To mark the first anniversary of the death of local musician and farmer, Jackie Dan Jerry O’Connor, a special gathering of fellow musicians is being arranged for Kearney’s Bar tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 20th at 9pm.
Jackie’s anniversary actually falls today, November 19th.
This special event is being organised around the regular Tuesday night session in Kearney’s – a session which Jackie was hugely instrumental in getting off the ground when Betty O’Connell took control of the taps there in August 2015.
The music will begin at 9pm on the night and all are welcome.
Popular or Profitable
Jackie was playing traditional music in Castleisland long before it became popular or profitable.
One night in Sheila Prendiville’s we reconvened for a chat and he recalled the days when another man with a triple name, Dan Paddy Andy O’Sullivan would call for him.
“He’d call on his way down to town on fair days and we’d land into the house here and it used to be packed,” Jackie recalled.
Old Bachelors and Women
“There would be old bachelors and women here waiting to be matched and Dan would want me to play for them.
“He’d be watching them while they’d be dancing to see how they’d be getting on and there’d be whiskey flying all day.
They’d be here from Scart and Cordal and all the places around and they’d be mad for polkas and they used to go home dropping sweat,” said Jackie.
World Wide Exposure
As for world wide exposure: There are photographs and miles of film footage of Jackie and the late Dan Jeremiah O’Connor in every corner of the world from their time as musicians in residence at Muckross Traditional Farm in Killarney.
They also toured with the Castleisland twinning group to Bannalec in 2006 and brought home some great stories about Breton dinner times.
It wasn’t so much about the stories he told, in Jackie’s case, it most certainly was the way he told them.
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