It was always a huge privilege and huge pleasure to share a stage with a true legend – the great John Sheahan: famous violinist, tin whistle player, folk musician and the last surviving member of the original line-up of that world famous band, The Dubliners. But John is also a composer in his own right of such true classics as The Marino Waltz and in recent years has acquired a considerable reputation as a poet, enhanced by the recent appearance of his debut collection of poems, Fiddle Dreams, which was published in his 76th year. Thanks indeed to Senan O’Reilly and everyone in Craobh Loch Garman Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann who invited us to appear together at the Wexford Trad and Folk Weekend, to James and Paula O’Connor of Greenacres where the event was hosted and to Jackie Hayden who posted this review on wexfordartcentre.ie
Wexford Trad and Folk Weekend
Report: Jackie Hayden
Greenacres -– Saturday 29th February 2020
“We all heard the warnings – under no circumstances, except
the most essential, should anyone venture outdoors during Storm Jorge. But
maybe the possibility of being entertained by Dubliner John
Sheahan and poet and
novelist Dermot
Bolger having a chat
and a laugh together could easily be regarded as an essential reason for travel.
And the sizeable crowd that turned up at Greenacres for the
event, organised by Craobh Loch Garman Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann and their PR
man Senan O’Reilly, were royally rewarded for braving the weather with a
ninety-minute mix of unscripted wit, humour, anecdotes, poems and stories, and,
from Sheahan, some delightful music on tin-whistle and fiddle.
The two men clearly share an affinity, but maybe they work
best together because they are different people too. Bolger has been a
lifelong novelist and poet, with several accolades under his belt, while Sheahan
has only came to poetry in recent years. Bolger is the more animated, almost
becoming excited in his retelling of his upbringing and his connections with
Wexford, his father working on steam packets plying out to sea from Wexford
Quay. His poetry is generously long, with captivating twists and turns. By
contrast, Sheahan is measured and laconic, his poetry crisp and focused, and
his stories about the various members of The Dubliners never-ending.
He read poems about Ronnie Drew and told stories about the
eccentricities of Barney McKenna. He was equally illuminating in explaining
where tunes come from, demonstrating to the entranced audience how one tune
started with him copying the four notes he heard from his son’s sighing yawn,
and which he was initially tempted to call ‘The Yawning of The Day’. The
audience hummed contentedly along to his renowned composition ‘The Marino
Waltz’, and he displayed his dexterous fiddle-player by reinterpreting ‘Happy
Birthday to You’ in a baroque classical style.
What was noticeable about both men was, despite their
successes, a deep humility and an ability to laugh at themselves and each
other. The audience at Greenacres laughed too and lapped it all up.”