Fascinating musical memories from Andy Irvine

Date Published: {J}

Folk singer and musician Andy Irvine was special guest on RTÉ’s The View Presents last week, proof that the good guys do sometimes get the attention. And it was a programme with lots to interest Galway viewers as he has long had strong links with this city.

Presenter John Kelly visited the singer’s home for a relaxed chat, which was interspersed with photographs and archives of some of the best and most influential musical acts Ireland has produced, including Sweeny’s Men, Planxty and Patrick Street.

It opened with English-born Irvine – whose mother came from Northern Ireland – speaking about being sent to boarding school at the age of three and the effect it had on his personality.

He came from a musical family, and a trip to Dublin in the early 1960s saw him visit O’Donoghue’s Pub where he discovered Irish and folk music. Through people like Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly and Johnny Moynihan he became a vital link in the Irish folk scene. Andy teamed up with people like Galway’s Joe Dolan and Johnny Moynihan to form Sweeney’s Men, which began in Galway in 1966 and was a major influence on Ireland’s emerging folk scene.

A couple of years later, after spending time in the Balkans exploring the music of that region, he joined Donal Lunny, Christy Moore and Liam Óg O’Flynn to form Planxty and Irish music would never be the same again. He recalled their first gig, which was in the Hangar Ballroom in Salthill when they supported the folk singer, Donovan.

Initially Andy thought the noise from the auditorium was a fight – something he’d been used to from the dancehall days. Then he realised it was approval for Planxty. He told that story and others in a similar vein in such an understated, humorous way that is was easy to forget how significant his role in Irish music has been.

John Kelly asked Andy about Planxty’s musical mix, especially between himself on harmonica and Liam O’Flynn on uilleann pipes and it was fascinating.

They discussed the various incarnations of Planxty, with departures and arrivals, until it eventually folded and Andy formed a fruitful partnership with Paul Brady, who had played with the group in latter years.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.