Galway residency for Sheerin family

The superb Sheerin Family from Westmeath is moving west for the summer. The seven-member family band is taking up a residency gig in The Quays in Galway every Wednesday night during the months of June, July and August.

This, in essence, means that all visitors to Galway city will have an opportunity to enjoy a top-class American country music show throughout the summer months in the company of this amazing family, which is steeped in the tradition of real country and bluegrass music. The gigs get underway on 6 June.

The Sheerin Family band consists of six brothers and their sister, Carmel, all of whom work in the top tier of the country music business. The lineup features Carmel (John Hogan Band), Simon (Jimmy Buckley Band), Tom (Nathan Carter Band), Kieran (Johnny Brady Band), Danny (The 3 Amigos) and Des and Paul (Simon Casey Band).

Their parents, Dan and Mary Sheerin, are wonderful exponents of traditional country music and often join their family as special guests. Dan’s brother is the acclaimed Kevin Sheerin, an original member of The Ray Lynam and The Hillbillies Band and one of the most respected musicians and songwriters on the Irish country scene.

If you are heading to Galway over the next three months and if country music is your favourite choice, check out the fabulous Sheerin Family who will be doing a Wednesday night residency in Te Quays in Galway, You’ll be glad that you did. The shows start at 10pm each Wednesday night.

Roscommon Day with the Stars

The now annual Shannonside-Northern Sound Radio Midsummer’s Day with the Stars will be staged at Roscommon Racecourse on Sunday, 24 June. The lineup features Nathan Carter, Mike Denver, Robert Mizzell, Patrick Feeney, Philomena Begley, Brendan Shine, Louise Morrissey, Cliona Hagan, Johnny Brady, Gerry Guthrie, Gary Gamble and many more.

Joe Finnegan, radio presenter, says they are looking forward to the sixth staging of the popular event in Roscommon: “I’m just thrilled that the top names from Ireland’s country music industry will be joining us again in Roscommon. We want to make the show even more special than last year and again we are very excited about the family aspect of the day with the return of our special children’s play area and some new fun attractions.”

Mike Denver and his band will provide the music at the special festival dance in the Abbey Hotel after the festival at the racecourse.

Tickets for the event are now on sale at ticketmaster.ie and can also be purchased locally at several outlets in Roscommon and Longford. Gates open at midday and the show starts at 2pm. There is free parking on-site. More details are available on the Shannonside website and Facebook page.

Aidan Cunningham dies

Aidan Cunningham, a native of Carrickaboy, Crosskeys, Co Cavan, who died last week at the Beacon Hospital, Dublin, was a legendary steel guitar player on the Irish country music circuit.

Aidan had a long association with the Irish country music scene and played with Larry Cunningham and The Country Blue Boys, The Cotton Mill Boys, Mike Denver and many more. He also played the social dancing scene for a while with Showbud.

He had a great fondness for the steel guitar and featured at a number of the annual steel guitar festivals in Belfast in recent years.

Declan Aungier from Kildare said Aidan had a major impact on the circuit over the years: “I sat beside him for a day when filming an episode of Opry an Iúir a few years ago and he was great fun and full of wisdom gleaned from his many years on the road. He was the steel guitar maestro and he will be missed.”

Reposing was at the family home and interment took place in the adjoining cemetery, following requiem mass in Crosskeys Church last Thursday.

He is survived by his wife, Bridie (née O’Brien), and daughters, Ciara and Aoife, the family circle, relatives and friends.

Benbulben Country Festival

Sligo is getting in on the country music scene in a special way this summer, when some of the biggest names on the circuit congregate on the Msgr Hynes GAA pitch in Grange on Sunday, 8 July. The day marks the inaugural Ben Bulben Country Music Festival, with the famous Sligo mountain as the superb backdrop to this special occasion.

This is the part of Co Sligo that William Butler Yeats celebrated in verse and which in the still of a country night whispers of an enchanted world. Nearby is Drumcliff, where the poet lays at rest and close is Lough Gill and the lake isle of Innisfree.

The country festival features Michael English, Patrick Feeney, Derek Ryan, Mike Denver, Jimmy Buckley and Cliona Hagan and it promises to be the biggest outdoor country festival of the summer in the region. Grange is situated halfway between Sligo on Bundoran on the N15 and the festival looks set to attract considerable support for this country jamboree afternoon.