Castlebar

We got up this morning all feeling better after a decent night’s sleep. Made some breakfast and worked on some new sets. One of them a set of slides that we’d intended to work on. Saw that Maria in Wesport had tried to call and after a couple of attempts, hers and ours, got hold of her. She tells us she worked out with a friend of hers that hosts a program on local radio and wants to interview us and play live on the show……..for 2 hours. We’re flattered and also a bit concerned but 2 hours? We’re to meet the host of the show tonight so we’ll see exactly what she has in mind.

As we were driving up Pontun Rd. just seeing the countryside, which is gorgeous, we get a call from Padraig telling us he has us booked to play in one of the rooms at Matt Molloy’s from 6-8 on Sunday and then sessions after that. I ask him if he’s joking and he assures me he isn’t. He tells me that as soon as the music starts for us in Westport we’re going to be very busy lads! Wow! Ya think? So we’re off to Westport tonight to meet Padraig at Maria’s tonight and then we’re off for a session at The Quay’s down on the waterfront in Westport. Man, are we going to have fun!

We Arrive in Ireland

We arrived at Shannon airport approx. 5:30 am. Great to get out of the airplane and stretch the legs. Great to be back in Ireland. I have an affinity for this land. It just speaks to me and I feel really good being here. It’s not just the music either, but the ambiance of the entirety of place. We’re now on the M18 heading north toward Galway and we’ll be stopping in Gort for some breakfast. The sky is blue, the sun is out; it’s dead gorgeous. Spoke too soon. The sun disappeared and its now typical Irish early spring. Chilly. We drove to Gort grabbed a nice breakfast. We’re sitting down to table and James bangs it with his long legs and makes a fairly loud racket. Immediately the waitress cracks, “Ya best be careful you might need that for later,” implying that he’d best not hurt his knee. There’s that razor sharp Irish wit we love so well. We drove up to Clarenbridge and found Tom’s shop straight off. He was glad to see us and us him. Don got his new banjo and it’s a beauty with a sound that will feckin’ make you weep as you stand with your fingers in your ears. It’s a cannon! After hanging out at Tom’s onward to Castlebar.