The saga of Sharon Shannon’s drunk-driving court case has finally come to a close. Regular readers will recall that, having heard sworn testimony from Leo Healy (who admitted to having been driving Shannon’s car on the night, to not having insurance and to having consumed ten pints of Guinness before getting behind the wheel), from Shannon herself and from Frankie Lane (who was a passenger in the car and confirmed that Healy was the driver), Judge Mary Fahy told the courtroom that “telling lies under oath is considered minor by these people” before finding Shannon guilty. Happily, the conviction was overturned on appeal on May 18; unhappily, the success of the appeal was due to a technicality, which meant that Shannon didn’t get the full vindication that she deserved. Neverthless, she’s pleased with the result, and has released the following statement:
“I am delighted with today’s decision by the court to grant my appeal. It has been a very stressful time for me personally and for all of my friends involved with this case and it is a welcome relief that it has now come to a satisfactory end. While I did not get the opportunity today to state my case, I would like to point out that I was telling the truth when I told the court I was not driving the car at the time of the accident. It is important for me to restore my personal integrity and character in the eyes of the public. I want people to know that I hold the truth in the highest regard. I am glad this personal ordeal is over and I thank my legal team, my friends and the many hundreds of people from around the country who contacted me to offer support. I now want to put this unfortunate incident behind me and get on with my life and my music.”
John Spillane has been in the studio over the past wee while, recording the soundtrack for the new animated film The Boy With No Story by Brown Bag Films (who also made 2003’s Oscar-nominated Give Up Yer Auld Sins). As well as writing the background music, John wrote and sang the song ‘What’s The Story Rory’ for the film. In between touring, writing and recording, he’s still doing his radio show for RnaG – ‘Rogha John Spillane’, broadcast from 9.30 to 10.30 every Sunday night through the end of June. On the songwriting front, Christy Moore, Karan Casey, Sharon Shannon and Sean Keane have all recorded Spillane-penned compositions over the past year. John’s new album is scheduled to appear later in 2004, and it should be a cracker if the last one, Will We Be Brilliant Or What, is anything to go by.
An innovative new touring fund is enabling two of trad’s top bands to go back to their roots, playing concerts in areas that don’t often get the chance to present ‘name’ bands. Altan and Cliar (winners of Best Album at the first Scots Trad Music Awards in Edinburgh last year) are to tour the Highlands and islands of Scotland as part of the Scottish Arts Council’s new ‘Tune UP’ scheme – and major support from the St. Columba Initiative (Iomairt Colmchille ) has meant that the tour will extend into Northern Ireland and through the Donegal, Cork and Galway Gaeltachts. Other supporting organisations include Scotland’s newly-formed Bord na Gaidhlig, Live Music Now! (founded by Yehudi Menuhin with the aim of taking music to people and places not usually able to access live perfomances – which puts me in mind of a possibly apocryphal story about that esteemed violinist being introduced in Donegal as Hiúdaí McMenamin), and HI-Arts, formed by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise network to support arts development in the area.
Accompanying the two bands will be young musicians Seosamh Ó Neachtáin (accordion and sean nós dancing), Eamon Doorley (fiddle and bouzouki player with Danú), Julie Fowlis (singer, piper and whistle player with the young Scottish group Dochas) and Kathleen Graham (singer and clarsach player with up-and-coming Scots band Brolum), who will present workshops in local schools exploring the links between the traditions of Ireland and Scotland. The Irish leg of the tour starts in Belfast on June 9, then moves on to Derry, Glenties (Co. Donegal), Clonbur (Co. Galway), Inveran (Co. Galway) and Cul Aodha (Co. Cork). For more info, see or . It all sounds like a brilliant concept – and wouldn’t it be great if our own Arts Council established a similar scheme?
Michael Rooney and June McCormack launched their excellent debut CD as a duo, Draíocht (see review elsewhere in this issue of hotpress), with a gig at Mustang’s/Kloisters in Cavan Town on May 21 that also served as a fundraiser for the County Fleadh in Killeshandra. The evening started off with an all-kids “performance session” (which sounds to me like an oxymoron if ever there was one, but that’s Comhaltas for you). Rooney and McCormack then gave a brief 45-minute recital, and a general session followed (with the two stars of the show in the thick of it, naturally).
Two players who are well known to American audiences but rarely make it to this side of the pond are coming over to Ireland for a number of shows in June. The great fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Ged Foley are bandmates in both the Celtic Fiddle Festival and Patrick Street, so it’s not suprising that they’ve opted to do some duo touring as well. Still revered by tradheads for his work with the Bothy Band, Burke has made his home for many years now in Portland, Oregon. Foley was born in Yorkshire to Irish parents, and has been a member of The House Band and The Battlefield Band; most recently, he toured the US with fiddler John Carty. Their Irish tour kicks off on June 13 with a gig at The Lobby in Cork, then continues on through Clare, Dublin, Roscommon, Belfast, Galway and Mayo before finishing up in Listowel, Co. Kerry, on June 24. For more information, visit .
Nollaig Casey and Arty McGlynn will be the featured guests on June 19 at the final concert this season for the Carlovian Traditional Irish Music Club. Founded four years ago by Ger and Janet Moloney along with Dave and Michelle Sheridan, the club runs from November to June at the Carlovian Top Bar in Tullow Street, Carlow, and was established, Ger tells me, “for two reasons – to provide top quality Irish music for Carlow audiences and secondly, more selfishly, to invite our own musical heroes to perform in our own back yard as it were!” With a capacity of only 50 and no amplification, the club provides for an intimate musical experience. “The atmosphere is quite unique,” says Ger, “and we’ve had many exciting performers over the past few years, including Matt Molloy, John Carty, Alec Finn, Zoë Conway, Derek Hickey, Harry Bradley and Tommy Peoples.” The gig starts at 9.30 on Saturday, June 19 and admission is €10. For more info, ring Ger on (087) 783 3471.
Marcas Ó Murchú will be hosting a new series of twelve hour-long programmes on RTÉ/RnaG every Monday at 7.02pm, beginning on June 14. He says it’ll be a “mixture of great traditional and unusual material with many unheard tracks from the present day and musicians from the past.” Don’t forget to tune in.

Musicians and singers with news to share can e-mail Sarah on [email protected]