"De Dannan" Castlebar 5th Aug 09

Hugh_C

Anyone hear the scrap on Joe Duffy today about the rights to use the name Dé Dannan in tonight's Frankie Gavin extravaganza in Castlebar? Tony MacMahon's claim that Alec Finn is nothing but a 2nd rate accompanist? So sad to see it descend to public muck-throwing, and Tony MacMahon should be ashamed of himself. Actually, he took a swipe at U2 as well can't remember his words exactly. Will post RTÉ's archive when it gets posted.

So, should Frankie be allowed call tonight's band Dé Dannan?

BobQ

no

De Dannan are not just a band! It's an institution!! Sure there were founding members to kick start the phenomenon, but since the start, there has been so many members come and go, like a revolving door! Every true De Dannnan fan knows that during different times the journey of De Dannan involved so many different people.

Frankie Gavin has now rekindled that passion and emotion that once existed in the De Dannan music, it may have different people in it, but how is that different to the old De Dannan days (with different people all the time)

What were going to see alot of may not be the De Dannan of recent years (which was a changing as Irish weather) but a new De Dannan of the 21st Century!!! Who's to say there won't be people coming and going in this De Dannan?

Stop the begrudgery and enjoy the music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

fh041205

I wouldn't pay much attention to Tony MacMahon, he's an exemplary box player but I can't respect his opinions, with some of the crap he comes out with. Sometimes he is right, but he takes it to extremes all the time and ends up talking bollox.

bodhrandude

I was shocked at what McMahon said about Alec Finn and by the way, Finn is dead right, Gavin is not doing it for the musics integrity, hes doing it for the money. Fair play to Johnny Ringo for standing up for Finn. De Danann is not De Danann without the beautiful stringed tapestry of Alec Finn, just listen to the Gold Ring jig from the groups first album (1975) to hear the strings behind Frankie Gavin, also the duet album with Gavin and Finn from 1976, in fact the only time Gavin was not with the group was a 20 min tv recording for Ashling Gheal 1979 and a TnaG show from the late 90s with Tommy Sullivan on guitar. Finn along with Ringo and Colum Murphy is the teeth and rhthym that has held the group together for as long as I remember.

fh041205

I've never heard that Bodhrandude. Any idea where I might get it? I really love what I have of De Danann. Basically collected from Itunes and one other album (called Ballroom) that I managed to find online. I find it very hard to find anything else though.

bodhrandude

Thats the discography from wiki

* De Danann (1975)
* Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (1977)
* The Mist Covered Mountain (1980)
* Star-Spangled Molly (1981) (see The De Dannan Collection)
* Best of De Dannan (1981)
* Song For Ireland (1983)
* The Irish RM (1984)
* Anthem (1985)
* Ballroom (1987)
* A Jacket of Batteries (1988)
* Half Set in Harlem (1991)
* Hibernian Rhapsody (1995)
* How the West Was Won (1999)
* Welcome to the Hotel Connemara (2000)

The first two are deleted and have never been re-released officially on cd. Many folk have used the usb turntable and converted the original vinyl copies to cd, but the rest can still be got in most shops. You can also get that early 1976 recording of Alec Finn and Frankie Gavin in the shops still.

fh041205

Very good. Hearing DeDanann and the gold ring in the same sentence got me very exicted there for a minute.