Planxty - Concert Programme from The Olympia Theatre Dublin August 1980

Planxty - Concert Programme

Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Aug. 1980

At the beginning of the sixties there was a tremendous worldwide revival and interest in folk music. The high point of that for many was the growth in popularity of the folk clubs and folk music festivals. Folk music and folk groups were appearing all over Ireland. Many of the groups had very short lives but real musicians were emerging.

These musicians were learning their trade, and they were exchanging songs and dredging them out of old books and from older singers who had carried them for generations.

One of these musicians was Christy Moore. After attending Newbridge College he went to work in a bank for three years. Much of the time was spent in different towns in Co. Clare. During the long bank strike in 1966, Christy went to England to work on the oil rigs in the North Sea. The strike over, he came back forone day to get his back money, and then resigned. He went back to England determined to make it as a folk singer.

He was to spend four years in England, where he began to build a reputation as a solo singer. In Manchester in 1969 he met Dominic Behan, who persuaded him to make his first album. It was called 'Paddy on the Road', and Christy wasn't really happy with it - the English session musicians who backed him had no feel for the Irish songs.

In 1970 he met record producer Bill Leader in London and asked him would he bring mobile recording equipment to Prosperous, Co. Kildare, where he could make an album using musicians of Christy's choice. Leader agreed.

Christy set about assembling his backing musicians. Donal Lunny, another native of Newbridge, Co. Kildare, had been in school with Christy. A silversmith by trade, he had been involved in a number of folk groups, and as well as being an all-round musician, was also an experienced producer of folk albums. Liam (Og) O'Flynn was an uilleann piper from Kill, Co. Kildare, who had been piping since he was very young.

Finally, there was Andy Irvine. He was a member of Sweeney's Men with Johnny Moynihan and Joe Dolan, Christy also recruited Clive Collins playing fiddle, Dave Bland on concertina and Kevin Conneff on bodhran.

The album 'Prosperous', which emerged from this session in the basement of Christy's sister Anne's Georgian house proved to be the birth of Planxty. They realised that the four of them felt so happy playing together that they decided to form a group.

A single, 'The Cliffs of Dooneen', was taken from the first album, and they were marketed as Planxty. The single was very successful in the Irish Charts and almost immediately Planxty were signed to an exclusive recording deal. The next three years were magic and three superb albums were released.

But the recording contract, instead of binding them together, caused them to split apart, so they went their separate ways. Christy now had to try to start building a solo career once again. Donal Lunny, meanwhile became involved first with a pop music group and later with The Bothy Band. Andy, like Christy and Liam, set out to try to work as a solo performer. It seemed as though Planxty would never reform.

However, by October 1978, things began to look brighter. Christy saw that The Bothy Band were about to break up and he knew that Donal Lunny would again be available. Would he consider having another bash at reforming the band? They approached the other two, and by Easter of last year they were ready to resume work.

They got themselves a new manager, Kevin Flynn from Ballisodare, Co. Sligo (organiser of the Ballisodare Folk Festival). He agreed to take on their personal management and set about the process of setting up an Irish and European tour as well as a new record deal. By the summer of 1979 they were ready to hit the road. They made a new album 'After the Break' which they themselves jointly produced, they had a new programme rehearsed and they recruited Matt Molloy (flute) to accompany them both on the record and on the tour. They played England first, then played six different European countries finishing up gigging around Ireland. Altogether they played to 75,000 people.

They resumed working in 1980 with a headlining 'Sense of Ireland' concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London in February. They and they other Irish musicians brought in 6,500 people. Then they recorded two programmes fro RTE Television at the Pavilion Dun Laoghaire, before settling down to rehearsals at the Kilkee Castle Hotel in Castledermot, Co. Kildare, for a spring tour of Ireland. They are nearing completion of their second album which will be on sale soon.

What's the future for Planxty? Christy puts it this way, "At the moment, we are living from tour to tour, we are working well together, the music is going well. We'll see how it goes".

Ultan Macken

Planxty photo

Songs, Sources & Planxty

Tracing the beginnings of traditional song in Ireland is a hazardous journey through rolling mists of conjecture with few reliable landmarks. Certainly a good deal is known about the bardic poetry of a millennium ago and much has survived on manuscript from this and later periods, but to call this 'folk song' is drawing a very long bow, rather it was a highly developed formal art provided for the nobility and those chieftains who could retain a file (poet or scribe) who wrote this - frequently panegyric - poetry, the reacaire who chanted it for the assembly and who was in turn accompanied by a harper. The form of the reacaire's musical performance or that of his harper remains a mystery as it was never documented.

In 1603 a proclamation was issued for the extermination of "all manner of bands, harpers, etc.", and Elizabeth 1 ordered Lord Barrimore "to hang harpers wherever found." In the mid seventeenth century came the final decline of the native Irish aristocracy which culminated in the Flight of the Earls after the siege of Limerick. The subsequent arrival of Oliver Cromwell did little to encourage indigenous art forms. It thus happened that these chroniclers of the nobility were without patrons and had to adapt their art to suit tastes of lower social levels if they wished to eat. A few, like Carolan (1670 - 1738), managed to keep up the tradition of playing in the great houses, but by then, he was very much a rarity playing to a much altered peerage. And though he is commonly referred to as "the last of the bards", the graceful music of Carolan owes as much to European influences as it does Irish.

Prior to the fading of bardic poetry very little note had been taken of a humbler verse form known as the amhrain (today this means 'song' but in earlier times it could also mean recited poetry)' but it is by no means peculiar to Ireland that little notice was taken of the effusions of the humbler folk by those capable of writing who were of course mainly aristocrats.

When notice was taken it was seldom complimentary. As far back as the 14th century we find disgruntled Giolla na Naomh O'hUigin complaining about kings (who were his meal-ticket) who preferred amhrain to the poetry of file. Amhrain he refers to contemptuously as songs composed by; "women and long-haired rustics". By the 18th century poets were much more "of the people" than above them. Poets like Aodhagan O'Rathaille were being listened to, and their work memorised, by greater - if poorer - audiences. But even in his time the memories of faded glories were still vivid enough to prompt a contemporary to remark acidly that Aodhagan was "openly and unashamedly" writing songs which would have been beneath a file in earlier times.

The fact that we do not have early documentation of our folk songs should not automatically lead us to believe that the songs of the file were not affected by the amhrain and with the decline of the file's social status his poetry was certainly an influence on the more ordinary folk. The formal poet would modify his rather high flown verse to suit the taste of the folk and the folk would benefit by the introduction of new rhythms and metres not previously employed at a popular level. If you read Robin Flower's introduction to Tomas O'Rathille's Danta Gradha you will become aware of much that is similar in formal poetry and folksong which is as yet extant.

As you would expect, the Irish language is the main vehicle for the amhrain, and if you would find these songs today you must follow them to the seaboards of Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Cork and Waterford. With a couple of exceptions, it is only on these desolate coastal areas that the native language and its inherent songlore survives, battered by the ocean on one side and 20th century media on the other. To attempt to describe this intricate and delicate style fleuri form of unaccompanied singing on paper is as pointless an exercise as trying to describe a rainbow to a blind man. Should you be unfamiliar with this singing style and unable to visit the areas where the tradition is still alive you may still be able to get an idea of its sound by listening to commercially available recordings of such fine singers as Sean Mac Donnachadha, Maire Aine Ni Donnachadha or Seosamh O'hEanai (Joe Heaney). If you are to inquire about this singing style it may be useful to know that it is often refereed to nowadays as sean nos (literally; "Old Style") a term which originally - and properly - refereed to all older ways of singing rather than a particular florid style.

The introduction of songs in the English language is a centuries old process not always the result of colonising troops but also the result of normal settlement and commercial intercourse between Britain and Ireland. Ballads, that is, narrative songs, are particularly rare in Gaelic tradition for the Gaelic singer much prefers lyrical songs where he can dwell on the melody, improvising and decorating to his heart's content. Such concentration on the individual verse unit is not suited for the ballad form where the singer must 'get on' with telling the story. It is somewhat ironic that the older ballads which may no longer be found in Britain may be heard on the lips of Irish traditional singers. Such a case is The Well Below The Valley, a mediaeval ballad which was long considered to be extinct orally but turned up in the repertoire of a travelling man in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. This traveller - John Reilly - who died in 1969, was also the source for more of Christy Moore's songs such as The Raggle Taggle Gypsy, Tippin' It Up to Nancy, Lord Bateman, and What Put The Blood. Irish Travellers with such repertoires as John are not numerous but recent collecting in this country has made it obvious that the well springs of folksong among them is as deep as that already demonstrated by Scots travellers as a result of the work of Hamish Henderson. Of course Irish travellers travelled in Britain and vice versa and the importance of this musical cross fertilization is just coming to light.

Planxty perform at Nyon Folk Festival 1980

Andy Irvine's travels to places like Israel, Bulgaria and Romania resulted in his returning with the somewhat exotic tunes included in Planxty's repertoire. He is not without precedent and one is reminded of the account given by the collector Bunting, of the uilleann piper who was invited by an Indian prince to Calcutta. Unfortunately this piper brought back neither tune or song as he developed a fondness for the local hooch and having taken a bit too much of it one day fell overboard from the prince's pleasure barge and disappeared - pipes and all - into the Ganges! The travels of our native folk singers tended to be a little more mundane but extremely important nevertheless in the introduction of new songs into local repertoires. Particularly important were the seasonal migrations when thousands would leave to go harvesting in Britain. A look at any of the major Scottish collections such as Ord's "Bothy Songs & Ballads" will show clear evidence as to how many Irish songs were left behind and further perusal of the contents will show you how many native Scots songs are now traditional in this country, particularly in Ulster. Moving down to the South-West of England, authorities from Cecil Sharp to A.L. Lloyd have pointed out the debt singers there owe to Ireland in evolving their melodic style.

Hardships were many and the conditions these migrant workers toiled in were often atrocious. Nevertheless it would come to an end with the harvest, and the workers could return home so there is a great deal of forbearance and frequent humour in the songs which came across the Irish Sea. More traumatic was the passage to Americay for it was all too often a one-way journey. It was a countrywide custom to hold a party on the night before sailing to ease the pain of parting. These parties were known as "American Wakes" for it was felt that undertaking such a journey was as irreversible as death itself. Often the parting was just as final. This feeling is well reflected in such songs as The Green Fields of Canada. Needless to say the odd emigrant did return and brought back songs like The Lake of Ponchartrain with him.

The Lake of Ponchartrain was circulated over here in broadsheet form, for as people were becoming more literate the ballad seller became a more prominent figure at fairs and markets hawking his ballad slips and walking the country roads selling them (and other small knick-knacks) as well as bringing news of the outside world. As in all parts of the English speaking world ballads on murder were perhaps the most sought after, and the more sensational the better. Unlike most parts however, ballad sheets continued to be sold in the streets of Dublin and elsewhere until as recently as the late 50's.

Even allowing for the considerable amount of external sources and influences the great majority of the songs to be found traditionally in Ireland are products of the native soil itself. This is self-evident for the Gaelic songs, but it is not often appreciated that the English language song corpus is as rich as it actually is. That this is the case would become apparent if you had time to peruse the thousands upon thousands of songs collected from traditional informants and lodged in the manuscript collections of the Dept. of Irish Folklore, University College Dublin. But such a task is daunting. More easily assimilated are the collections of Robin Morton and the soon to be published book by Dr. Hugh Shields dealing with the songs of Derry. Easily available is Songs of the People edited by John Moulden from the collection of the late Sam Henry. A comprehensive introduction to Anglo-Irish song still remains to be written; it is not a work to be undertaken lightly as there are as many song types as there are types of people; sad, happy, funny, cynical, sensational, beautiful, bawdy, pious, long, short, good, bad and indifferent. Many of the older songs employ Gaelic rhyming systems which have happily crossed the language barrier. And some have adapted essentially English song forms and imbued them with a breath-taking and crystalline Hibernian beauty, (for example the lovely Fermanagh song 'As I Roved Out' which Andy sings).

For as long as the Irish have been making songs they have been making political songs. By their nature some of them have been offensive - depending on whether you were on the singing or receiving end of the song, but then, many political songs are meant to be offensive. On looking up Planxty's repertoire alone on disc, you will see that their political songs cover a wide spectrum, from Follow Me Up to Carlow written about a battle in 1580 to Only Our Rivers Run Free written only yesterday about the northern troubles which remain unresolved even yet. If one is to suggest a linking factor it might be worth considering a thoughtful mood as that factor. Conviction without vindictiveness. This makes a refreshing difference to those "folk groups" who cynically capitalize on the current troubles by playing to the basest sides of human nature. This form of scavenging has been aptly described by the musician Tony McMahon as "carrion music". In a word, the element separating Planxty's performance of political songs from that of most other groups is simple: good taste.

Finally, the nature of Irish traditional song is such that melodies are often impossible to bar, as they are so fluid and inconsistent in their rhythm. Accompanied singing in either Irish or English is practically unknown and is certainly not a normal traditional custom in any part of Ireland. So what of Planxty's accompaniments? As they are based in Dublin rather than Rome they do not claim infallibility and looking back, not all of their arrangements have worked as well as they might have. But the group's respect for the integrity of the music and song usually makes the metamorphosis from a traditional to a non-traditional norm seem like a natural evolution. (Which it may well be). How is it done? Outside of their ubiquitous instrumental and vocal ability plus musical imagination we seem to be back to that word again: taste. Tom Munnelly - July 18th 1980

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My late father was Andy Moore from the foot of the Hill of Allen who before he passed away in 1956 was a soldier, a grocer, a politician and a man much loved in the town of Newbridge, where I became a man.

My mother Nancy Power from Armulcan, Navan who before she came to Kildare was a leading figure in Navan music circles. She instilled in me a love of songs and music and is still my chief critic.

My first memory is Mass in Dunboyne Co. Meath circa 1950. Then came Croke Park a year later when everytime Kildare scored I became airborne. I learned music and singing from Sr. Michael, Marie Slowey, Josef Cuypers (R.I.P) and Henry Flanagan O.P. This was during the course of my education with Holy Family Nuns (1949-1953), Patrician Brothers (1953-1958) and Dominican Priests (1958-1963). During this time my main influences were Ella Fitzgerald, Tommy Steele, Boiler White, Jimmy Eddery, and The Bowery Boys. But things were to change for as soon as I was to hear Liam Clancy singing at a Fleadh in Gorey and shortly afterwards I heard The Clancy's and Tommy Makem in the Olympia - my fate was sealed.

I loitered for 3 years in the National Bank and broke out in 1965. I went to the Oil-Rig Orion in the North Sea and then to London where I started getting money as well as fun for singing. I became a stage Irishman Folksinger for 5 years in Mary Horans and played from Camden Bush to Thurso.

I returned to Ireland in 1971 and joined Planxty.

Donal Lunny is Planxty's rhythm man. And a man whose musical pedigree goes back a long, long way. But don't be misled - he's still a young man! Like Christy Moore, Donal also comes from Newbridge, Co. Kildare. And the intrepid duo even went to school together.

With Donal's brother Frank, they formed a ballad group, aptly named The Rakes of Kildare. And Donal, always interested in rock 'n' roll, also played in a local beat group, The Cyclones. Finishing school, he moved to Dublin and the National College of Art where he trained as a silversmith.

Dublin in the mid-sixties was a ballad boomtown and Donal was soon in the thick of it. An all-round musician, he played with an almost endless litany of popular folk groups. His production talents also dawned in this period and he produced many of the singles and albums released in those halcyon days.

Donal Lunny photo Meeting up with Christy again in 1970, he featured on the Prosperous album. And these sessions gave birth to the original Planxty. Donal left the group after three years and worked as a producer before joining The Bothy Band. When they disbanded, he rejoined Christy and the boys in the band on Stage here tonight.....Planxty. But the story doesn't end here.......

Andy Irvine became interested in folk music thro' listening to Woody Guthrie and hanging around with Jack Elliott and Derroll Adams - two friends of Woody's - at the end of the fifties. He was part of the so called Ballad revival in Dublin in the early sixties, along with Ronnie Drew, Johnny Moynihan, etc., a time he remembers with a misty eye.

After living in Copenhagen for some months, he returned and formed Sweeney's Men in Galway with Johnny Moynihan and Joe Dolan. They recorded two albums and three singles. As a devotee of Woody Guthrie, Andy has always been an inveterate traveller and in 1968 he took off for Eastern Europe where he spent nearly eighteen months travelling around Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, soaking up sun and sounds. His interest in Balkan music stems from this time.

Back in Dublin, he took part in the famous "Prosperous" recording session and shortly after that, Planxty was formed. Andy remained with the group till it disbanded in 1975 and then joined forces with another member Paul Brady. Paul and Andy enjoyed a most successful partnership for about two years, recording an album with Mulligan, doing an American tour and playing the Cambridge folk Festival before going their separate ways. He joined De Dannan for a brief spell doing a long tour of Germany and Switzerland with them and then toured for a couple of years with Mick Hanly, mainly in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

He has recently recorded his own album - Rainy Sundays, Windy Dreams - on the Tara label, playing with some of his favourite musicians. When not involved in Planxty tours, Andy plays solo gigs. He plays mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica and guitar. Andy plays a Gibson K3 Mandola and an A model Gibson Mandolin both of them dating back to the middle 1920's. He plays a Greek bouzouki that he bought in Thessalovi Ki in 1975. He tunes GDAD. He also plays two other instruments that come under the heading "Boutouki". One made by "Flyde instruments" and one by Andrew Manson of Sussex. His hurdy-gurdy was constructed in 1972 by Peter Abuett of Kent, England and is modelled on much older instruments.

Liam Og goes back to the old type sessions for his musical influences when the big gigs are over. Playing with Planxty never cut him off from the mainstream of the music because he always tried to fit in time for the special occasions when he would meet with other musicians in a house session. It reminds me of his traditional roots in Kill, Co. Kildare when his schoolteacher father on fiddle would often play with a police sergeant who was a piper. Liam Og would listen enthralled to the sound of the pipes and tried to emulate them. He was given his first "feadog stain" (tin whistle) at the age of six and five years later he got the set of pipes he was hankering after. His mother (a Scanlon who is related to Junior Crehan) played the piano and the three of them would have their own home sessions. At about this time there was a radio programme on which the pipes most caught his attention and he had his first formal piping lesson with Leo Rowsome who had made his first practice set of pipes. At the end of his teens the first great flush of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann development was in full bloom and there were plenty of sessions to attract a young lad. In his own area Liam could listen to lots of musicians in the Prosperous area as well as make regular visits to the Piper's Club in Dublin. Liam claims a strong Willie Clancy influence on his own style of playing plus of course that of his first teacher Leo Rowsome. The ease of communication, he says, has led to the blurring of regional style but what has emerged is a blend of the strongest styles with the personal touches. He is now only one of the few professional traditional musicians also working on a solo career and while playing with Planxty does place certain restrictions on his music it has not made any appreciable difference to his own playing. "After all," he says, "there are always the house sessions to get back to the basics. These seem to be dying out a bit and nowadays I just hope that something will develop after a concert or a club gig."