Remembering Dessie and the Brennan’s Bar Tour to Inishbofin in 2003

On The Pound Road: Eamon Fleming and Rose Cahill-Halsall pictured on the road made famous by Dessie O’Halloran’s CD title. Photograph: John Reidy 7-6-2003

Detail of the stonework on the window of the 14th century old ruins of St. Colman’s church and cemetery on Inishbofin, Photograph: John Reidy 7-6-2003

On the ferry from Cleggan to Inishbofin: The late Seán Brennan and Con ‘Rocky’ Roche. Photograph: John Reidy 6-6-2003

The late Jackie Dan Jerry O’Connor, Castleisland and the late Dessie O’Halloran in Day’s bar on Inishbofin. Photograph: John Reidy 6-6-2003

The 14th century old ruins of St. Colman’s church and cemetery on Inishbofin, Photograph: John Reidy 7-6-2003

Home and dry and wetting the whistle: Members of the Brennan’s Bar delegation in Day’s Bar on Inishbofin soon after arrival. Con ‘Rocky’ Roche (left) with the partly hidden Eamon Fleming, Cathleen Reidy, Mike Kenny RIP and Seán Brennan, RIP. Photograph: John Reidy 6-6-2003

The late Mike Kenny pictured with the O’Connor brothers, Jerry and Joe and their cousin Philip on the ferry to Inishbofin. Photograph: John Reidy 6-6-2003

Bofin on a beautiful day in June 2003. Photograph: John Reidy 7-6-2003

The late Jackie Dan Jerry O’Connor, Castleisland and the late Dessie O’Halloran getting down to business in Day’s Bar on Inishbofin. Photograph: John Reidy 6-6-2003

There are times when I wonder a lot about the Man above – He who pulls all our strings and I’m often highly impressed with his sense of humour.

Danny O’Mahony invited me to drop into the Radio Kerry studios on Monday night as he was doing a Desmond ‘Dessie’ O’Halloran special on his Trip to the Cottage progamme.

Guests from Bofin

He had guests from Inishbofin on during the first half of the programme and Seán Aybeta and myself sat down out in the hallway and chatted about Dessie’s life and times and the music of the island.

During our trips to Bofin in 2003 and ’04 and so on we got to know a lovely gentleman by the name of Michael Burke.

Birthday Coincidence

He was one of Dessie’s close friends on the island and he’d play the odd tune too and, in fact, there’s a photograph of the two of them together on the sleeve of the Pound Road CD.

Seán told me that Michael died on the day of Dessie’s birthday a few years ago and Dessie died last week on what would have been Michael’s birthday.

I then told Seán that, as we spoke, Monday, October 7^th would have been Seán Brennan’s 80^th. birthday.

Oldest Pop Star in Ireland

And that brought us around to the Brennan’s Bar tour to Inishbofin in June 2003 and the memories.

We then joined Danny in the ‘live’ studio space and spoke of our recollections of the most gentle and probably oldest pop-star in Ireland in the history of these matters.

I recall him joking one day in the back corner of Tig Chóilí in Galway that he was almost 60 when fame finally came his way. That was as Say You Love Me took the country like old Storm Lorenzo did last week during Dessies funeral.

Spoke Fondly of Castleisland

I met his companion, Mary at his funeral in Galway last week and she told me that he always spoke fondly of the people of Castleisland and how well he was looked after and treated here.

A lot of that is down to the likes Rose Halsall, Johnny Cahill, Mary Jones, Mike Kenny, Mary and the late Seán Brennan.

Above all, I suppose, it was down to the likeable, gentlemanly way he had about him.

As we shove ever closer to the 2019 Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival I thought I’d share that with the people of this Island down here.