Christy Moore live at The Marquee, Cork

By the banks of the Lee, Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott paid homage to Cork-born songwriters by interspersing a set of Christy classics like 'Lisdoonvarna' and 'Nancy Spain' with great covers including 'Magic Nights At The Lobby Bar' by John Spillane and 'The Contender' by Jimmy McCarthy.
The former had the 4,000-strong audience singing quietly along to Christy’s softly-delivered rendition, which proved so haunting that it made the hairs stand on the back of my neck.
However, an interruption from a mobile phone at this point had a stream-lined Christy roaring: “Would ya switch them bloody yokes off, surely you can be uncontactable for 90 minutes…sure, put them on vibrate and give yourself a kick!”
A consummate story-teller, Christy glided easily between pathos and rousing euphoria, between a heart-felt 'Ride On' and a howling, yipping and clapping 'Joxer Goes To Stuttgart', with cranky outbursts providing a humorous element to the sometimes heart-breaking or politically-charged songs.
Moore and Sinnott previewed a track about witches and healers from the new album they’ve been recording in Cork before Christy, having spotted the writer James Galvin in the audience, sang an a cappella version of 'James Connolly'. The encore featured 'Rory’s Going To Play The Blues In Heaven', a tribute to Rory Gallagher, before they finished up with a lulling rendition of 'Sonny'. Special mention must be given to Corkonian Freddie White, whose impressive guitar strumming during an eclectic set, (which included a lovely rendition of Tom Wait’s 'Martha'), provided the perfect opening to an unforgettable night which left me asking for Moore…please, sir?