Ken O'Malley's Blog

Ireland Tour 2011

2011-11-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

It's 2.45pm on Sunday and I have just arrived at my sister Brenda's house and am decompressing at the moment. It feels great to be home here and satisfied with the knowledge that everyone has had a wonderful experience here in Ireland and most have flown home to the US today. There are about sixteen altogether staying on to do their own thing and Chris, Paddy and I will be coming back to Los Angeles next Monday the 21st.
Chris is staying with a friend in Sandyford, a suburb on the Southside of Dublin and Paddy is with a friend in Malahide on the Northside of the city.
The reason for the delay in writing is a result of no Internet happening in the last two hotels, in the rooms, that is...I will attempt to catch up on all the news. My last words had us finishing up in Killarney so there's a lot of ground to cover. Our tour was to take us southeast across West Cork and into the ancient town of Kinsale dating to the 12th century.
Following another hearty Irish breakfast of bacon, sausage, black and white pudding, tomato, fried mushrooms, baked beans and two eggs....you don't have to eat it all, in fact they are just your heart attack choices...you may have fresh fruit, healthy cereals, yogurt etc and a wide variety of Irish breads to satisfy the palette of all our, by now, seasoned travellers....we headed out the road to Kenmare...It is a lovely town, close to the Cork border and we had a comfort stop and time for a coffee and a bit of shopping...who mentioned the word recession ? My fellow travellers dropped more money than God every where they went and the one complaint that was expressed by most, was that we did not spend enough time in places like Kenmare..while there, we experienced twelve members of the Irish army in full combat gear take up positions on the street while a security van loaded cash into two separate banks, the soldiers were no greenhorns but veteran pros in their late twenties and thirties. It was obvious that no photos would be tolerated, they just stared our group down if anyone even came close to raising a camera. This action takes place all over Ireland since robberies by groups like the IRA and other paramilitaries, as well as criminal gangs in general, began robbing security and cash carrying vehicles over the last forty years..
We travelled through Bantry and into Skibbereen where we visited the Famine graveyard, a plot the size of two tennis courts where more than 9,000 people were buried between 1845 and 1849. Our group were clearly moved by the scene and the writings on the wall of the memorial. We travelled on to Kinsale and checked into our hotel for dinner and everyone came to my show that night in the famous old pub "The Spaniard", once again an hilarious evening that included a local lady, extremely inebriated, who joined me at one point onstage for a song...one of my oldest friends, a school chum and Irish Navy buddy came to see me perform. He brought another Navy pal who got up and told an old "sean nos" tale or story. The group were thrilled with the evenings music and stories and we all retired around midnight, only to find that there would be no hot water the following morning...oh well, these things happen in Ireland sometimes...
I need to mention that all this time we had little or no rain and our group were definitely blessed with the weather.
Our bus headed for Blarney Castle the next morning and the opportunity to either kiss the Blarney Stone and/or shop in Ireland's biggest souvenir shop, the Blarney Woolen Mills....I let them loose, it was like Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving....I had to duck out of the way for a coffee and a scone for safety...
We continued through Ireland's second largest city, Cork and down to Cobh (Cove) on Cork Harbor, Ireland's largest and deepest, and visited the Heritage Center that presented an excellent exhibition of the Irish emigration experience. Upwards of one million people left Ireland during and after the Famine of the mid 1800's, many on what they called "coffin ships"due to their rickety condition and being unseaworthy. Thousands of Irish died on the voyage to the Americas as conditions on these ships were deplorable. The famed Titanic picked up it's last 127 passengers and supplies here in Cobh before it headed out into the Atlantic and it's impending doom in April 1912. There is a wonderful Titanic museum being built in Belfast at present, due to open on the centenary of the ocean liner's disaster and it will be on our list of destinations next year on our North of Ireland Tour.
Leaving Cork, we stayed on the coast and headed east towards Waterford en route to Kilkenny. I would like to declare right now that it began to become apparent that my choice of individual destinations may have been a bit overly ambitious as there just wasn't enough time in the day. We made a decision to hold off, until the following morning, our visit to the medieval Butler stronghold that is Kilkenny Castle. With that decided, by myself and our driver, we arrived in Kilkenny and gave everyone forty five minutes for a quick look about. The narrow streets and alleys have hardly changed over the centuries but they have a mall and I'm sure a Mickey D's hiding somewhere...
We arrived at the five star Lyrath Estate in time for a truly elegant meal together. The service was impeccable and I'm sure there were a few of our travellers had never experienced anything quite like it. The over all experience was excellent including catching the second half of the soccer game between Ireland and Estonia, that gave Ireland a 4-0 victory and a berth in the European Nations Finals in Poland and Ukraine next Summer...it's been 28 years since we qualified...lots of excitement around the hotel that night.
After another lovely breakfast on Sat morning we headed into Kilkenny and toured the famous 13th century castle. Considering quite a bit of our week had been spent experiencing tales and sites of the Great Hunger, the famine of the 1840's, the opulence portrayed in Kilkenny Castle throughout the centuries, lended the belief that unlike the diet of the poor Irish peasants, the Butlers were eating a lot more than potatoes!
We were now driving north to our final destination on my list of things to see and do. Just about an hour outside Dublin in the heart of the Wicklow mountains lies the monastic settlement of Glendalough, the original home of one of our most famous saints, St. Kevin, who lived in the early 7th century. The settlement dates from about the 12th century and is home to our best preserved round tower standing almost 40 feet in height. The tower was a bell tower and also a storage facility for all the precious books and gold and silver items they would have had. They could also see for miles any danger that might be approaching such as the hordes of Vikings that pillaged these settlements between the 9th and 11th centuries. While in Glendalough, I met my good friend Dominic Leech of the Fureys and Davey Arthur band that performed last year at the John Anson Ford Theater in Hollywood on behalf of the Celtic Arts Center. We may have a chance to play together later this week.
Our final jaunt brought us over the Wicklow mountains and into my home city of Dublin, back to our first hotel, the Alexander. After check-in, I took my gear over to Kennedys on Westland Row to sound check for my evening's performance. We had planned this concert several weeks ago and had chosen the menu items ahead of time to ensure a fun and successful evening, this, our last night in Dublin as a tour group. Dinner at 7, showtime at 8....there was great anticipation and a buzz in the air as rumour that my brother Raymond AND his entire collection of harmonicas were arriving to perform. My eldest brother Arthur and his daughter Emma popped in around 8.15. Moments later, the front door opened and there he stood, as the thunderous applause rocked the house upon his arrival...Raymond was in the building. Well, the crowd was thrilled and Raymond was everything they expected...he took over and captured the evening. Arthur got up for a few songs and the O'Malley Brothers won the day....nobody dared leave their seats.. Right about this time, my brother Martin's daughter Kate arrived with a friend and at eighteen years of age is quite the chatty, confident young lady. When all the Americans left about 10.30, Raymond continued, solo, to entertain what was left of the evening's punters, most of whom were our family members and friends...it was a fabulous final curtain on a nine day adventure that brought us to famous castles, battle sites, monasteries, embarkation points to America, famine memorials, live music and Irish dancing, boiled bacon and cabbage, O'Malley family everywhere, the O'Malley stronghold and castle on Clare Island ten miles off Ireland's rugged Mayo coast...everyone of Johnny Cash's "Forty Shades of Green".....the road rose to meet us everywhere with warm welcomes, strong whiskey and above all a camaraderie and new friendships forged between us...my final words for this year's tour group and those planning on visiting the streets of Belfast and Derry, the awe inspiring Mountains of Mourne, the Giants Causeway, the Homes of Donegal, Yeat's Country and my own towns of Westport and Dublin, next year.... "Let's fill the parting glass, and forever remember our time in Ireland in 2011, may God hold us in the palm of His hand until next time"...

Goodnight and joy be with you all....Ken

Ireland Tour 2011

2011-11-09T21:59:00.000-08:00

The gloomy weather finally arrived yesterday morning, though our collective energies and prayers brought the sun back after about an hour on the road. We were delayed by some changes of plan because of the early showers so we had to shorten our trip a bit and by the time we got to Dingle, we only had time for lunch and a quick tour of the town. Myself, I paid a visit to St.Mary's Church for a prayer, the shot across the street to my old haunt Dick Mack's for a drink. Said hello to a couple of old friends and drank in the soothing atmosphere of my favourite town in the Southwest.Definitely need a full day there next time.
We were again truly blessed with glorious sunshine at a time of the year where there is no reason our entire trip could have been rained out. Friends have told me the Summer left something to be desired, weatherwise....
The Dingle Peninsula is one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland and the road around Slea Head is daunting to many drivers but our driver John, negotiated turns and curves in a luxury coach that left us holding our breath. Some places seemed like pushing a huge GE refrigerator through a bathroom door... The Blasket Islands off the coast and Skelligmichael, the monastic settlement of the 8th century, a rock standing alone seven miles out in the harsh Atlantic, left one thinking what could it have been like for those monks who battled the elements while attempting to join their spirits closer to God.
Upon our return to the hotel, several of our traveling friends took a ride in the horse drawn jaunting carts through Killarney National Park to Ross Castle....myself I opted to watch the movie "Zulu" with one my favourite actors Michale Caine, probably in his mid to late 20's and Stanley Baker. A true story of a siege by 4000 Zulu warriors against a force of 129 British soldiers, a Welsh regiment and their three day stand at Rourke's Drift in the Transvaal in 1879. I watch it every time it comes on, fascinating stuff...nothing to do with Killarney, but one has to put the feet up sometimes.
Again, I had no dinner and prepared for my more relaxed acoustic unplugged show here in Hannigan's Bar in the hotel. I played from 8 'til about 9.15 and most of our group showed up. Suzanne from Sierra Madre sang a couple with me to great applause but it was our driver John, who brought the house down with his rendition of "Dublin in the Rare Auld Times"...I would like to get that response just once while I'm here... it was a lovely moment.
Some of us went over to Sheehan's around the corner to watch the Irish Set Dancing, well you never saw such leppin' and dancin' in all your life...the blood of the Celts was curdling as men whisked the ladies around the floor, I can't quite describe it...one of those "You had to be there" moments....I took a couple of our ladies out for a waltz when the music changed, though the tempo only went from the storm force of Nascar to the gentle spped of the Breeder's Cup...oddly, no pains in my body this morning...must be fitter than I thought....these people weren't even breaking a sweat....what is very interesting and extremely enterprising on the part of Sheehan's Pub, a very large pub I might add, is that they have a traditional Irish music group in the very front of the bar from about 8 'til 10.30 then a rock band comes on in the back area...even further back in another area they have the set dancing from 9 'til 11 and THEN a disco 'til about 1am...and that's on Wednesday night in the first week in November....tell me the Irish don't now how to have a good time...I'll get back to y'all tonight after our trip from here through Kenmare, Bantry bay, Skibbereen, Clonakilty and into Kinsale for dinner and an official concert at The Spaniard Pub tonight...the road continues to rise and the weather looks good...

Ireland Tour 2011

2011-11-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it finally arrived...waking this morning saw the soft rain falling as I approached our driver John, and we discussed the plan for the day ahead. As he called it "A moving day", as different from "A grazing day", a day when we don't have to travel far and we can actually leave our luggage in the room and return for a second night at the same hotel.
It was to be our longest drive of the week, Westport to Killarney in Co. Kerry. Due to a couple of minor mishaps, such as missed wake up calls, we got off to a bit of a late start which really does affect our journey. It is normal to have a time booked for a hotel dinner in the evening and if there are problems, our travel plans may have to be altered. We stopped at the awesome Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare for lunch and our group spent the time walking along the 800 feet above sea level massive spectacle of beauty and power that is the element of earth, wind and water. The cliffs are to possibly join the next wonders of the world, an international vote due on this decision in a couple of days.
The weather was pleasant enough though quite cold. We continued south through Clare, passing the world famous Lahinch Golf Links, a favourite of Tom Watson, one of the worlds greatest golfers. We drove through the Burren, a stretch of land unique in the west of Ireland for it's almost Lunar appearance. Virtually solid limestone with some very rare floral specimen.
We turned on an Irish comedian, Noel V. Ginnity, CD on the last leg into Killarney and the roars heard throughout the bus were side busting.
Upon our arrival at the Killarney International, we were met by the Lord Mayor of Killarney who entertained us with stories of the town and we are all planning on taking the horse and trap through the nearby park to Ross Castle in the morning. We had a lovely dinner in the hotel this evening and I told the history behind the Battle of Kinsale in 1601. We will be heading to Kinsale on Thursday morning.
Tomorrow we are heading to Dingle and Slea Head, the closest parish to New York. Some of our more senior members are being a great example to their juniors in showing great energy on the trail and we have had no breakdowns or injuries....so far...Everybody is having a wonderful time and the weather, hopefully, will be kind to us though I know tomorrow will be challenging with rain in the forecast.
The Ring of Kerry is one of the most beautiful tourism spots in Ireland and we are looking forward to a pint in Dick Mack's and fish and chips in Harrington's in Dingle....I'll be back !!

Dublin to Westport

2011-11-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's quite unbelievable....our third day of glorious sunshine, the locals can't believe it themselves..where's it coming from, California perhaps....
We had an early start on Sunday morning from our Dublin hotel, the Alexander, and were amazed as nobody seemed awake and on the streets as we drove around the city, literally, hardly a car to be seen in the City center. We headed out towards the West and as our driver informed us, Athlone Castle was closed on Sundays, he was taking us to Trim Castle in Co. Meath. It turned out to be far more impressive both in size and reputation. It is an old Norman keep, the biggest in Ireland taking three years to build, in 1177. We had a wonderful tour guide who informed us that the castle had been used to film several scenes in Braveheart, the exterior being the seige of York Castle and the interiors were used for the London scenes...we saw the window where King Edward "Longshanks", chucked his son's boyfriend out to his demise four floors below...also the gallows Mel choked on !!
The history and description of life in the castle back then was facinating, including such tidbits as the household excrement was saved not only as fertilizer but also stirred regularly by one particular chap who would then daub the item onto a section of the outer walls for all to see, and supposedly the darker the colour, the richer the diet and showed their wealth and superiority off to the world....anyway, as I was saying...
After that wonderful attraction, we drove to Mullingar, the largest town in the Midlands and stopped in for lunch at the Druid's Chair, dating from 1609...great food...then on to Westport. Our driver, John, is truly a wealth of information and has a great sense of humour, what can I say, he's from Dublin...we were well entertained all the way.
It was getting dark when we reached the Castlecourt Hotel and checked in...people baling out everywhere to grab dinner somewhere, I never ate, didn't have time...I was heading for the sesiun (music session) at Geraghty's Pub in the town. There were three other musicians, locals, and I received a warm welcome...I just brought the mandolin as I did not want to sing much, I've been nursing a chest cold for over three weeks and it's really annoying and affecting my voice...we had a great time and were alerting some of the locals to join us tonight for my show in same pub..
I was too tired to write last night and decided to leave it 'til now...
After the usual hearty Irish breakfast this morning, we drove out to the northern end of Connemara, through Delphi, Ashleigh Falls, and Killery Harbor....Ireland's only fjord measuring eleven miles long...by lunchtime we reached Roonagh Pier next to Louisburg and took the ferry to Clare Island, ancient seat of the seafaring O'Malley clan...it's the largest of the 365 islands in Clew Bay and we spent a few hours out there that included a visit to a Sistercian Abbey from the 13th Century...reputed to have the tomb of Graunaile, Grace O'Malley our pirate Queen ancestor from the 16th Century, more about her..... Google her, I'm too tired right now !
The sun was splitting the rocks out there all day and we stopped into the little hotel on the island for a bite, and all they had was tea, coffee and scones...of course they had all the booze you could drink, and , many did imbibe....a seventy year old woman, one Irish Coffee and she started singing and asking where the bathroom was, at the same time...
We got back to the hotel about five and I had an 8.30 soundcheck...sucked down a delicious dinner of salmon and hake in a white sauce with all the trimmings and walked to the gig...only in Ireland...
The great news is that everyone showed up, there were at least twenty extra chairs set up for the show and the house was packed...I did the first set solo, then invited the local musicians to join in. We were also joind by a lovely young lady from Hungry on the violin and a great night was had by all...a complete success and a terrific end to a wonderful, beautiful day.
We're off down the Westcoast tomorrow to Killrney...wil catch y'all up tomorrow night...

2011-11-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it...most of our forty six travelers from Los Angeles, some from Nebraska and a few from New York. The flights were reasonably comfortable and we arrived in Dublin at about 7.30am this morning. We were met by our driver John Costelloe who gave us a tour of the seaside area of the North Dublin suburbs; Howth, Malahide and Portmarnock before arriving at our Alexander Hotel in the south city center.
After settling in everyone took off in different directions, some to pubs, others to museums, some to lunch and one lady actually went to a play she wanted to see. Most of us, all done in from traveling, limped back for naps and then I got up about 5.30 to relax in the foyer and chat with those of us coming and going.
I gave various and sundry suggestions to people seeking things to do later as today was more or less a check-in day before we take order tomorrow and head west across the country. My brother Arthur brought me my Martin 0001 guitar, which lives here, and then we headed out for some serious fish and chips in the Queen Maebh restaurant above O'Neill's of Merrion Row. Despite and in respect of it's very expensive prices (for a pub) it was extremely good and with bellies full we sauntered across the street to O'Donahou's Pub, the most famous, internationally well known, of all Irish music pubs....it was packed sardine-in-a-tin style as usual, and we stayed for a while, arses to elbows as they say, before heading back down the street to the hotel. We are within walking distance of everything which is great and the hotel is right around the corner from the Christian Brothers School I attended for ten years. It's not with the fondest memories that I remember that place but despite the corporal punishment they dished out liberally, we learned... I'm glad I got the education I got and I played Gaelic football and hurling for the school and I was very proud of that. Brought back so many memories...
Unlike most of my previous visits home, which were often wild and crazy, the older I got....I was back in my room by about 11 and am looking forward to getting a good night's sleep... we're up about 6.30 for breakfast and on the road at 9 .... We will visit Trim Castle on the way, it was used as York castle in Braveheart.... Oh, by the way, the weather was stunning here today, blue skies, sunshine and just a little nippy....I'll be back tomorrow night....

Ireland Tour 2011

2011-11-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and I'm just checking my list to make sure or hope I don't forget anything this Friday as we take off on another adventure to Ireland.

There are forty six of us traveling this time and it's my largest group yet. I will be posting every day with reports on our daily sojourn. It's going to be a wonderful trip, once again customized by me, to present Ireland's great historical and cultural attractions in a tour of the West and Southwest of Ireland. Counties Dublin, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork, and Kilkenny will be on our route as well as a stop in Wicklow to see Glendalough, the monastic settlement of St. kevin and one of the last remaining round towers from the past.

There will concerts and impromptu singsongs along the way and great craic to be had by all. Besides my ever vigilant manager Chris Wilson, the tour will be joined this year by our head of Public Relations, Ms. Paddy Kelly to assist in directing such a large group. With this many Americans in tow, many of whom will be visiting Ireland for the first time, there will be many bumps in the road to be smoothed out...things like "Why can't I get a latte in Ballyslabdashamuckery ?" etc...

Anyway....I'm looking forward to visiting with my brothers Arthur, Fergus and Raymond and my sister Brenda in Dublin and as I am staying on beyond the end of the tour, I will be flying to London to visit my brother Martin and stay with my sister Sandra for a few days..all very exiting.

I will keep up the blog and try to write everyday with all the news of the trip so keep you posted...

May the road rise to meet us and remember there's always the next trip and the one after, for you to join me and my cohorts...there's no trip to Ireland like a trip with Ken O'Malley....

But then, you know that already...

Cheers for now....Ken

Go West, Young man !!

2010-10-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful morning in Omaha saw me waking up at about 8am and greeting the folks around the breakfast table. No gravy this morning.....just toast and yogurt, very Californian...
I drove to the airport, escorting Pam and her mother for their flight home to Los Angeles and took to the streets of Omaha almost like a native and found my way back to our friends' house in one piece. Picked Chris up and headed west on I 80 for Sutherland, out through Lincoln and beyond....

We left about 11am and arrived in Sutherland just before 4pm. It was an interesting drive, much of the scenery looked a lot like the center of Ireland, rolling fields with scattered trees and the further west we traveled the more cattle we saw. Upon arriving we were met by Mark, our House Concert host and he turned out to be a very hospitable gentlemen. His home is perfect for an intimate concert, the acoustics are terrific. Shortly after, his wife Muriel showed up carrying the evening meal under her arm. Free Range chicken..... the two birds were cut up, floured and "fried" Nebraska style. It was delicious. I'm just saying that because we are in Nebraska, great home cookin'....there was mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon and Yes, you said it ....GRAVY !!!! Now I really think I'm becoming a native....We had a lovely dinner and I got prepared for the show. Earlier I took some nice pics of their home and the surrounding fields, very pastoral and quiet, just lovely.

Round about 7.15 pm people started showing up, all told I'd say there were about forty bodies present for the concert, all seated on folding chairs in the living room. I sat next to the fireplace and began to regale the audience with my Irish history and the heavy sad songs that we are so famous for. Last night's crowd, being Irish and Irish American at Castle Barrett were well used to this kind of material so I was carefully reading the faces of these Sutherlanders to see how much they could stand. Once again, a hardy breed these Nebraskans and with the exception of my yelling at them to pop their Bud lights only between songs, they were once again, very respectful and attentive.

I kept promising them the second set would have much lighter notes and "not to lose faith"....Susan from the "Thunder on the Plains" Irish dance troupe had driven all the way out from Omaha and danced several times to my mandolin accompaniment. She was wonderful as usual. Thank you Susan..... I actually sang some requests as the evening was fairly informal. Mark, our charming host screamed out for "Seven Drunken Nights", much to the elated Bud Light poppers delight. There was no saying no and, trooper that I am, I obliged and pulled no punches, wading past the original Dubliners 1966 recording which reached the Top 10 British pop charts but was censored to five nights not seven, to come to a huge Irish climax, no pun intended and a standing ovation, oops, another pun not intended....

Well, that was it...the last notes were sung and the lights were lowered. Once again, lots more hand shakes and wound down the night with our new friends Muriel and Mark, and the last of the stragglers.

We are going to visit the sand hills in the morning, which I believe is more Prairie scenery. One of the young Bud Light brigade said "We gotta go 'Tankin' "... You know for some reason, with a plane to Los Angeles to catch at 6pm in Omaha and a five hour drive from here in the morning , that sounds like it might be a good idea to go 'Tankin' next time....it's something to do with a big metal barrel or tank, cut in half and twenty people jump in and you roll down the nearest river....with Bud Lights, of course....yeh, maybe next time !!

Until next time, I want to thank everyone in Nebraska who helped us make this tour happen, everyone who put us up and drove us around and yeh, fed us GRAVY !!!! For me the greatest pleasure I have had here was playing and singing for all the new people who have now gotten to know me. I truly look forward to another visit again soon and am returning home to California with a more educated sense of who these people are, what they do and where they live.

I will sign off on this note....something I heard from a native Nebraskan when I arrived here on Saturday last. I told this story tonight to the folks who came to the concert assuring them that this phrase was not to offend only amuse. Apparently there was a contest in recent years to come up with a slogan for the State of Nebraska to encourage tourism in the state. Someone came up with this one .... "Nebraska, Bring Something to Do"..... One way of looking at it...... "I brought it and we did it"...... Thank you everybody for hanging in with me.....'til the next time....K

Omaha Irish Cultural Institute concert

2010-10-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Today began with a beautiful crisp sunny morning , biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and the feeling my body was reaching it's normal equilibrium, time wise. Biscuits and gravy have never appeared on my plate before but I'm in Nebraska and it was very good.
Hit the road with my friend Jan and headed for Nebraska City, a town of about seven thousand people on the Missouri river. Used to be a port in the old days for shipping up and down the river. Jan had lived there for a while when she was young and thought I might enjoy the scenery. It's in south eastern Nebraska. We stopped along the way and I walked on the real Prairie, just what it was like when the buffalo roamed back in the day. Most of the Prairie anywhere was ploughed up for wheat and corn and very little of it remains today. There was a certain magnetic feel to it, a very strong earthly pull .... back to the Stephen King thing again....
We visited Arbor Lodge, a quintessential Italianate mansion with fifty two rooms. It's an historic landmark and in poor repair. However, about 1900, the immediate land around the home was planted with trees from all over the world and it is quite the tourist attraction. The owner's name was Morton and he was responsible for the founding of Arbor Day, nationally.
We headed north for Omaha and arrived around 5pm at Castle Barrett, a very interesting building next door to Barrett's Pub. Inside, it had the feeling of a very large reception room complete with oil paintings, a bar and a life size statue of St.Patrick. After a few hellos we went back to some friends for wonderful midwest beef strogganoff, very fortifying for the job ahead...
By the time I got back to the "castle" they were waiting for me ! There were close to one hundred people all sitting in chairs when I walked in.....as if to say "OK, we're here, entertain us"... there was a bit of that Presbiterian "pinched" look about a few of them and I did feel just a little intimidated. Not for long, it turned into a wonderful show and rarely have I received such a warm and wholehearted welcome from an extremely appreciative audience.
It was a terrific night overall, and I do look forward to my next visit back. It's quite cold here at the moment, as I write, and their winter here is very severe. They are definitely a hardy people that see their fair share of tough times.
Tomorrow is the long drive west, about four to five hours, to Sutherland. We take Interstate 80 out along the Platte river to the grazing lands of Western Nebraska. The terrain is supposed to get really flat, it's fairly hilly around here, and we will meet cowboys. Sutherland has a population of eleven hundred so I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's tale....should be a very interesting concert....until then......

Lincoln, the Capitol

2010-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

After a poor nights rest and not enough sleep, I decided to pass on the golf and slept 'til 10am....It was pretty chilly and windy early this morning but by Royal Dublin Golf Club standards in my teens, my dad would have thought it a glorious day. So much for that.

My friend Jan and I headed into town around noon and I was given a tour of the various neighbourhoods in Lincoln and different decades the homes were built. We went by the house where the first serial killer on record in the US killed a family of three just because he liked the car in the driveway. That was shortly after he killed his girfriend's parents and she didn't seem to mind...can't remember his name but Martin Sheen played his character in the movie "Badlands". Yes, I took a picture of the house....took a picture of Warren Buffet's house in Omaha the other day, too !

We spent most of the afternoon browsing the Nebraska Museum of Natural History. I learned a lot about the Great Plains, the Native American tribes and their migration, the railroads and there is definitely a strange feeling atmospherically here, when you realise there's no salt water for fifteen hundreds miles east or west. For someone who grew up on a small island there is a strange vortex claustrophobia about it.... I'm standing in the middle of America.

Having never visited here before it is interesting to pick up on some of the stories of the Great Depression from the locals. We have all heard of or read Steinbeck's classic "The Grapes of Wrath", which tells the story of the Jode family migrating west to California and the hardship they endured. I have met many old folks throughout my years in LA that came out on freight trains and any other way they could. But, there are the stories of those who stayed behind and stuck it out. The land was first destroyed by plouging up the prairie to grow wheat and corn , this being a Government decision only to be followed by the wrath of God with no rain for years, only wind and storms that destroyed just about everything living. I was given a book to read "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan, about the dust storms that destroyed this region in the '30's known as the Dust Bowl, parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska. The most amazing story was that of Black Sunday, April 14th, 1935, the day of the worst "duster" of them all.The storm carried as much dirt as was dug out of the earth to create the Panama Canal. The canal took seven years to dig, the storm lasted one afternoon. More than 300,000 tons of the Great Plains topsoil was airborne that day. People were hospitalised with dust pneumonia or "brown plague" they called it. They had no weather warnings in those days, can't even imagine it....Actually, the air is lovely and clean here but there is a strange almost Stephen King feel about the place.

I think I had better go to bed, I'm starting to check the backs of my hands !! Just kidding, maybe it's all the Halloween stuff here, they are very big on giant spiders hanging off the sides of their houses.

Did go to Misty's this evening and had a big end cut and a baked potato....it was very good, but my own "Prime" prime rib roast last Thanksgiving from Costco, which I dry aged for a week in my refrigerator was much better...

Tomorrow I will head southeast to Nebraska City for more exploring and then north to Omaha for the concert at Castle Barrett...until the next episode, be safe wherever you are....

Nebraska the Heartland, October 2010

2010-10-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

It's 1am on Monday morning and the reason for blogging at this time is based on sleep deprivation. I actually blogged at 4am on Sunday morning but failed to save it and the battery ran out on the laptop. Boy, was I annoyed....not my normal expression there, but after all we are in Nebraska. The people are very polite so I must keep up appearances and watch my vocabulary.
To set the story in motion, the events began with the Twilight Lords performing at a private event in San Diego on Friday night. The show was to begin at 6pm at a rowing club on the bay. I left my home in the San Fernando Valley at 1.45pm as planned and arrived somewhat late at 5.15pm.....three and a half hours slogging down the 405. I had the PA and when I landed at the club, Will, Otis and Mark Shark were entertaining the crowd with cool jazz lounge lizard stuff. The familiar strains of "Breezin' " by George Benson greeted me as I lugged the PA into the reception area.
We kicked into high gear immediately and had the crowd rocking on the dancefloor for four hours. The high point of the evening for me was Otis singing Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean", (which I had never played before), and he reading the lyrics Googled from an Iphone by a guest, held in one hand while playing the entire drumkit with his other hand. Now I do know we can play anything...
At the end of the show, packed up, goodbyes said, I headed for home at 10.30pm and made it back in exactly two hours. By the time I was finished packing and hit the sack it was about 2.15am and I had to be up at 3.30am, leave at 4.15am for a flight to Omaha from LAX at 6.30am. You may be getting the sleep deprivation picture by now.
After a stopover in Phoenix, my flight arrived in Omaha at 1.45pm and I was met by manager Chris and her partner Pam who had arrived over the previous two days. I noticed most people were wearing red sweaters and teeshirts in honour of their devotion to "Big Red", yes, the Nebraska "Cornhuskers" were playing against Texas on Saturday....a very serious rivalry. Nothing happens here in Nebraska while "The Game" is on. The football stadium which holds about 85,000 becomes the third largest city in the state when there is a home game. We went right away to the supermarket for a few things and I bought a "Huskers" tee shirt...."When in Rome".... anyway they lost...no comment....they may be reading me here in NE...
After watching the game at the home of some relatives of Pam's, my friend Paula Ray came and picked me up and drove Chris and I to Lincoln where we had dinner and enjoyed a birthday party for Paula's friend Bob at her home. Paula was, at one time, President of the Celtic Arts Center in Los Angeles. By 10.45pm I couldn't keep my eyes open and politely retired. I woke up and posted most of what I have just written, at 4am.
It was so quiet here this morning, not a sound except the purring of the laptop and the sound of two sets of feline paws tapping accross the hardwood floors. No sirens, no helicopters...very different from where I live in the SFV. Then again, I'm drawn to exitement.
Went back to bed at 5am and slept 'til almost 11. Paula was making breakfast burritos for us and following breakfast we headed over to the Johnny Carson Theater for sound check for the 2pm concert. The show went very well and I learned, as I performed my program, that Nebraskans are very polite. I was joined at different points in the show by Irish dancers from the local "Thunder on the Plains" troupe and the girls explained to me at the intermission that that's how folks are here in the mid west, quiet, respectful and very appreciative. They did show their appreciation afterwards by purchasing CDs and lots of "Thank you's" for a job well done.
A group of us then went for coffee and then we all parted ways and I am staying in Lincoln with an old friend for the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to a game of golf in the morning at a nearby course and then a bit of touring. Tonight, Monday, we are going to Misty's, the most famous beef restaurant in Lincoln....sorry to all my veggie, vegan friends but there's an end cut of the best prime rib in America with my name on it this evening....
Catch y'all later....have a great day.....

2010-03-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

The final day of the tour began with me meeting a lady from InishMaan, the "middle" island of ther Aran Islands group, whom I knew from thirty five years ago. What a coincidence, she was sitting at the next breakfast table and we exchanged numbers and email. It is nice to renew an old aquaintance and have a connection with the island. I would very much like to visit there again. There are only 147 people on the island and it has not changed for decades, unlike the other two islands.
We drove through Oranmore, "The Galway Shawl" township, on our way down to Co. Clare. We stopped at the famous "Burren", an almost lunar landscape of volcanic limestone. There are flowers and other plants here that do not grow anywhere else in Europe. We travelled on to the Cliffs of Moher, eight hundred feet above sea level. It's Ireland's number 2 spot behind Guiness's Brewry and there were plenty of people to prove it. It was once again, a glorious day. I'm just amazed at the weather we've had. Our final leg took us on down past Lahinch golf links, one of Ireland's most famous courses. I was quite jealous as I watched the golfers having a go in such fine weather. Our driver John snook us into Dromoland Castle, a site for every Yank's sore eyes. Truly a splendid example of a medieval castle, turned hotel on beautiful grounds. We actually saw a wedding group arrive with bagpiper leading the couple who arrived in a vintage car. Everyone was "dressed to the nines", looking more like a day at the races....

We had our final dinner together in our lovely hotel tonight, to me, our finest meal so far. We hugged and said goodbye 'til the next tour in the Fall of 2011, which will cover the lower half of Ireland.

Thanks for staying with the blog. For me, another week and a half in Dublin and London. I'll be back to business as usual on the eighth of April....'til then..."Slan agaibh go leir".....

2010-03-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Where was the weather? It was supposed to be raining and dark clouds this whole week. We rose this morning to blue skies and warm sunshine. Following a mostly continental breakfast (no fry up), 16 of us headed for the Aran Islands Ferry. I think most of the others who remained behind were too hung over to make the ocean voyage anyway. We took the bus from our hotel about 15 miles north to Rossaveel and embarked on the ferry to Inish Mor (Big Island). We docked at Kilronan Village and were met by our driver, who took us on a tour of the Island where we visited a 6th century church, possibly the oldest and smallest in Ireland. We were dropped off at the base of the hill on the top of which stands Dun Aongusa, the Fort of Angus, 2,500 years old. The fort stands in a semi-circle with its rear being the edge of 400 ft cliffs high above the Atlantic Ocean. Absolutely awesome to behold. This was the top of the island and the view in all directions was breath-taking.

With an hour and a half to kill following our descent back to the village, we all repared to "The American Bar". I found myself singing in my native Gaelic language by request, much to the amusement of the locals, who turned out to be very friendly and thought my dialect sounded more Donegal. When I told them I had learned most of my Irish on Inish Maan, right next door, they were very impressed and welcoming, suggesting I return to live there. With sad farewells, we headed for the ferry and returned to Galway.

Our whole group dined together in the hotel and I followed with an impromptu performance for one and all. As the sing-song wound down, those who weren't too exhausted from the day's events headed off out for the last night's imbibing in the city's trad music pubs. The rest of us retired for the evening.

Early start in the morning for our final day... later. K

2010-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Woke up to light rain and low clouds this morning which was a pity as we could not see Croagh Patrick, the mountain just outside Westport where St. P fasted for forty days in 435AD. We did, however visit Murrisk Abbey, 12 century Augustinians where Grace O'Malley would have been baptised and married. Right next to it is an eerie copper sculpture of a coffin ship representing the National Famine Memorial, the soft day that was in it lent a quiet moment to all of us.
We travelled out towards Ashleigh falls and in to Leenane where "The Field" was filmed. We drove on both sides of Killery Harbour, an eleven mile long fjiord...the only one in Ireland, which cuts between Mayo and Galway.

Down further south, we stopped at Kylemore Abbey, a Sistercian order of nuns since 1920 but built in the mid 19th century. Still a high school for wealthy young ladies today, this maybe it's last year as a school. We had hot soup and good brown bread for lunch.

We stopped into a Connemara marble factory and got a quick lecture followed by more spending. Then in to Galway City and our hotel, The Imperial on Ayre Square in the town center.
Straight out for fish and chips on Quay Street, followed by a night of trad music, no I took a break tonight, and just got back...got to be up early for our boat trip to Inish Mor in the Aran islands, really looking forward to it...catch up later...

2010-03-25T01:51:00.000-07:00

It's been so busy with travel and performing that I had no time to catch up on Tues night. We had a great night in the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran. We drove further north into Donegal to the village of Ardara and visited a local tweed weaver. Much money was dropped there by all and I was presented with a nice local wool sweater by the owners. We headed back south, passing through Co.Leitrim into Co.Sligo. We visited W.B Yeats's grave in the old churchyard of Drumcliffe before lunch in Sligo town. On into Westport and our Castlecourt Hotel, which is quite nice. Westport, like many places this time of year, is very quiet. Some pubs are closed during the week and our hotel seems to be the only game in town.
After dinner my show started at 10PM and the venue was mostly senior citizens on vacation, many looking pinchfaced and arms crossed waiting for the music. There was a mixup with the PA system and the sound was woeful. It was very difficult to perform and by the end albeit I did a good job, I was quite disgruntled. The venue was very happy as everyone stuck around.

We drove down to Achill island as the sun was splitting the Co.Mayo rocks, a glorious day. Breathtaking scenery and history unfolded before us and all had a truly exellent experience. Ocean vistas, deserted famine villages and Irish coffees, what a great day.
Back to Westport for a bit of shopping late afternoon, Christine and I bought some terrific local food, including my own sister Sandra's Inishturkbeg island smoked salmon, and dined in our suite. Very quiet and a nice pleasant repast before my evening show.
With the same PA system I battled through the evening, this time I was prepared for both the sound and the pinched faces which for some reason...my personal efforts to overcome the sound obstacles there were lots of smiles and dancing. A truly great night was had by all and we hit the sack after a long day.
This morning we are off to Connemara and the city of Galway...Later...K

2010-03-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Woke up to soft rain and following a full Irish breakfast headed up north to Donegal. On the way we stopped to visit the Beleek China factory in Co. Fermanagh in the Six Counties of the "wee " North.

We had lunch in Enniskillen and had a walkabout. We reached Bundoran at about 4PM and are staying in the beautiful Great Northeren Hotel on the beach. Very old world and we had a lovely dinner, all together.

Following dessert, we retired to the bar where I gave a two hour unplugged concert. We had a new friend Chris from Port Stewart, Co. Antrim in the North who joined in with his fine tenor voice on several songs. Once again, a terrific impromptu show for our group. Great craic and a lot of laughs. Our driver John regaled us with "Dublin in the Rare Auld Times".....
Once again, we're all tired out and we are off to bed for a 7AM wake up and off further north into Donegal to see a weaving facility and perhaps buy a tweed cap or two...then a long drive southwest to Westport....will catch up tomorrow night...

2010-03-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

What a start.....Got home from the Auld Dubliner at 3AM Sat morn and left for the airport at 5AM. Nice flight to Logan in Boston where the three of us were entertained by a flaming camp waiter named Carmine,who was adorable...at least that's the word he kept using. We enjoyed a dinner of crabcakes and Margerita pizza and set off on Aer Lingus for Dublin.
Chris, Christine and I landed at 4.30AM, three hours before the main group landed from Chicago and we drank Starbuck's, yes, not my favourite thing to do....but it was all that was open.
Meeting the group at 8AM and joined by our driver Dublin John Costello, we followed initial instructions and, it being Sunday morning, we trekked back in after loading our luggage on the bus and had O'Brian's coffee for breakfast, which was less expensive than the other place....
John then drove us all over the city of Dublin where we saw my old home in Upper Mount Street, all my teenage stomping grounds and eventually ended up in Guinness's brewry where almost everyone drank the "Mother's Milk".
On to the hotel by 2Pm for check-in and a lie down. Picked up my guitar from my sister Brenda and we had dinner with her and returned to the hotel where all were assembled for my show tonight at "The Cusack Stand ", a true Irish watering hole just a couple of blocks from the hotel.
What a night, my brothers Arthur and Raymond showed up and sang and played harmonica, several other musicians including Paul O'Tool ex Young Dubliner and Tony O'Keefe ex Dublin Four gave their best and by the end we were all truly ready for bed which is where I'm going right now. We're up first thing in the morning and will be on the road for Donegal before 9Am...
Later.....

2010-03-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

It's Friday morning and we are gathering ourselves for takeoff tomorrow morning. have to be up at 5AM after we play at the Auld Dubliner in Long Beach. Hope to catch an hour nap in between. What a couple of days over St.Patrick's Day. Performing for the City of Los Angeles at LA Live was a blast but the heat was searing. I'm going home with a tan...

I'll try to keep this a daily journal, I'm sure manager Chris will keep me on my toes to keep it up. Should be fun reporting on the day to day adventures of the group. I'll be back.....

2010-03-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we are almost off on our exiting tour of the old country. Buying coats and sweaters and walking shoes, if you don't have them that is....Meeting new friends on the tour and new friends to be made in Ireland along the way.

For those of you on the tour that have never been to ireland you are in for an experience of a lifetime, only to be repeated when you return there another day. The weather looks Irish for the first part of the trip. Bring a small umbrella, looks like rain. Time for a sing song and a few hot toddies.

Looking forward to a great trip with everyone....