John Sheahan and Dermot Bolger in Conversation: a Review
Greenacres
We all heard the warnings - under no circumstances, except the most essential, should anyone venture outdoors during Storm Jorge.
But maybe the possibility of being entertained by Dubliner John Sheahan and poet and novelist Dermot Bolger having a chat and a laugh together could easily be regarded as an essential reason for travel.
And the sizeable crowd that turned up at Greenacres for the event, organised by Craobh Loch Garman Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann and their PR man Senan O’Reilly, were royally rewarded for braving the weather with a ninety-minute mix of unscripted wit, humour, anecdotes, poems and stories, and, from Sheahan, some delightful music on tin-whistle and fiddle.
The two men clearly share an affinity, but maybe they work best together because they are different people too. Bolger has been a lifelong novelist and poet, with several accolades under his belt, while Sheahan has only came to poetry in recent years. Bolger is the more animated, almost becoming excited in his retelling of his upbringing and his connections with Wexford, his father working on steam packets plying out to sea from Wexford Quay. His poetry is generously long, with captivating twists and turns. By contrast, Sheahan is measured and laconic, his poetry crisp and focused, and his stories about the various members of The Dubliners never-ending.
He read poems about Ronnie Drew and told stories about the eccentricities of Barney McKenna. He was equally illuminating in explaining where tunes come from, demonstrating to the entranced audience how one tune started with him copying the four notes he heard from his son’s sighing yawn, and which he was initially tempted to call ‘The Yawning of The Day’. The audience hummed contentedly along to his renowned composition ‘The Marino Waltz’, and he displayed his dextrous fiddle-player by reinterpreting ‘Happy Birthday to You’ in a baroque classical style.
What was noticeable about both men was, despite their successes, a deep humility and an ability to laugh at themselves and each other. The audience at Greenacres laughed too and lapped it all up.
Jackie Hayden
