Johnny Duhan, writer of 'The Voyage', has died

Hot Press is greatly saddened tonight to hear of the death of Johnny Duhan, the Limerick-born singer and songwriter. Johnny was best known as the writer of the song 'The Voyage', made famous by Christy Moore. However, in truth he had a long and varied career, which started out in his native Limerick when he was in his mid-teens.

Johnny, who was 74 years of age, had gone for a swim this morning at Silverstrand Beach, in Bearna, just outside Galway city. He was reported as missing just after 10am, when he didn't return home from the swim and his body was found at Rusheen Bay just after 1.30pm. Johnny Dunam's body was taken to University Hospital Galway for identification and a post-mortem examination.

In what seems to be a bizarre coincidence, a woman in her thirties also went missing today, having gone for a swim in Bearna. A search for her began, involving the Irish Coast Guard, Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the RNLI, as well as local boats and kayakers. However, dense fog made the conditions for the search difficult
and it was eventually abandoned this evening, as conditions became more treacherous. The search will continue in the morning.

Johnny Duhan first came to prominence as the lead singer with the band Granny's Intentions, a beat group formed by school friends in Limerick. They quickly established themselves as one of the most promising bands on the Irish scene, with Duhan – effectively the band leader – a charismatic presence out front. Heavily influenced by rhythm and blues, Tamla Motown – they played songs like 'Move On Up' and 'Dancing In The Streets' in their live set – and soul music, they also featured Jack Costello on bass guitar and John Ryan on organ, before adding Joe O'Donnell on lead guitar.

They left Limerick and came to Dublin, where Brian Tuite – who ran The Band Centre – became their manager. In 1967, the band moved to London, where they were signed to the Deram label. There was a huge level of expectation that they – along with Taste, Skid Row and then Thin Lizzy – might be Ireland's first breakthrough groups. In all, Granny's Intentions recorded four singles and one album with Deram between 1967 and '68. These included 'The Story of David', released in November 1967, with 'Sandy's On The Phone Again' on the b-side. The band appeared on mumerous RTÉ TV programmes, including The Late Late Show and Like Now. They had an Irish hit in 1968 with "Never An Everyday Thing', which reached No.7 in the charts.

The band returned to Ireland, from which base they recorded the album Honest Injun, which reflected an emerging interest in country rock. The band went through a number of line-up changes, morphing into Granny's New Intentions in 1970 with Pete Cummins and Ed Deane joining. The band returned to Ireland with an offer to make a second album with Deram still alive, but they eventually split in 1972. Johnny subsequently did acoustic gigs as part of the duo Johnny Duhan and Ed Deane aka Brogue and embarked on a solo career at the start of the 1980s.

He released a number of singles, working with some of the leading musicians and producers in Ireland. His material was collected on Family Album, released in 1991 on Round Tower Records. The album includes songs covered by Dolores Keane, Francie Conway, Mary Black, and of course Christy Moore – who had recorded the piece de resistance 'The Voyage', as the title track, on his 1989 album.

"I remember seeing Granny's Intentions in a beat club in Dublin and being blown away by them," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said this evening. "There was never any doubt about Johnny Duhan's talent. He was an electric presence out front and the band delivered soul and Motown songs with complete conviction. I thought they were amazing.

"I also loved seeing Johnny as a folk-rock act, with Ed Deane on guitar. I have an impression of them doing Grateful Dead songs and being heavily influenced by Bob Dylan and The Band. I thought they were a bit special."

And then, of course, there was 'The Voyage'. "With no maps to guide us/ We steered our own course," the second verse runs, "Rode out the storms/ When the winds were gale force/ Sat out the doldrums/ In patience and hope/ Working together we learned how to cope."

Christy Moore's version was afforded lots of radio play and it became a staple in his live set, making it – for a long time – one of Ireland's best-known songs.

"It is a geuinely lovely song," Niall Stokes added. "It captures the sense that people who love one another and stay together for the long haul very often feel: that the journey of life is something they are lucky enough to be able to share with a partner, a lover, a friend, and the children that join the crew along the way. Anyone who has written a song like that has contributed in a significant way to the sum of human happiness."

Johnny Duhan is survived by his wife Maureen, his five children, his siblings, his grandchildren and his wider family.