[soft instrumental music] - [Fiachna] This week on "TradFest: The Dublin Castle Sessions," we have Altan, Eleanor Shanley, Aoife Scott with Andy Meaney, Mike Hanrahan, and David Kennan.

[soft instrumental music continues] [soft instrumental music] "TradFest: The Dublin Castle Sessions," are funded in part by, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

[soft instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music continues] [upbeat instrumental music fades] [musician laughing] - My shoe.

- Well, here we are in St. Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle.

It's an incredible room here, and I'm delighted to be here with Aoife Scott, and Andy Meaney, also joined by Mike Hanrahan, and by Eleanor Shanley.

You're all very, very welcome.

Its great to see you.

- Thank you.

Very nice.

- Delighted to be here.

- Mike, I'm gonna come to you first.

How's it been for you?

- I kept myself busy, I guess.

I wrote a lot of songs, which I haven't done for about 10 years.

I have a whole bunch of new songs.

And then I did this daily Facebook gig, with food and music every day, and it was just fun.

I met hundreds of people from all over the world.

They'd log on every day, and we talked food and I sang a few songs.

So, yeah.

- So tell me how, how did that work, how did that evolve?

Did you just- - Well, I'm a qualified cook.

- [Fiachna] I know.

- I spent Master Chef 10 years.

- He's making me dinner later.

- Yeah, that will be nice.

And I did release a book about it.

But it was just that I read from the book, and I gave some of the recipes, and then as it evolved, people were asking me for recipes, and then I just talked to recipes.

I told stories of times of Ronnie Drew and, you know, stories of old friends.

It was actually really good.

There's a lot of people who connected and it was nice.

Every day, it gave me something to do in the morning, write a blog and, and research recipes.

And then I met my crew at lunchtime every day.

And it was, was gorgeous.

- Great.

- Really?

- You put record a together or you- - I hope so, yeah.

I think I will.

I haven't recorded a solo album since 2002.

And when I went cooking, I just didn't write.

I wasn't really in the mood to be writing after 10 hours of the slog of the kitchen.

So, yeah, I'm kind of ready for it now.

And I spent two years writing the book, so I'm kind of writing-fixed, and I write every day.

So it's just a matter of getting the songs into the studio.

- Are you gonna do one of your new songs?

- I'd love to do one of my new songs.

And it's a song I wrote for my mum, who's in the depths of dementia.

And this is my kind of prayer to her.

I wanted to talk to her during lockdown.

I couldn't meet her.

So this was an idea I had.

So it's called "A River Rolls On."

And I think our life, our life is a river for me, that's the imagery I have where you start in a high mountain you meand your way down through life.

And you meet people, try to be as good as you can, then you get to the ocean.

- Beautiful.

- And I think my mom knows it's time for her to meet the ocean.

You know that's the sentiment of a song.

- Beautiful.

[soft guitar music] [soft guitar music continues] [soft guitar music continues] ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ Far away the high mountain stream ♪ ♪ To that place where you long to be now ♪ ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ Down through the hills and the glade ♪ ♪ You roll on through the sunshine and rain ♪ ♪ Round the oak, and the willow you came ♪ ♪ Even the birds sing your name ♪ ♪ They're singing a song for you now ♪ ♪ In their hearts you forever live on and on ♪ ♪ They sing of your grace and their joy ♪ ♪ As you gently go rollin by ♪ With a tear and a smile ♪ Where the river falls to the sea ♪ ♪ By a shoreline ocean breeze ♪ It's there you will set your heart free ♪ ♪ Where the river falls to the sea ♪ ♪ So go now your time here is done ♪ ♪ Time to stop lingering on and on ♪ ♪ You'll see feel that soft ocean breeze ♪ ♪ Where the river falls to the sea ♪ ♪ It's where you long to be now ♪ ♪ So roll on, yeah, roll on ♪ Roll on, roll on ♪ And soon, we'll be with you there, ♪ ♪ To breathe in the salt and the air ♪ ♪ And remember the moments we shared ♪ ♪ So go set your sail ♪ And sail away sail away ♪ Yeah, sail away ♪ Sail away, sail away ♪ So go now your time here is done ♪ ♪ Time to stop lingering on and on ♪ ♪ You'll soon see feel that soft ocean breeze ♪ ♪ Where the river falls to the sea ♪ ♪ 'Cause we're singing this song for you now ♪ ♪ In our hearts, you forever live on and on ♪ ♪ And you'll still feel the soft ocean breeze ♪ ♪ Where the river falls to the sea ♪ ♪ 'Cause it's where you long to be now ♪ ♪ So roll on, yeah, roll on ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ A river rolls on to the sea ♪ A river falls to the sea - Mike, that's a gorgeous song.

- Thank you, she's a gorgeous woman.

- So they come to you fast.

- Songs kinda come to me reasonably fast.

And then it's the work, it's the editing, which I love.

I love that process of editing.

But the idea of the songs usually come, a lot of my songs come when I'm driving my car.

- It's funny, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- I don't have the radio on, except at night when you're on.

[everyone laughing] But yeah, I usually just have a silence in the car.

And it happened by accident.

My car, the radio is completely bad jacked, so it just comes on and off at its own accord.

And, thankfully, it just stays off when I'm writing songs.

It's bizarre, but it's true.

- Yeah.

Amazing.

That's a beautiful song.

- Thank you.

- Congratulations.

- Appreciate it, thank you.

- Aoife and Andy.

- Hello.

- You've been in a bubble, of course, haven't you?

[speaks faintly] - Yeah, we live into the area, yeah.

- Fostering dogs and enjoying the fair air.

- Pottering, and doing jobs, and yeah, killing all the plants.

We, we got on well, we haven't killed each other yet, out of lockdown.

We've done really well.

We're used to being on the road with each other, - Of course, yeah.

- Together all the time.

So- - It was a bit of creative time as well?

- Yeah, we did.

- Yeah, yeah.

- We wrote a song, and we released it during the lockdown, and we wrote it for our friends, who where from from Limerick, but their favorite places Kilkee.

But we also wrote it to the point of view of when all of this would end.

Because I think I was really struggling with coming off the road and I really felt like I lost my identity.

And when you haven't got your voice, and you're not performing anymore, you're just kind of lost.

So we might sing it, will we?

- Do, go on.

[everyone laughing] - Seeing as, like, if you don't take a long intro there.

It's called "Sweet October."

- "Sweet October," beautiful.

[soft guitar music] [soft guitar music continues] ♪ Western roads, when you know they feed the soul ♪ ♪ Stop a while where the water meets the stone ♪ ♪ Take a breathe, you can almost taste the sea ♪ ♪ It's a half hour drive down towards Kilkee.

♪ ♪ And come Sweet October ♪ All this will come together ♪ All the things you'll ever hope for ♪ ♪ Sunsets in sweet October skies ♪ ♪ Yesterday, I thought I read your mind ♪ ♪ Of Amsterdam and to the Alpine skies ♪ ♪ All those times you think deserve a smile ♪ ♪ Come again, if you give a little time ♪ ♪ And come sweet October ♪ All this will come together ♪ All the things you'll ever hope for ♪ ♪ Sunsets in sweet October skies ♪ ♪ We won't even mind the rain ♪ It'll be a perfect day [soft guitar music continues] ♪ You give it all, and you give more than most ♪ ♪ The western breeze, it always gets you home ♪ ♪ Ease your mind for better dreams tonight ♪ ♪ Of West Clare roads in the evening light ♪ ♪ And come Sweet October ♪ All this will come together ♪ All the things you'll ever hope for ♪ ♪ Sunsets in sweet October skies ♪ ♪ And come Sweet October ♪ All this will come together ♪ All the things you'll ever hope for ♪ ♪ Sunsets in sweet October skies ♪ ♪ We won't even mind the rain ♪ It'll be a perfect day ♪ We won't even mind the rain ♪ It'll be a perfect day [soft guitar music continues] [soft guitar music fades] - Thank you.

- Beautiful.

- I'm emotional, sorry.

It's it's hard to keep singing without crying at that song.

- It's an emotional song.

- It is an emotional song.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Think about all the things that is coming new, but it's refreshing, and, you know, things that have gone past as well.

But anyway, I won't start crying now.

That'd be good.

- Eleanor, how has it been for you?

- It's been good now.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the first lockdown, because I kind of unpacked the suitcase, thrown it in the wardrobe and said that's it.

But I thought it'd be just for a couple of weeks.

So now I'm getting edgy again.

But I went back to painting pictures, and things like that again.

And I've managed to finish an album with John Sealey, the classical guitar player.

- Amazing peg.

Well, tell me a bit about that, yeah.

- We started two years ago in Meily Church, near a airport in Galway.

And actually we were socially distancing long before COVID ever happened, because it was just the two of us in the church for months recording the album.

So it was a really beautiful experience.

- You're gonna sing something.

What were you gonna sing today?

- Actually, the song's on the album as well, come to think of it.

It's a traditional Scottish song called "Dumbarton's Drums."

And it's a song I've loved for many years.

It was given to me by a song collector from the Hara Indiri called Joe Diamond.

And Joe, he's a great man.

From the day I was with you down, and you drink, Joe, have ya any songs?

And he'd give Mary and George Kane, myself, lose songs down through the years.

- Wow.

- Amazing.

- So, it's "Dumbarton's Drums."

[soft guitar music] ♪ Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny ♪ ♪ And they remind me of my Johnny ♪ ♪ Such fond delight could steal upon me ♪ ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ ♪ Across the fields of bounding heather ♪ ♪ Dumbarton tolls the hour of pleasure ♪ ♪ A song of love but without measure ♪ ♪ When Johnny kneels and sings to me ♪ ♪ Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny ♪ ♪ And they remind me of my Johnny ♪ ♪ Such fond delight could steal upon me ♪ ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ ♪ 'Tis he alone that can delight me ♪ ♪ His loving eyes, they doth invite me ♪ ♪ And when his tender arms enfold me ♪ ♪ The blackest night doth turn and flee ♪ ♪ Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny ♪ ♪ And they remind me of my Johnny ♪ ♪ Such fond delight could steal upon me ♪ ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ [soft guitar music continues] ♪ My Johnny is a handsome laddie ♪ ♪ And though he is Dumbarton's caddie ♪ ♪ Some day I'll be a captain's lady ♪ ♪ When Johnny tends his vow to me ♪ ♪ Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny ♪ ♪ And they remind me of my Johnny ♪ ♪ Such fond delight could steal upon me ♪ ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ ♪ Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny ♪ ♪ And they remind me of my Johnny ♪ ♪ Such fond delight could steal upon me ♪ ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ [Eleanor humming] ♪ When Johnny sings his songs for me ♪ [soft guitar music fades] - Of course.

- Thank you.

- So, everyone, thanks for inviting us to join in as well.

- I'm delighted, the more the merrier.

We had great kind of tempo string quartet on the album.

- Ah, Adrian.

- Adrian, yeah.

- What a great character he is.

- They're fabulous.

They played on quite a few tracks on the album.

- Did he?

- Yeah.

- Ah, the must've been fun.

He's a wonderful.

- Amazing.

- I was surrounded by brilliance, just like now.

- [Fiachna] Aofie and Andy, thanks so much.

- Thanks so much.

- Mike, thank you so much.

- My pleasure.

- Eleanor, thanks so much.

- It was a delight.

- Likewise.

For us, it's great.

- [Fiachna] We finish tonight's show with a very special dedication from David Kennan to his sadly departed band mate and friend, Gar Kane, who left us last year.

[soft guitar music] [soft guitar music continues] [soft guitar music continues] ♪ Where have you been ♪ He swore, son ♪ What have you seen ♪ Says the music's been gone ♪ I've been the well and back again ♪ ♪ Won't you give me a digger, my friend ♪ ♪ Where have you been ♪ You swore, son ♪ Did you see through the facts we are choosing to shun ♪ ♪ Though it cuts me right down to the core ♪ ♪ Though I love you now for more ♪ ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ Where are you now ♪ You swore, son ♪ Does you energy live in the last current song ♪ ♪ Please remind me of the onset of pain ♪ ♪ You're example will have to sustain ♪ ♪ Light of the train ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ No, his name was Gar Kane ♪ Memories and me ♪ All in all, it's still ♪ But your voice never faulter ♪ The Rock of Gibraltar ♪ Rid yourself of frustration and blame ♪ ♪ And borrow a smile ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ His name was Gar Kane ♪ Gar [soft guitar music continues] [soft instrumental music] - [Fiachna] "TradFest: The Dublin Castle Sessions," are funded in part by, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

[soft instrumental music continues] [logo whooshing] [soft instrumental music] [soft instrumental music]