Laurence and my cousin Paul were fie years older than me and were like rock stars They were in a real band, a rock band, playing Doobie Brothers and Rory Gallagher and other great music. I wanted to be a drummer but so did my friend Denis. Denis and I had decided to start a band before either of us played anything. So Laurence gave Denis an old snare drum and that one small gesture sealed our musical fate. Soon I was playing guitar with Paul and Denis was furiously drumming in his back shed. (Denis remains an excellent drummer and I think we chose the right paths)

A few years later Laurence got me the job as roadie for his band “Rule the Roost” another band years ahead of their time. Then suddenly we were in the same band. That early version of the Pyros was rough and ready and as much fun as it is now. Laurence and I became close friends over those next few years. He is one of the funniest people to be around and is certainly one of the finest drummers I have ever seen. I have insisted on Laurence being the drummer in many projects I have worked on over the years from tours with The Whiskey Priests to recording and writing with former world champion boxer, Barry McGuigan. A lot of that was because I just love having him around as a friend but also because we play so well together. There is some sort of telepathy and he knows just what I am going to do next and goes with me.

Last week playing with the Pyros and Laurence again was such a great joy. It was harder to come back to America this time than ever before. The Saturday night gig was probably the best show we have ever played as a band and I loved every single moment of it. Laurence was right there with me on every beat and I was happy and proud to be on stage with him. I truly hope the Pyros will ride again. It is too soon to let that energy fade. So heres to a few more tunes somewhere down the line Mr D!

And in a matter of hours we will be flying from Atlanta to Paris and then on to Dublin. The weather is looking a little cold and damp for our arrival but we cannot wait all the same. The music is going to be wonderful and I am going to be so happy taking Lupa around Ireland with me for the first time.  But most of all I will be very happy to see my friends in Buncrana.

By this time tomorrow we will be rounding the turn at the village of Fahan where, when you pass the last house in the village the great view of Lough Swilly opens up for the first time and we will be on the home stretch to Buncrana, Co Donegal. See you there.

Some time later we had gotten to know each other and I was writing some very early and naive songs. Even back then I think I was aware that my singing wasn’t going to be my fortune and my much more talented sister, Caroline, carried the tunes much better than me. We became a band very quickly. Caroline and her best friend Carmel McElhinney on vocals and Michael and I on guitars. Our biggest gig ever was in the Plaza ballroom in Buncrana to what seemed like a full house. That was my first real band.
Roll on some 30 or so years and Michael is the driving force behind the Ar Ais Aris festival. Michael himself was once one of the musicians who left town and took the music to far off places. In London he played in the same bars and pubs that I ended up playing a few years later. In fact I remember my first week in London, I was staying with Paul Rodden who had to go out of town for something. So I was alone in the big city and broke. One quick call to Michael changed that. He bought me lunch and a couple of pints and gave me enough money to tide me over until I could start earning some for myself. That is Michael for you, generous and loyal.

He spent some time in Paris too and music was always a huge part of his life. With a family and other responsibilities, the corporate world called him back home to Buncrana and he has been a very visible part of the traditional music scene in the town.

Michael, along with the team, has done more for our home town with this one small idea that has grown into something so precious it will be hard to follow and hard to improve on but has given Buncrana a new lease of musical life. See you on stage Michael. It is an honour to be part of all of this and a pleasure to be a friend.

People have argued for years about the different styles of traditional music up and down the length of Ireland. Not many, especially in Donegal, will argue about who the great fiddlers are. There are just a handful of them. John Doherty is the best known and is of course now a legend. Tommy Peoples’ playing commands a similar amount of respect and reverence.

There is one name that is creeping into those barroom conversations when people talk about “the greats”. Ciaran Tourish has been playing the fiddle since he was a very young lad. In my opinion he is one of the great Donegal fiddle players of all time. But more importantly for me than that. He is a good friend.

I started playing with Ciaran in the Pyros way back when he was just a lad. We got to know each other well over the years. When I moved to London Ciaran had become a full time member of, and one of the driving forces behind Altan. I was a drinker at the time, a pretty serious drinker. It took a long time for me to break the chain and when I did I had left a fair bit of wreckage in my path. A lot of people doubted me when I came out of rehab and tried to start again after not being sober for over 15 years. I don’t blame them either. I had let a lot of people down over the years. Even some of my hard drinking friends had trouble coming to terms with the new me.

But Ciaran never looked at me like that. He did with me what he does with everyone: looks for and finds some good. I was a big fan of Altan and to show that appreciation I would organize parties for them when they came to London. These were “all night”crazy sessions but a lot of fun. Ciaran and I would inevitably end up in a corner of the bar talking nonsense and laughing about the world.

When I moved to live in America, Ciaran once again went the extra step to show his faith in an old friend and invited me on tour with Altan as a tour manager. I did about 5 tours with the band over 4 years and we traveled all over America. It was one of the most fulfilling things I had ever done. It was a lot of work but it never seemed like it. I got to travel with people I loved and listened to amazing music every night.

But on those days off when the band had some down time, the phone would ring in my room and it would be Tourish inviting me to lunch or just keep him company for a drink. And we would laugh about our Pyros days and talk about how we missed our kids when we were on the road.

It is a coincidence that while I am doing these little blog tributes to my fellow Pyros that Altan are now in the same US state as me. I will see Ciaran tomorrow and again feel that rush of pride when he takes a solo. And after the show I will be among friends and especially one who showed a little faith in me when I had very little faith in myself.

Cheers Ciaran. Heres to many more tunes.