It’s not The Dubliners, anyway. While no doubt everyone knows The Dubliners ‘Seven Drunken Nights’ from 1967, this Tom Archia tune from 1948 always raises a smile too. You’d have to get a chuckle out of Wikipedias piece on ‘Seven Drunken Nights’, stating that: “Each night is a verse, followed by a chorus, in which the narrator comes home in a drunken state to find evidence of another man having been with his wife, which she explains away, not entirely convincingly”
While it’s far more likely The Dubliners learned the basis of Seven Drunken Nights from Joe Heaney and the Irish language Peigin is Peadar, this is brilliant.
That time of the year again, when the Irish Film Institute roll out their annual Stranger Than Fiction festival. “Four days of documentaries that promise to entertain, inform and inspire” You can check out the complete line up over on the official IFI website, here.
Among the latest in the IFI Archive screenings, I am very, very excited about The Irish or the Memory of a People. Commissioned by French broadcaster ORFT3 in the early 1970s, this one was filmed at the height of the folk and trad revival in this country. It features performances from the likes of The Dubliners, Tony MacMahon, Willie Clancy and even Planxty. The Planxty footage was recorded at UCD Belfield campus, so bad jumpers and beards can be expected from the student folkies. The documentary features footage from inside Dublin trad and folk haunts like the Pipers Club, but indeed is much broader in scope than just the capital city.
The film will be shown on the 18th April (a Sunday) at 12.15
I’m also really excited by this one, which is getting its International Premiere in Dublin. I’m sure it will appeal to our own jaycarax and other fans of subcultures like it. From the time I heard ESG and Talking Heads in the trailer to when I read that Debbie Harry of Blondie fame is narrating the documentary, I’ve been on a google quest over this one.
“In the late 1970s New York City was teetering on the edge of total chaos. A failed economy, crime and en masse housing corruption gave way to a city in crisis. Yet, as is often the case, out of the economic and social strife that held the city hostage, a family of homegrown cultures that would forever change the world began to emerge and thrive”
This one will be shown on Friday the 16th April, with a 18.45 start. The producer, Michael Holman, will be on hand for a Q&A session afterwards.
Two very different documentaries.
Two very different cultures.
I’d very much like to welcome the Skytec vinyl player to the Fallon household. She’s a gem. You take a 7″ vinyl, give her a spin, and via Audacity – there it is. An MP3 file. Put the song in your pocket, put it on Youtube, do what you will- you have it now. Brilliant.
So this morning, the younger lad finds Santa left this thing. A few hours later, and I’ve already hijacked it.
The ‘Official Millenium Single‘, on 7″ vinyl, has been sitting in my room for some time now. My Dad built up a great collection of 7″ traditional vinyls, ranging from the likes of Planxty and Jim Page to one off oddities like ‘The Magnificent Seven’, a rushed out propaganda type tune about the seven prisioners who escaped from the Maidstone in Belfast. All these records offer interesting historical insight. What better place to start however, seeing as this is a “Dublin blog”, than with the Millenium Single of the capital, issued in 1988 by K-Tel.
The Official Millennium Anthem- Performed By The ‘Band Of Dubs’
The Record
Performers list: Paddy Moloney (Chieftains)
Maire Ní Bhráionáin (Clannad)
Leslie Dowdall (In Tua Nua)
Maura O’ Connell
Mary Black
Finbar Furey
Johnny Logan
Jim McCann
Christy Moore
Paul Brady
Colm Wilkinson
Ronnie Drew
Shay Healy
Tony Kelly
The Dubliners
The Fureys/Davey Arthur
While Side A, a performence of ‘Molly Malone’ does nothing for me, Side B is absolutely fantastic. A spoken word performance from the late Ronnie Drew. Witty as ever, I recommend you give it a listen. It’s amazing this 7″ hasn’t found its way online before now.
And the day we went to the Phoenix Park
To look at the deer and sit in the grass.
And you held my hand and asked for a kiss
But I wouldn’t give in, cause I knew it was a mortal sin.
And then you said you loved me and promised a ring.
Do you remember Jem? Do I remember, will I ever forget?
SIDE A: Band Of Dubs- Molly Malone
SIDE B: Ronnie Drew- Jem
Of course, with a large enough collection of vinyl, the dad couldn’t originally be entirely sure of the backstory on this one. The back of the 7″ however notes that “All royalties from this single go to ALONE” ALONE is a “voluntary action group” that was founded by Dublin firefighter Willie Bermingham. By this logic, I presume it was through the job that this vinyl arrived in the household originally.
In the Dublin Fire Brigade museum you can find a great piece Willie wrote about himself hanging on the wall, which I’ve always considered one of the best examples of Dublin wit I’ve laid eyes on:
Joined the Dublin Fire Brigade in 1964 and spent a long time pushing for the pension. Favourite food, good old irish stew and lots of fish. For breakfast – several mugs of tea at work. Also loves to eat lots of red tape to teach the bureaucrats a little manners.
Classic. So anyway, give this 7″ a play. Side B in particular.
Lastly, if you have a copy of the complete album ‘Official Dublin Millenium Album: Dublin Songs’ issued by K-Tel (cat no. Dub1000) on vinyl, get in touch!
Now run off to Tower Records to nab yourself a Skytech 😉 Expect plenty more posts like this in the coming months.
ALONE still exists today and can be found online HERE
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 