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Ireland – A Nation That Speaks With Their Ears

If you’re anything like me, when you see those distinctive white headphones in the distance you sometimes wonder about what those people are listening to on their iPods.

What’s that guy beside me on the bus listening to? How about that girl sitting across from me on the train, or how about the guy rhythmically nodding his head in the queue at the local post office? Well, chances are they are listening to the Kings of Leon.

That’s right, IRMA (Irish Recorded Music Industry) has confirmed that this year’s Oxegen headliners, the Kings of Leon, were indeed the biggest selling artists in Ireland last year, going five times platinum with their fourth album ‘Only by the Night’. Considering that the album was only released in September, that’s not bad going for the Nashville rockers. The album has so far spawned more than its fair share of hit singles, the anthemic ‘Sex on Fire’ and the touching ‘Use Somebody’ to name but a few, and sales of the album will no doubt continue for many months to come yet.

Top of the singles chart was The Galway Girl written by Steve Earle and recorded by Sharon Shannon and Mundy. Time for all you Bulmers Cider drinkers, latter manufactured in Co.Tipperary, to raise a glass in celebration of your adopted anthem. It was the highest selling single and also interestingly enough, in a musical era defined by downloads (both legal and illegal), The Galway Girl was the most downloaded song in 2008.

So who is in line for the 2009 crown? Well it’s probably too early to say, but it’s a brave man who will ignore the fact that a certain Dublin band called U2 recently released a new album this year.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see will the Irish nation again speak with their ears.

Susan Boyle – A Parable In a Modern Day World

The very emotional powerhouse performance by Scottish amateur singer Susan Boyle’s show stopping rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the show Les Misérables is certainly a modern parable and a stiff rebuke to all of us with tendencies to judge others, based solely on visual physical appearance.

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Before Susan sang, both the audience, the judges, and I am sure most of us, the 10.3 million viewers of this third series of Britain’s Got Talent, expressed scepticism, based on what we saw as her unpolished appearance and obvious shy awkwardness.

Then she opened her mouth and viewers, judges and the live audience gasped, as a phoenix rose from the ashes of what we now know, previously for her, was a life of disappointment, sadness and heartbreak.

Susan Boyle lives alone in a row of houses with her cat Pebbles, a drab existence in one of Scotland’s poorest regions. She cared for her widowed mother for years, never married and sings in church and at karaoke nights at her local pub. Locals knew she could sing, but now through Twitter, YouTube, and countless other blog postings, so does everyone else.

Born the youngest of nine children in a devout Roman Catholic family, she grew up in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas, a district blighted by unemployment, crime and social problems. This area has suffered a great deal since the local British Leyland car plant shut down in the 1980s. Susan is a keen amateur singer, and performs in church choirs and school plays and is a regular on the karaoke circuit in Blackburn and the nearby town of Bathgate. She claims her mother, Bridget, had encouraged her to enter “Britain’s Got Talent” but it was not until after her death that she plucked up the courage to try her luck.

Susan’s millions of fans must now wait to see whether she makes it through the next rounds of this show, but bookmakers have made her the firm favorite to win, offering a Susan Boyle victory with 5-2 odds. However, whether she wins or not Susan has cemented her status as a singing star with an invitation to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the reported setting up of a contract by Simon Cowell with his Syco Music company label, which is a a subsidiary of Sony Music.

Susan Boyle’s story is most definitely a victory for talent and artistry in a modern day culture totally obsessed with physical attractiveness.

Thurles St Patrick’s Day Parade

The Thurles St.Patrick’s Day Parade 2009 was the biggest parade yet in the history of the town, with well over 70% of the local population turning out in the warm Spring sunshine to view over sixty floats taking part. Click the play button on the video below and have a look!

St Patricks Day Thurles 2009 from George Willoughby on Vimeo.

(Music for the video is called “Sweeney’s Buttermilk” by FIMM.)

So who was St. Patrick?

Patrick was a young middle class Roman, but Britain born Christian missionary, born at Banna Venta Berniae, Cumbria, England, (Roman name Banna Venta Berniae translates as “the peninsula with a market place by the mountains”) and is the patron saint of Ireland. When he was about sixteen, he was captured and taken by traders as a slave to northern Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, and remained a captive for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He later writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.

He was educated at a monastery school of divinity founded by Saint Illtud, often called “the oldest university in the world”. After entering the church, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary to the north and west of the Ireland, but little is known about the places where he worked and no link can be made between Patrick and any particular church. By the eighth century he had become the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish monastery system evolved from after the time of Patrick and the day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan monk and scholar Luke Wadding.

Patrick died in AD 461, a date accepted by some modern historians and March 17th, popularly known as St. Patrick’s Day and celebrated through out the world, is believed to be his death date and thus is the date celebrated as his feast day.

St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba.

From the people of Thurles, “A happy St Patrick’s Day to you all”

Pat Shortt – Tipperary Person Of The Year 2009

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‘Das Riiiight’, it’s official folks, Irelands most popular comedian and Thurles native, Pat Shortt has been named Tipperary Person of the Year by the Tipperary Association in Dublin. Pat will be presented with his award on April 3rd, along with former Tipperary inter-county goalkeeper Tony Reddin, who won this year’s Tipperary Association Hall of Fame award.

The popular “Killinaskully” star on receiving the news of his award, stated modestly:-

“I have won a few awards recently but this one is the most important. It’s great to be recognised at home by your own peers and from your own county. I’m very proud of my County and Thurles where I hail from”.

Born in Kickham Street, Thurles, son of well known Primary school teacher Christopher Shortt, Pat was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Thurles before going on to the College of Art in Limerick. It was there he met Jon Kenny from which saw the birth of the popular comedy duo D’Unbelievables and the familiar comment “das riiight”.

An actor of note, Pat as stated has appeared with Druid Theatre Company in their production of Martin McDonough’s “The Lonesome West”. Movie titles include ‘Angela Money Dies Again’ (with Mia Farrow), ‘This Is My Father‘ (with Brendan Gleeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rae and James Caan) ,’The Closer You Get” (with Ian Harte, Niamh Cusack and Sean McGinley) and in ‘Man About Dog‘ written by Belfast-born Pearse Eliot. Most recently Pat played the role of Wheeler McCoy in the movie ‘Strength & Honour’ as well as the lead role of “Josie” in the afore mentioned movie ‘Garage‘. Garage is the second feature from director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. It picked up the CICAE Art and Essai Cinema Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Pat also won an IFTA award for best actor in “Garage” at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

Also a very accomplished musician Pat has recorded with many bands and toured extensively in the U.S. with the brass section of ‘The Saw Doctors’. In 2006, he scored a huge hit in Ireland with the song “The Jumbo Breakfast Roll” The song was a number one hit in Ireland for six weeks with sales going 4 times platinum.

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Television credits include Tom in Fr. Ted, (Channel 4) and Bobby in The Fitz (BBC) however it was his many characters in “Killinaskully” which made him a household name in every Irish home.

For those of you who have not yet seen the genius of Pat Short live do not fear, hereunder are some of the venue’s at which he will be performing Shortt-ly

6th & 7th March – Royal Theatre Castlebar

13th, 14th & 15th March – INEC Killarney

19th, 20th & 21st March – Forum Waterford

25th & 26th March – River Side Park Hotel Enniscorthy

Just Can’t Get Enough Of Una Healy

If you ever had any doubts about Una Healy‘s recent flirtation with the charts as a member of girl group The Saturday’s, then your eyes will simply struggle to comprehend what they are seeing on TV’s seemingly infinite array of music channels over the next few months. Yes, our Una has officially stamped her rightful place in music TV’s video rotation playlists for ever, with her group’s cover of the 80’s super hit ‘Just Can’t Get Enough‘ originally made famous by electronic pop synth impresarios, Depeche Mode.

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Una Healy and her ‘Saturdays‘ follow in the illustrious footsteps of The Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Boyzone and Westlife (see the Irish connection there), as their single has been chosen as the lead Charity Single for this year’s Comic Relief campaign in the UK. Comic Relief raises millions of pounds each and every year for charitable causes. Every year it’s always the red nose days and the charity singles that stand out and to have your single chosen as a front for a whole charity campaign is a major coup for Una and The Saturdays. The continued success of this Thurles girl is surely guaranteed, and that should be enough to put a smile on anyone’s face, or even in this case anyone’s nose.