RENOWNED Clonakilty music venue, Shanley’s Piano Bar on Connolly Street is celebrating its 120th birthday over the August Bank Holiday weekend with a four-day mini-festival which started on Thursday, August 1st.
Bill Shanley, a widely respected musician and producer in his own right, explained that there is a huge line-up of musicians and singers planned, with a strong emphasis on the local talent that has been the lifeblood of Shanley’s musical reputation over the years.
That’s not to say that there won’t be a few well-known names from the Irish and international music scene around over the weekend also, including Niamh Kavanagh (former Eurovision winner), upcoming Scottish singer/songwriter Michael McGovern, Damien Wilson (who has worked on London’s West End and performs all over Europe) and American blues musician Dan Mahar.
Just some of the local artists performing are Anto Noonan, Jim Murray and Richard Lucey, John Fitzgerald, Paula K O’Brien and Rawney.
There will be a running order of sorts, but given the quantity and calibre of musicians set to descend on Shanley’s, the celebrations will really thrive on the impromptu sessions and unexpected collaborations. As Bill said ‘All the ingredients will be there, and it’ll be cooked on the night!’
Shanley’s first came into being when Patrick Shanley, a former Royal Irish Constabulary officer based in Rosscarbery, bought the premises using money he had received following the disbanding of the RIC in 1922. He opened the doors of the pub in 1924 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Its reputation for music really started to blossom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, largely due to the influence of the late Moss Shanley (then working with the ESB in Mitchelstown) who would play piano on the weekends when he’d come to visit his mother. In 1979, Moss took over the running of the business, having moved back to Clonakilty with his wife Phil and their four children Yvonne, Maurice, Emer and Bill. It was at this point that he really started to push the bar as a music venue.
Not long after, Moss developed a very strong friendship with no less than Noel Redding, former bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, who had come to live in Clonakilty and who, over the subsequent years before his death, brought many well-known musicians to play music in the cosy Clonakilty venue. Among those were Mike McCartney (brother to a Beatle), Mitch Mitchell, drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell. As the venue’s reputation grew it would see a long list of top-notch performers including Mary Black and Paul Brady, and Ray Davies of The Kinks even used the space to rehearse for a tour at one point.
Suffice it to say there are years of musical magic stored up in the walls of Shanley’s – and you’d never know who might turn up this weekend to add to the potion. Find out more on Facebook or simply follow your ears if you’re around Clonakilty!
