Green Letter Day

With the increasing visibility of Irish music and culture, March 17th has become an increasingly international celebration of Irishness. From New York to New South Wales, pubs will be heaving and a greenish hue will settle over proceedings.
Despite the tendency towards twee top o the mornin Oirishness, however, Paddy s Day does provide an opportunity to take stock of the worldwide fascination with everything Irish, and also to further promote the many superb aspects of Irish music and culture.
Naturally, there will also be plenty to savour at home over the St Patrick s Day period, with pubs and venues throughout the country playing host to music, special events and, of course, immense craic all round.
To tie in with this year s extravaganza Hot Press presents, for your delectation, this St Patrick s Day special. We take a look at the ongoing success of Telefms na Gaelige, and examine the fare on offer from this most distinctively Irish of broadcasters. We guide you through the musical treats on offer including not just the events on the night itself, but also a special feature detailing the Here Comes The Night At The Olympia event in which Today FM DJ and former No Disco mainman Donal Dineen guides you through the various bands performing including Mogwai, Lamb and David Gray.
Paddy s Day also provides the perfect opportunity to appraise the current state of Irish culture in its myriad forms. To this end, Liam O Maonlai talks to Oliver P Sweeney about the resurgence of interest in the Irish language, and we take a look at some of the educational courses available in Irish music, culture and language.
So here it is the Hot Press St Patrick s Day Special.

TnaG: First and foremost a Television station

Station Boss Cathal Goan reflects on the impact of Telefms Na Gaelige.

Undoubtedly one of the highest profile ventures in the whole world of Irish culture in recent years has been Telefms na Gaelige. Scorned at its launch by those who regarded it as a self-indulgent waste of money, the station has nonetheless made a significant impact.
It has managed to achieve a mix in its programming between its public service function and other more populist material such as the widely-watched soap Ros na Run.
Cathal Goan is the station s boss: I think TnaG so far has been the most visible expression of Irish community we have had for probably 50 years, he asserts. On average about half a million people daily have some sort of contact with the station even if it s only for a few minutes.
Goan is also justifiably proud of the station s output, pointing to the fact that while still in its relative infancy it has won prizes for its documentaries, drama and music programmes. He also states that he feels TnaG has provided an outlet for new talented Irish writers.
Does Goan believe that there has been a renaissance in Irish culture which has made the language more fashionable?
I d leave that analysis to other people, he begins, cautiously. I can t even say what that means. If it means Irish being used more often, I can t say. If it means it being more socially acceptable to use Irish, then probably yes. It s certainly more noticeable now, and I think TnaG has made a contribution to that.
Perhaps because of the criticism that was levelled at the station initially, Goan is very keen to avoid the perception that TnaG is a token concession to the Irish language lobby: The important thing to remember is that we are first and foremost a television station. Our primary function is not to revive the Irish language. Broadcasting good television programmes is our first function. I think we are going about it the right way.
Goan s confidence is born out by the impressive schedule the station has lined up for this St. Patrick s Day. At 6.50pm TnaG will show the Leinster Schools Senior Cup Final from Lansdowne Road, which has long established itself as a highlight of the national sporting calendar.
The central theme of TnaG s Paddy s Day schedule is reflected in the feature length documentary Rothar Mor an tSaoil which will be broadcast at 10.45 pm. It is based on the famous autobiography of Irish migrant labourer Micm MacGabhann, in which he gave his account of a 20-year journey from his native land to the farms of Scotland, and from there to North America where he experienced the hysteria of the Klondike Gold Rush.
The documentary will undoubtedly be fascinating viewing for those both familiar and unfamiliar with MacGabhann s book. And considering St Patrick is the patron saint of Irish emigrants, the programme has added resonance on the day itself.
Earlier in the evening (8.30pm), a brand new documentary on the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Carraig an Cheoil takes a look behind the clichei images of Aran jumpers and sentimental ballads.
The festivities would not be complete without a visit to TnaG s in-pub chat show Smbmn which will feature an appearance by Dervish, together with other special guests.. The hour-long show will begin at 9.00pm.
It all adds up to a feast of televisual pleasure this St. Patrick s Day on TnaG.

What s Goin On?

GIVEN THE amount of shamrock-drowning that they ve done in their time, it s only right that the Olympia s St. Patrick s Eve festivities should be presided over by Shane MacGowan & The Popes.
It promises to be one hell of a do with Shane & Co. running through such tried and tested crowd pleasers as Dirty Old Town , Sally MacLennane and The Irish Rover .
Paddy s Day itself finds the Dame Street venue playing host to Kila and special guest Brendan Perry who ll be appearing in public for the first time since the disbandment of Dead Can Dance.
While St. Patrick s Day is given over to the start of the Guinness Sit Down, Stand Up Festival, the 16th finds Vicar St. joining forces with Tower Records for a special hooley featuring Sack, The Walls, The Marbles, DJ Billy Scurry and MC Miss Candy.
If you re looking for something a little more left-field, schoolboy attire is mandatory as The Funnel Bar plays host to a celebration of all things AC/DC (17th). Running from eight till indecently late, There s Gonna Be Some Rockin features the multi-faceted talents of Large Mound, Pet Lamb, Palomine, Dasianos, Redneck Manifesto, My Name Is Satan, Chip n Dave, A-Tone, Bambi, Joan Of Arse and Klubber Lang.
Also on the Paddy s Day recommended list are Eire Og (The Mean Fiddler), Turn (Whelan s) and a Traditional & World Music Festival (The Temple Bar Music Centre).

Cork
Fitzpatrick s Hotel is the venue on St. Patrick s Day as 021, Jamie Watson, Kelly Marrie, The Dame Edna Everage Experience and The Spirit of the Supremes participate in a special Rape Crisis Centre benefit.
If you fancy heading out of town, Liverpool bleepmeisters Ism and moonlighting Hyper(Borea) man David Mobius are doubling up at Connolly s of Leap.

Belfast
THE GREAT Shane may be otherwise occupied in Dublin but, fear not, you ll still be able to drink and dance yourself silly on Paddy s Day when Hamish McGowan and The Pogues do their psycho-ceili thing at the Empire Music Hall.

March 16th
Squeeler (Elroy s, Cork)
The Wiseguys, Agent Dan, Johnny Moy and Redsettaz (Mean Fiddler, Dublin)
The Lizzy Experience (Temple Bar Music Centre, Dublin)
Thin As Lizzy (Quays, Galway)
The Racketeers (Pine Lodge, Myrtleville)

March 17th
Joe Mal (Ellroy s, Cork)
Pyramid (Roisin Dubh, Galway)
The Soulmasters (The Quays, Galway
Spalpin (Rambling House, Tralee)
Liam O Connor & Lisa Ahern (Dolan s Warehouse, Limerick)

The Quays To Success

For entertainment and craic in the West there are few venues which compete with The Quays bar on Quay Street, Galway. A hotbed of trad, The Quays hosts nightly sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as early evenings Friday and Saturday.
The renowned music venue upstairs has played host to many of the country s finest talents including Hothouse Flowers, Altan, Mary Black, Maire Brennan and Maura O Connell its fame is currently growing still further with the Network 2 series Live At The Quays airing each Monday night at 11pm, with Uaneen Fitzsimons presenting.
Come St Patrick s Night expect The Quays to be filled to capacity for the visit of The Irish Weavers.
The huge upsurge in interest in all things Irish is well and good. It is equally important, though, that Irish artists receive rightful payment for their work. The gargantuan task of collecting royalties for Irish songwriters, composers and performers falls, of course, to IMRO.
It is not always a rewarding quest as Director of Services Eamon Shackleton explains: We know, of course, that most of America turns Green on Paddy s Day. It s one of the great points of interest we have in the States, and therefore there is a huge expectation that . . .we ll get lots of dosh (laughs). But previous statistics would tell you that unfortunately, we have been sadly disappointed on previous occasions with America.
This must be particularly galling for Irish artists who are not in the mega-selling league, but who are nevertheless noticing increasing foreign interest in their work.
I do believe there is a huge interest in indigenous Irish music rather than mid-Atlantic Irish music, Shackleton affirms. I m talking about stuff that doesn t actually command great chart positions all the time.
Why does Eamon Shackleton think that Irish music has prospered to an extent far beyond that of other indigenous musics?
There s this whole mystical thing of Celtic music, he suggests. There s the language, not just in terms of [the use of] English, but also the lyricism of the language. That s still there in the undergrowth somewhere that we do have the knack of writing not just attractive tunes, but also very successful lyrics as well.
Shackleton points to both copyright law and governmental support as areas in which there is plenty of room for improvement if the Irish music industry is to yield the benefits it deserves.
Nonetheless, IMRO is more than willing to adopt a proactive stance when it comes to the promotion of Irish music. One of its key initiatives is the series of IMRO showcase gigs which take place around the country each year.
There are normally 14 gigs, each featuring four or five acts. Dermot Flynn is the promoter, who considers the project an excellent way for what he describes as baby bands to get their music to a wider audience.
For some, it can lead even further. Last year, for the first time IMRO took three bands to London to showcase their wares for UK record companies. As a result northerners co.uk signed a major publishing deal, in the process moving themselves several rungs up the ladder to mainstream success.
However, there was a widespread feeling that the other bands involved didn t get as much feedback as they might have done. This year Hot Press s own Jackie Hayden will be trying to improve on this dimension:
The London showcase will be around mid-June this year, he reveals. I ve been asked to set up confidential meetings, probably the day after the gig, between the bands and, for example, record companies, publishers and media. Hopefully that will help to let the bands know where they are going wrong or the things they might be able to improve on.
As far as Dermot Flynn is concerned there is no shortage of UK interest in Irish music, but it is the practicalities which pose the greater:
In my experience English record companies are definitely interested, but very lazy. You might send tapes of 60 bands to a London record company, and the least you would expect would be a phone call back. Sometimes that doesn t happen.
He does believe, however, that inclusion under the IMRO banner assists bands to at least generate some interest from industry figures. Also, Flynn s involvement in promoting not just the IMRO showcase gigs, but also the Heineken Rollercoaster tour and Bacardi/Hot Press Unplugged competition leads him to be optimistic about the state of the industry at home, though he does offer the cautionary note that it is usually the band that is different rather than the one following the trend that gets signed.
DONAL DINEEN is sipping tea in the Winding Stair, breaching his scrupulously-maintained media silence in order to explain the ethos behind the forthcoming Here Comes The Night At The Olympia shows. He s feeling good, confident in the radio programme, rejuvenated from a recent eight-day sojourn in his beloved Barcelona spent gathering Super-8 footage and stills for an ongoing film/music project, provisionally entitled When the Time Comes (some of which will be featured between live sets at the forthcoming four-night stand).
The reason Here Comes The Night At The Olympia is happening is that the audience for the programme is fantastically small but really loyal, he begins, but it needs to expand in order to survive. Not at a massive rate or anything, but it has to build itself up a little bit. So this is an honest way, I suppose, of getting the message across about the programme. I think maybe a lot of people don t know it exists. But secondly, the idea is that if it s successful, it could expand into something else, maybe a collaborative thing between people, the way that John Peel does with the Meltdown thing.
To this end, Dineen ventures that, in the future, such events might also incorporate a day of free seminars. Brian Eno would be one of the people I would love to have, he admits. Also, one of the people we were chasing was Mary Margaret O Hara, but that was impossible. But this is a good start I think. All the bands that are on the bill, I think there s some sense of adventure in all their individual approaches to music. I chose them because they are as representative of the programme as anything else I could ve chosen.
But there are also Donal s own sets, which provide him with an outlet for his ongoing obsession with images, a preoccupation which dates from pre-No Disco days, when this exile from the Kingdom staged exhibitions of his work at the Galway Arts Centre.
I m gonna DJ at each of the shows, but there s something a little extra involved, he explains. What s gonna happen is that there ll be slides and Super-8 projected, all of which will come from that (Barcelona) project. It s kind of work-in-progress really. Hopefully it s gonna end up as a 30-minute short film, but with a narrative, and trying really to draw together all the strands that interest me in the visual side of things, the writing, the music, and how those, when they combine well together, can be a more powerful package than any one on their own. But it s the band who plays on the night that s the big thing, and this will just be something to watch while the DJ set is going on. I m hopeful that the bands all have good shows. It s up to them.

The Olympians:
Mogwai (Thursday 18th March, 8pm, with the Plague Monkeys)
With Mogwai, I love the slower, gentler side, and I realise that it s only half of what they do really, but I m prepared to listen to the louder side because the slower stuff is so beautiful, and they have such amazing ideas. Plus, what I ve heard from the David Fridmann sessions, the new album (Come On Die Young), sounds spectacularly good.
David Gray (Friday 19th March, 8pm)
I ve been a huge fan of his music, I think he s at a period where anything is possible, all he needs is a little bit of success to give him some more fuel to get to even another level. White Ladder shows up the mistakes and in some ways lack of direction on the two previous albums, it s the first real attempt at a composite picture. The joyous thing about it is that it s the first step towards something else rather than the end of the line. I have great faith in him.
Lamb (Friday 19th March, 12am)
I was so moved by that first record. I ve not seen them play live but I ve heard good things, so I m looking forward to that.
dEUS (Saturday 20th March, 8pm, with The Frames)
When I heard Hotellounge or Via first, I felt that they were a band who were brave enough to experiment, but had the structure of rock n roll down to a t , and they had the ability and the willingness to chop all that up and insert other things. They have a fairly conventional structure or form, but they have lots of interesting things going on, and I just feel that they re ahead of the pack in some ways.
The Plague Monkeys and The Frames
There are just two bands who I have listened to and got a lot from over the past while. With the Plague Monkeys, what I got from Surface Tension was a real feeling for the music that they were making, and if that s present on your debut album, and you get the right breaks, the potential for expansion and improvement is massive. If you have the feeling for it, it makes the struggle to exist as a band less painful. With them and The Frames, they re just music makers extraordinaire. Anybody who writes Red Chord , I m interested.