Remembering Dolores Keane

Today I thought I’d say a few words as a little tribute to Dolores Keane who sadly passed away the day before St Patrick’s Day. Dolores was a wonderful person with a lovable personality, as well as being one of the greatest singers Ireland ever produced. Nanci Griffith described her as the ‘voice of Ireland’. I hadn’t thought about Dolores for a long while until I heard that she had passed away. That is often the case, we sometimes don’t miss people until they are gone. I first became aware of Dolores and her band from Galway De Dannan in 1981 when I heard them on a compilation album called All The Folk That Fits. That was also the record that introduced me to Christy Moore, Planxty, and The Bothy Band. Dolores was brought up by her aunts Rita & Sarah whose home was an open house to any musicians who arrived. Music sessions would often go on for days. This is how Dolores without even trying, soaked up the traditional music and songs of Ireland. I well remember the Mike Harding Show on Radio 2 dedicating a whole show to the Keane household, and as well as the great music, some of the stories they related were hilarious.  Dolores was well known for her sense of fun and good humour.

I regret that I never saw Dolores perform on stage. That is annoying because she played with De Dannan and Mary Black just down the road from here in 1985 at the Village Pump Folk Festival. (See photo below) Also, sadly I only have one album by her called Solid Ground from 1993. I hadn’t played it for years until I heard of her passing. Listening to it again the last few days reminded me of what a wonderful singer she was. There are also some excellent musicians accompanying Dolores including her good friend Emmylou Harris.  One of my favourite tracks is called Emigrant Eyes which is the story of one among millions of Irish people who were forced by hardship to emigrate to America, but they always thought of Ireland as home. Another favourite track is called Never Be The Sun which Dolores dedicated to her son Joseph who was born with a rare condition called Bardet–Biedl syndrome. 

Dolores had a lot of sadness in her life and suffered with depression, alcoholism, and overcame cancer. This shows what a courageous person she was. I recently watched an interview she gave to Tommy Tiernan on Irish TV where her good nature and humour shone through despite all that she had to overcome in life. Her funeral in Galway was attended by the Irish President Catherine Connolly, and the previous President Michael D Higgins which shows the esteem in which she was held by the Irish nation. Although she is now gone Dolores has left a great legacy of timeless music and she will never be forgotten, especially in Ireland.

R.I.P Dolores Keane.

In The Garden (Part 1).

Erysium

Spring in the air, there's magic everywhere. Spring finally arrived here last Tuesday. The sun has been shining after weeks of rainy weather. Sitting in my tiny yard I observed a Red Admiral butterfly flitting about, a ladybird on the shed door, a blackbird hopping around the garden with a beakful of nesting material, and even a couple of bumble bees buzzing around. There are a few plants already in bloom such as a nice orange Erysium, Clematis, Bleeding Heart, and a few others that I can’t remember the names of now. The garden was looking quite dilapidated though and I decided that now was the time to tidy it up. They told me at the hospital to take it easy for a while because of fatigue following my treatment, but I feel less fatigued if I have a bit of exercise than if I sit around doing nothing. So, I got stuck into the job at hand. 

Clematis.

The unsightliest part of the garden is the fence which is falling apart, faded and jaded after years of rain and high winds. Several panels needed replacing. I was going to order three panels online from B & Q but in the end just ordered one. I thought I better see if I can install one successfully before I attempt any more. Before I could do that, I made the decision to get rid of the compost bin because a little garden like mine doesn’t really warrant a great big compost bin. I never liked it much, standing there in the corner looking like a great big plastic dalek. I offered it to my mate Curly who lives three doors away and has a much bigger garden than me. He was pleased to accept it. Then I had the problem of moving it because it weighed a ton, so I had to empty it. It was full of top-quality compo, but with lots of bits of twig in it. I sieved it all over my flower beds, and also filled up about thirty pots into which I’ll sow seeds later this week. 

The new panel was delivered on Saturday morning. I was relieved that after a bit of huffing and puffing I managed to install it without too much trouble. That corner of the garden looks a lot better now, so this week I’ll order another couple of panels and carry on working my way along the fence. I must say I enjoyed working out there, getting some fresh air, and being closer to nature. I found it very mindful. While I was out there working, I forgot all about the madness that is going on in the world. That is the way forward. If everyone just minded their own business and sorted out their own backyard the world would be a much happier place. I’ll let you know how I get on with the rest of my garden in due course. Cheers.