Hot Press Track of the Day: Declan O'Rourke's 'Poor Boy's Shoes'

Fifteen years in the making, the sweeping Chronicles of The Great Irish Famine combines the best of traditional Irish music and the heart of modern song-writing for a concept album that focuses on true tales from this dynamic period in Ireland's history.

Inspired by John O’Connor's book "The Workhouses of Ireland" O'Rourke wrote ‘Poor Boys Shoes’ the first song of the collection, and recalls, "The hair stood up on my neck when I read the lines: 'The man who carried his wife from the workhouse to their old home, mile after weary mile, and was discovered next morning dead, his wife’s feet held to his breast as if he was trying to warm them...' I had stumbled into a chapter of history I knew almost nothing about. I wanted to be a witness, to share these stories the best way I knew how, through music.”

The album cover's hyper-real photo illustration (pictured above) features O'Rourke and band members re-enacting a scene from one historical tale. Following the ambush and shooting of the landlord ‘Manning’ in Co. Westmeath, locals formed a mob, found Manning's body, hacked the corpse into pieces and threw them into a ditch.

Declan O'Rourke Tour Dates - 1-22 December 2017

Fri 1 Dec : Hotel Ballina, Ballina, Co.Mayo

Sat 2 Dec : Blackbox, Galway

Sun 3 Dec : Number Seven Duke Street, Warrenpoint, Newry

Thurs 7 Dec : Westport Town Hall, Co.Mayo

Fri 8 Dec : St.John's Theatre, Listowel, Co.Kerry

Sat 9 Dec : St. Lukes, Cork

Tues 12 Dec : Theatre Royal, Waterford

Thurs 14 Dec : Vicar Street, Dublin

Wed Fri 15 Dec : Dolans Warehouse, Limerick

20 Dec : Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry

Fri 22 Dec : The Hawkswell Theatre, Sligo