I met with captain Farrell and his money he was counting
I first produced my pistol and I then produced my rapier
Saying, “Stand and deliver” for he were a bold deceiver
Whack for the daddy-o
Whack for the daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar”
The Dubliners are, of course, a legendary band whose back catalogue is extensive and they have recorded many albums throughout their career. I saw them once at Newcastle City Hall with my daughter Laura and her friend and we all had a great singalong evening, along with the rest of the audience! Lots of fun, Irish humour and tremendous Irish tunes.
Unlike many other bands, when the last remaining original member sadly passed, the Dubliners felt it appropriate to rename themselves the Dublin Legends. Now, there are many bands playing the circuit who recreate the classic Irish songs. But the Dublin Legends is the only band which truly and authentically follows in the lineage of The Dubliners.
From their website: “Sean Cannon, Gerry O’Connor, Paul Watchorn & Shay Kavanagh are all true legends of the Irish Folk music scene. Sean & Eamonn were members of iconic Folk Group ‘The Dubliners’ for close to 30 years while Gerry joined them for the final part of their 50th Anniversary Tour. He was a member of the famous Irish Folk Rock band, Four Men & A Dog and has played with everyone from Sharon Shannon to Shane MacGowan and has also toured with Blues Rock guitar legend Joe Bonamassa.”
“Paul Watchorn, one of the best 5 string banjo players in Ireland, toured the world as a member of Derek Warfield’s Sons Of Erin for many years. During the bands 2017 tour of Holland Eamonn took ill and died a short while after the tour. Shay Kavanagh who had been filling in for Eamonn during previous tours came in to help out. Shay has worked with Mary Black, The Dublin City Ramblers & The Furey Brothers”
“In 2012 the Legendary Irish Folk group THE DUBLINERS celebrated 50 glorious years in the music business by receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and rapidly followed it up with a sell-out concert tour of the UK, the highlight of which was a magical night at The Royal Albert Hall in London. Sadly, however, they subsequently suffered a body blow with the sudden tragic death of founding member “Banjo” Barney McKenna.”
“Quite naturally this meant that the remaining members chose to sit down and decide upon the bands future. John Sheahan, after 48 years of touring, decided it was time to step off the tour bus and it was agreed that The Dubliners, as a touring band, would come to an end. THE DUBLIN LEGENDS were born. THE DUBLIN LEGENDS will continue the legacy started by Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke, Barney McKenna & John Sheahan back in Dublin 1962. As Barney himself said “It’s Too Late To Stop Now”.”
The Darlington Hippodrome is a lovely venue and we were seated, as usual, in a box towards the right and with an excellent view of the proceedings. The “lads”, as they call themselves on their website treated us to a couple of sets and a short interval during which I treated myself to a lovely cold pint of draught Guinness (well what else could I drink).
Many years ago I was a Visiting Professor at Dublin Institute of Technology which is now the New Technological University of Dublin. I must have visited Dublin around 50 times over the years. I would take my little short flight from Newcastle airport to Dublin airport, courtesy of British Airways and latterly of Ryanair, arrive at my hotel, check in and then treat myself to a pint of Guinness. The bar tender would always let the Guinness stand and then when deemed ready to do so, they would top up the pint with a lovely white head and a shamrock placed on the top. Exquisite. This would be followed by an Irish whiskey and off to bed. Then in the morning a full Irish breakfast with egg, bacon, sausage, beans, black pudding and white pudding. I can even taste it now.
Then off to the college and meet the staff I was supervising for their PhD studies, another nice lunch with another pint of the black stuff, back to work and later in the day back on my flight home. Happy days. The graduation ceremony took place in the auspicious surroundings of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. I had the honour of seeing my students graduate in the lovely surroundings of the cathedral (image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).
So much for my memories. Thank you for reading the reminiscences of an old guy. Back to the concert and today. The entire theatre had a great singalong through some classic, traditional Irish tunes. And only a couple of days after Saint Patrick’s Day! Lots of fun was had by all as everyone sang along to: “Whiskey in The Jar”, “Dirty Old Town”, “The Wild Rover”, “Seven Drunken Nights”, “Finnegan’s Wake”, “Molly Malone”, “The Irish Rover”, “Black Velvet Band” and many, many more.
Changing the name of the band was a brave move, but does not detract in any way from the authenticity of this group of true Dublin legends. Lots of banjos, fiddles, acoustic guitars and lovely Irish voices all brought together in a highly enjoyable evening of Irish tradition. “As I went home on a Monday night, as drunk, as drunk can be…”, And so it went on….Time for another Guinness (picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).
Thanks to Jackie for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site. I shall take a pint of the black stuff for you both.
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