Thanks Andy I’ll check those out. I’m relatively new to his music but remember Weller praising him in an interview around the time of True Meanings I then listened quite briefly to Chronicles of The Great Irish Famine which I meant to buy but never got around to fast forward a couple of years and I just watched an interview with him and Paul about Arrivals, a really typically humble Galway man.
My father is Irish from Kerry but we have family up around Connemara and I recognise that accent in Declan’s voice it’s very familiar and really speaks to me if you know what I mean.
It’s always a real joy as a music lover to discover an artist with a back catalogue to listen to.
I’ve just bought the Chronicles LP direct from Declan’s website which will be signed I’m not usually one to buy signed records as these days there is no rarity value and can sometimes deface the artwork a bit however this record which took Declan 15 years to write is very special and worth commemorating I listened to sides A & B again earlier and he really does the subject justice apparently it’s a collection of true tales direct from that tragic period in Irish history it is a mix of traditional Irish music with a modern edge and is well worth taking the time to listen to.
Some years earlier I was walking past Queens student union and outside was a poster, ‘U2 playing tonight’. Entry was only a couple of quid, I half turned to go in but decided not to for some reason, thinking I will catch them again. I always regret that!