Since a couple of years the legendary singer and guitarist has
settled in Ireland again.
The late-sixties group "Skara Brae", the influential "Bothy Band" and - after
his emigration to the U. S. in the early eighties - "Nightnoise" and "Relativity"
(including former "Silly Wizard" members John and Phil Cunningham) and a successful
collaboration with fiddler Kevin Burke are only a few stations in the long career
of Mícheál Ó Domhnaill.
Having been brought up near Kells in County Meath he spent most of his summers
in Rann na Feirste (Rannafast) in the Donegal Gaeltacht, his father's native
place.
After returning to Ireland from the States he's working together with fiddler
and former "Bothy Band" colleague Paddy Glackin, they released an album "Athchuairt
/ Reprise" on Gael Linn in 2001.
MM:
When did you start playing with Paddy Glackin as a duet?
Ó Domhnaill: Just when I came back from the States in 1997. I've been
living in the States for 17 years. I did a few mini-tours with Paddy, we haven't
really done a whole lot together. Paddy has a day job so it's rather difficult
for him to get time off. It's something we are doing - kind of - for fun at
the moment. We always put the golf clubs in the car. If we get askrf to do a
gig in the West of Ireland it's great. We go to play a few nights and play golf
during the day.
MM: Are you involved in other projects?
Ó Domhnaill: Not really, at the moment. I moved back to Dublin, I'm enjoying
being back in Ireland.
MM: How got you, your sister and Dáithí together to do the
gig with "Skara Brae" in Ionad Cois Locha in 1997?
Ó Domhnaill: "Gael Linn" re-released the CD, the original "Skara Brae"
CD. So they asked us will we do a one-off concert together to publicize the
release of the CD.
MM: So what was your feeling that night?
Ó Domhnaill: It was wonderful. We had a great time. As soon as we started
singing everything fell into place and it was like we've never stopped because
we have been singing these songs since we were kids. It was a lovely feeling.
All of us had different experiences in the intervening years. In the music business
we'd all sung professionally and in one sense it was a lot easier doing it than
it was way back then. I remember back then, when we were doing it first, it
was like ... we were so nervous and we were so young and unexperienced. But
this time it was... once we got the first numbers finished it was easy. It was
good fun.
MM: And it was the only concert did?
Ó Domhnaill: Yes. We won't do any more. We just said we would do one.
That's it.
Latest published CD: Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Paddy
Glackin: Athchuairt / Reprise (Gael-Linn CEFCD 180, 2001).
Further infos/contact: Tom Sherlock Management.
Photo Credit: Photo by Marcus Metz
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