Irish Frenzy

This is likely to be my last post for a week or so. If all goes according to plan I will be seeing Tom Russell at the Luminaire tomorrow night and will then head off to Ireland for two day's work followed by three day's leisure.

To get me in the mood, and to tide you over until I return, here are seven Irish recordings (one for each of the drunken nights the Dubliners sang about). They come in all shapes and sizes, from the literate indie pop of Microdisney and A House to the beautiful traditional singing of Cara Dillon, and culminate in Dickie Rock draining the life blood from the Pogues' "Rainy Night in Soho".

Here they are in chronological order:

"For Josephine" - David McWilliams (from "David McWilliams Volume 2", 1967)

"The Westmeath Bachelor" - Joe Dolan (single, 1968)

"Buffalo Gal" - Thin Lizzy (from "Shades of a Blue Orphanage", 1972)

"This Liberal Love" - Microdisney (from "Everybody Is Fantastic", 1984)

"Endless Art" - A House (from "I Am The Greatest", 1991)

"Brockagh Braes" - Cara Dillon (from "After The Morning", 2006)

"Rainy Night In Soho" - Dickie Rock (from "Sings Contemporary Irish Hits", 2007)

As a bonus, here is an excellent clip of the late lamented Joe performing "Westmeath Bachelor". I defy you not to jig along with this. I am trying to persuade Mister F that we should visit Mullingar this weekend to see the statue they have erected to their home town hero - which even has its own blog - but I am not sure I am going to succeed.