Our columnist (and country music fan) Frank was disappointed with this year’s annual Late Late Country Special; he reports on Sligo’s busy hospitality sector… and has an update on Creggs Rugby Club’s 50th anniversary plans
One of the things you know about me by now is that I am a fan of country music, and I cannot deny that as I watched all the advertisements for Friday night’s Late Late Country Music Special, I got more and more excited and couldn’t wait for the night to come.
Funny enough, when it actually came, I was, as they say, otherwise engaged – and didn’t get to see the show at all. However, thanks to the great modern technique of recording stuff, I recorded it all and on Sunday afternoon (today, as I write) I parked myself in front of the telly and with bated breath waited to see the magic that Patrick Kielty had been promising all week.
Another thing that you know about me is that I have been a Manchester United supporter since 1963, and even though they are now in the middle of a very long slump, I still maintain a strong interest in their results and would seldom miss a chance to watch them live on the box. And yet on Sunday, even though they were playing against Aston Villa, and it was being shown on Sky Sports, I didn’t bother with it, but instead opted to catch up with the country music show. To tell the truth, it was extremely disappointing.
Now I know that wee Daniel is undoubtedly the biggest Irish country music star, and he is a nice fellow and good fun, but surely the time has come where some other stars could be wheeled out.
Host Kielty told us at the start that we were going to meet three of the biggest Irish female stars of all time, i.e. Susan McCann, Philomena Begley and Margo. Knowing that Philomena, in particular, is a great character, I was really looking forward to hearing what she had to say. Sadly, while it was nice to see Susan McCann getting inducted into the Irish country music Hall of Fame, an award richly deserved after 50 years on the road, there was literally no interview at all with Philomena, and the three women got to sing one verse of ‘Sonny’s Dream’ (Sonny don’t go away) while sitting down on a couch with not a single microphone between them.
Derek Ryan, with the The Kilfenora Céilí Band, Jimmy and Claudia Buckley, got to perform complete songs, but most of the featured artists like Cliodhna Hagan, Michael English, Mikeen Denver and Lisa McHugh (great to see her back) only got to sing bits of songs.
I wonder how happy they would have been at the fact Shona McGarty, an actress in Eastenders, got to sing the full version of ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ with the aforementioned wee Daniel?
Surely it would have been much more useful if some young up and coming Irish singer – like Emma Donohue or Sabrina Fallon – got the chance to share the stage with the Donegal superstar. The exposure would have to be of more benefit to someone like them, rather than to a well established soap actress.
However, even though I wasn’t overly impressed, it seems that Mayo man Garron Noone was the big winner on the night, and he is getting great reaction all over the country after his appearance. Anyway, according to Galway Beo, which I saw just now, I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed with the show, as, according to them the viewers left the programme in droves. I wonder why the likes of Nathan Carter, Foster and Allen or Robert Mizzell weren’t there? I suppose everyone can’t make this type of show, but next year I hope it’s a bit better. Over to you, Patrick.
Suite success for Sligo hotels
It’s back to Saturday morning (as I write)… and as the rain poured down, Carol and myself hit for Sligo, where we were due to meet up with all of our immediate family for a night away in the Sligo Park Hotel.
For some reason we seem to have adopted Sligo as our home away from home, because in the last three months or so this will have been our third visit to the north-western town. We had stayed in the Glasshouse and Raddison hotels previously – and were more than happy with each of them – but this was to be our first stay in the Sligo Park.
Everyone (in our party) arrived in dribs and drabs as they were coming from all over, but by the time we sat down for dinner in the evening, we had our full complement of 14 people (ten adults and four grandchildren). Now everywhere you open up a paper or a magazine nowadays all we see is how the hospitality sector is in so much trouble, and down in Cork the closure after 73 years’ trading of Jackie Lennox’s famous chipper is making national headlines. Well, on our three visits to Sligo we have seen no sign of any type of slowdown.
Our respective stays in the Glasshouse and the Raddison were on midweek nights, and both hotels were fully booked, if relatively quiet on the social side. But on Saturday night, the Sligo Park was absolutely buzzing; there was an 80th birthday party, a 90th one, and an 18th all taking place in different private venues, while the public bar, where there was a one-man band playing music, was also choc-a-bloc.
Throw in the fact that the dining room was more or less completely booked out, as was the bar with its separate food menu, and the overriding feeling was that the hotel was flat out.
Compared to some time ago, there is no doubt that prices have risen quite a bit, but nonetheless all of these Sligo hotels seem to be bucking the national trend, and appear to be thriving. After Covid doing away with a lot of public house entertainment, it was great to see the one-man band in action. By the time I was heading off to my early bed, the singers and dancers were in full flow, and I am sure they were sorry that I didn’t get to show the Sligo punters my renowned dancing skills. Maybe next time.
Anyway, as we all bailed out on Sunday morning, we were in unanimous agreement that we all thoroughly enjoyed our Saturday night out. Some enjoyed it a bit more than others, but that’s for another time.
50 years of Creggs rugby
50 years ago a few young lads met for a few pints in Dowd’s, Glinsk, and over an hour or two (or maybe even three or four) the idea of a rugby club in Creggs was floated.
This year sees that club’s 50th anniversary, and to mark the occasion a remarkable commemorative 566-page hardback book is being published. As I write this on Monday morning I am told the book will be launched in the new clubrooms on Saturday, 16th of November at 7.30 pm.
Now the rise and rise of Creggs Rugby Club has been well documented, and as I have mentioned many times, the facilities that it now has are second to none in the whole country. The many club teams are all going well, but most importantly the underage structures are in place to ensure that, long after the young lads who had those pints in Dowd’s in 1974 are gone, the club will still stand and be in a good place to stride into the future and see out the next 50 years.
Nowadays there are 650 active club members, which is about eight times the population of the village, and some of us elder lemons who met for those few pints in Glinsk have to pinch ourselves when we see what the club has actually become.
The book itself has been over a year in planning and preparation, under the expert eyes of Pauline Scott, editor, and renowned Meath footballer, All-Ireland medal winner and journalist, Liam Hayes, and I am sure their efforts will result in a fantastic and memorable production. If you want to get your copy on the launch night, give Jimmy O’Connor (087/2460542) or Ray Richardson (086/8036553) a ring by October 15th
or you will be disappointed and going home empty-handed.
And finally…
Over there in Atlanta, Georgia there is lots of footage doing the rounds of two robbers dropping through the ceiling of a check cashing store, after cutting through the roof with power tools, before making off with $150,000.
The only thing that bothers me is, seeing that the shop was open, why didn’t they just walk in the door? Anyway, it was certainly more ‘exciting’ to see the lads fall in through the ceiling – as I don’t suppose we’d ever have heard about it if they just walked in and took the money. It’s a strange world!
