion, with an additional £1.2 billion in preferred bidder positions. So far this year, £813 million has been secured or delivered, with a further £129 million nearly over the line. Notable project wins include the Agratas state-of-the-art battery cell manufacturing facility in Somerset, Tata Steel's new electric arc furnace at Port Talbot, a 90-bed mental health facility at Tolworth Hospital, and the NESST innovation hub in Newcastle. CEO Neil Martin expressed confidence in the company's direction, stating that the benefits of the strategic changes are reflected in the stable performance of 2023/24. He emphasised the company's focus on client value, operational excellence, and targeting the right opportunities, supported by the expertise of supply chain partners. Founded in 1869 by Robert McAlpine in Lanarkshire — an area with a large concentration of Irish immigrants from the 19th century onwards — the company became one of Britain's foremost civil engineering firms. The hard life of the navvy has gone down in folklore. The song McAlpine's Fusiliers — written by Dominic Behan and made famous by The Dubliners — gives an overview, in amusing fashion, of life on Britain's construction sites, and of working for Sir Robert McAlpine. The company is also mentioned in other songs, such as Building Up and Tearing England Down, also written by Behan, with a first verse that runs: Oh, I've worked on the railways and I've worked on the roads, I've worked with the gangway and I've carried me load, I've dug the big tunnels and I've cut the big drains, And I've blasted the rock and I've dammed up the mains. Although these songs talk about tough times for the navvy, historian Ultan Cowley, and regular contributor to The Irish Post, has suggested that the relationship between Irish labour and senior management at Sir Robert McAlpine was more collaborative than what is related in these songs.
Irish Independent
25-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Huge surge in profits at popular Dublin pub thanks to the Taylor Swift effect
New accounts filed by the Barden family-owned O'Donoghues (Merrion Row) Ltd show that the business recorded the €902,887 post-tax profits in the 12 months to the end of last June after recording post-tax profits of €215,886 in the previous year. The pub enjoyed a bumper year as 150,000 Taylor Swift fans descended on the nearby Aviva stadium last June 28, 29 and 30. The pub also benefited from three Six Nations internationals in the early part of last year. This year, the business will benefit as Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey perform at the Aviva stadium. The accounts – signed off by directors, Oliver Barden and Marie Barden on April 9 – show that at the end of last June, the company was sitting on accumulated profits of €2.5million. The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €242,898. At the end of last June, the company had shareholder funds of €9.94m that included the accumulated profits of €2.5m and a revaluation reserve of €7.42m. The company's cash funds plummeted from €2.16m to €840,145, and this coincided with the company re-investing once more in the business last year. The accounts show that the value of the company's tangible assets last year increased from €7.3m to €9.9m and this was mainly due to the addition of land and buildings freehold that had a book value of €2.86m. Pay to directors last year reduced from €345,000 to €316,000. The pub is owned and operated by the Barden family and numbers employed remained at 22 during the year. The abridged accounts do not provide a revenue figure for the year, but do disclose that the company made a dividend payout of €54,375. Underlining the buoyant year enjoyed by the business, the amount owed under taxation and social welfare doubled from €374,660 to €760,003. The pub has long been associated with traditional Irish music, and The Dubliners in particular, who began to play at the pub in the 1960s. Bruce Springsteen has also been a visitor. The premises was built in 1789 and began operating as a full-time pub in 1934 when Maureen and Paddy O'Donoghue began running the bar. Oliver Barden bought the pub in 1988.
Associated Press
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Sarantos Drops Electrifying New Music Video for 'St. Patrick's Day' – A Festive Anthem for the Ages
Sarantos Drops Electrifying New Music Video for 'St. Patrick's Day' – A Festive Anthem for the Ages CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, March 10, 2025 / / -- Indie music sensation Sarantos is back, bringing the ultimate St. Patrick's Day anthem to life with the release of the official music video for his brand-new single, 'St. Patrick's Day.' Out Monday, March 10 ,2025, this high-energy folk-rock track is packed with Irish spirit, lively fiddle melodies, and an infectious party vibe that'll have fans raising a pint and dancing a jig in no time. A Celebration Like No Other True to its name, 'St. Patrick's Day' is a feel-good, foot-stomping track that embodies the heart of Irish celebrations. With energetic instrumentation, witty lyrics, and an irresistible chorus, the song pays homage to the joy, laughter, and camaraderie that define the holiday. Sarantos seamlessly blends folk, rock, and indie influences, creating a modern Irish pub song that's bound to become a playlist staple for St. Paddy's Day revelers worldwide. 'I wanted to capture the pure fun of St. Patrick's Day—the music, the dancing, the drinks, and, of course, the mystery of who St. Patrick really was!' says Sarantos. 'It's a song for everyone to sing, toast, and celebrate together.' A Music Video Packed with Irish Charm The official music video takes viewers on a vibrant Irish adventure, featuring a festive atmosphere filled with pub singalongs, dancing, and plenty of shamrocks. Combining whimsical storytelling, dynamic visuals, and a playful spirit, the video delivers an experience that feels like stepping straight into an Irish celebration. With fast-paced beats, and a sound reminiscent of The Irish Rovers and The Dubliners, 'St. Patrick's Day' is the perfect soundtrack for parades, pub crawls, and late-night singalongs. Supporting a Good Cause In the spirit of giving, Sarantos is proud to support the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity dedicated to funding research for childhood cancer. Founded during a St. Patrick's Day celebration, the organization aligns perfectly with the song's festive yet meaningful spirit. Join the Celebration! Sarantos invites fans to stream the song, watch the video, and share in the excitement by using the hashtags: ☘️ #StPatricksDaySong #IrishVibes #SarantosMusic #NewMusicAlert #StPaddysDayTune #IrishSpirit #FeelGoodMusic The music video for 'St. Patrick's Day' premieres this Monday on YouTube, with the song available on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major streaming platforms. Sarantos The Songwriter Show +1 847-696-9900 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer:
