January 10th 2011

Hello,

Time once again for an update. We’re right in the middle of ‘Irish Season’ and so far it has been a blast. The Savannah Irish Festival, St. Peter Claver Irish Night, Beaufort Irish Festival and St William’s Irish Night were all roaring successes. I had a great time hanging out and performing with Cathie Ryan, Gabriel Donohue, Mairtin De Cogain, The Ennis Sisters, Joanie Madden, Carroll Brown, Brendan Nolan, Legacy, Moira Nelligan and Howard Keeley. And to see a lot of old faces I haven’t seen for a while was wonderful…thank you one and all.

This weekend ushers in Tara Feis, Emmet Park, Savannah on Saturday, and followed by performances at Holy Family Church, Columbus, Georgia on Tuesday March 15… Kevin Barry’s, Savannah, Georgia with Frank Emerson and Carroll Brown on Wednesday March 16… Katie O’Donald’s, Bluffton, South Carolina on Thursday March 17… and The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday March 18. After a couple of days rest I’ll be back on stage at Kevin Barry’s from Monday March 21 – Sunday, March 27. Whew, I feel tired already. Oh, and I’m sitting in at Kevin Barry’s on Friday March 11.

We still have seats on our Enchanted Ireland Tour on July 17 and continue to offer a $100.00 per person savings when you sign on. Please click on our Tours and Cruises Page for more in depth information. While you’re on that part of the site you can check out dates for my cruises on board the Norwegian Jewel in September/October and our Irish Music Cruise on January 29, along with the Makem and Spain Brothers, Seamus Kennedy, The Wolfe Tones, Mairtin De Cogain, Archie Fisher and more…it’s going to be a large time out on the ocean. I love cruising and what could be more delightful than to have some friends along to share the fun. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about my tour to Ireland or any of the cruises.

My newest CD, A Splash of No Regrets continues to get terrific reviews and it’s being downloaded seemingly with tremendous popularity. I’m very pleased with all the attention it’s getting especially the original song “The Time Has Come (Ron’s song)” which many consider to be the stand out song on the recording. Its message has connected with people and the only way I’d be happier would be if Ron had lived to enjoy its popularity. He did hear the song before he passed but I’m not sure if he was aware that it was written for him…it was untitled at the time. Perhaps he’s looking down smiling.

I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a venue or a house party or community sponsored concert to play on my way back from St. Petersburg to Savannah next week…that still holds true. The night is Saturday, March 19. The Irish mood will still be going strong so if you have any thoughts please let me know. I told you several months ago that I became a US citizen last April and to celebrate that I will sing the American National Anthem on Saturday March 12 at the opening ceremony of Tara Feis. I’m nervous, to say the least but, what an honour. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and I promise to sing it straight…no vocal acrobatics from this Irishman.

 The Green Island Radio Show trucks along nicely and in my next update I will offer recommendations for some new music that we’ve played on the show. It streams live on Saturdays at nine and Wednesdays at eleven, Eastern Standard Time at: www.gpb.org That’s it for now. You can get in touch with me at your leisure; my contact information can be found here on the website. If you have a mind to, leave some comments here on our Guestbook Page or on my Facebook Page. As always thanks for your continued support and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, wherever you may be. All the best,