Nights in Reilly's

The word was that it had been a “classy kind of joint.” Those days were long gone by the time we moved in.

Probably the only reason we got a gig in the first place was that no one else really wanted to play there.

Years later I was quoted as saying, “The place was so deserted even the cockroaches were jumping ship.” A bit of an exaggeration as it had a diverse, though small, clientele – most of whom became fast friends.

Whatever – within a year Paddy Reilly’s was one of the best-known bars in America. With lines around the block, it was New York’s in-spot. 

What a place! People were jammed so tight you had to love your neighbor for you would inevitably share some physical intimacy by the time you were poured out onto the corner of 28^th Street and 2^nd Avenue.

There was an attempt to turn an abandoned kitchen into a “Green Room,” but eventually even that was knocked down to provide space, and celebrities had to shoehorn among the swaying, sweaty crowd of New Yorkers and astute out-of-towners.

It was Black 47’s Cavern. We played there Wednesdays and Saturdays. In the beginning we did two long sets; eventually we combined them into a marathon that often stretched until the cows came home. We never tired, though fingers, lips, and voices took a beating.  

It was a scene! And it set the stage for 25 years of performances by Black 47. 

We never rehearsed although we performed hundreds of original songs. Why spend money on rehearsal studios when you could work out material onstage in Reilly’s and get paid for it.

This strategy demanded a certain fearlessness. Chris Byrne or I would bring a song in with lyrics and chords, and during sound check we’d work out an intro, and mark out a space for an improvised instrumental section, then it was 1-2-3-4 and we were off to the races.

Perfection was the last thing on our minds – as long as we all started and finished together, who cared? You’d learn more about the song in that first outing in front of an audience than you ever could in a couple of prissy rehearsal hours.

Though we eventually played stadiums, theatres and legendary clubs, my favorite moment on stage was the night we first performed the complex James Connolly in Reilly’s.

There was the usual jostling and shouting when we began but as we entered Connolly’s inner dialogue, an odd hush descended as both audience and band realized something special was happening.

When the song ended that hush lingered. Between us we had created something new – that rarest of things in music. 

Monsignor Steve Duggan presided over the place with a deft hand and a ready smile. Manager Dympna McDonald became best friend, and champion to a host of bands.

And what a line up it was in those early days – Friday, Spéir Mor, Sunday Roguesmarch, Monday Eileen Ivers & Seamus Egan, Tuesdays Paddy-A-Go-Go, Thursdays a seisiún led by that infamous Sligo Indian, Tony DeMarco, and John Dillon. 

Eventually, The Prodigals and other great bands would gain their residencies.

The doors may have been locked at 4am but the partying continued until whenever.

It was a time of intense politics both in the North of Ireland and the US. Passions were high and many a dignitary stood next to a felon, many a cop next to a robber, and so many superstars next to their fans. 

No one received preference. It was first come, first served - you stood in line with the punters outside and waited your turn.

I could fill a page with the names of the celebrities but who cares – the music is what counted – raw, in your face, full of passion, urgency, and a yearning for originality. It’s hard to ignore that Joe Strummer was a regular, but he was there for the music and cared little for celebrity.

And one day it was over; then 9/11 drained the remains of the wildness out of our insomniac city. 

But the memories remain and so does Paddy Reilly’s still pumping live music, although now on 29^th Street. Say hello to the Monsignor when you next venture in. 

What nights we had – what a scene we created!

From Bank Clerks to Chieftains

“55 years on the road?“ Said I.

“56 and counting, actually.” Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains coyly smiled.

Since Paddy took up the Tin Whistle at 6 yars of age he’s probably knocked off over 5,000 gigs. But I let that thought rest during our recent interview at SiriusXM.

Paddy is the surviving godfather of Irish Traditional Music; he and Seán O’Riada created the genre as we know it now.

But even within Ceoltóirí Chualann, O’Riada’s masterful ensemble, Paddy was a driving force.

The interview bounced along merrily with PR maestro, Anita Daly, in attendance, and SiriusXM A&R rep, Liam Davenport - himself a bagpiper – dropping by for an earful of a living legend. 

My only fear was that we were laughing so much the listeners might not be able to decipher what we were actually talking about.

The Chieftains were already a household name before I first saw them perform at a festival in Wexford in the early 70’s. Apart from Irish acclaim, John Peel played them regularly on his groundbreaking BBC radio shows.

How odd to hear Irish Traditional Music sandwiched in between Cream and Frank Zappa. But it all fit seamlessly for each was plowing their own furrow, and to hell with the begrudgers!

I reminded Paddy about that Wexford gig. With his near photographic memory he recounted the scene. 

“Out we shuffled onto the stage before the progressive band, Curved Air. We must have looked like a crowd of bank clerks in our dark suits.”

Up near where I sat in the balcony Curved Air fans hooted their displeasure until threatened by veterans of local Teddyboy rumbles.

Then Paddy recalled his involvement with the movie Barry Lyndon. 

“It was a Friday afternoon and I was doing an interview in Dublin when I got a phone call from a Mr. Stanley Kubrick who wished to speak to me. Unfamiliar with his name, I asked if he could give me a shout back on Monday and hung up. Luckily the world famous director persisted and the rest was history.”

Talk about the right music for the right scene. I can still recall the emotion I felt when hearing Mná na hÉireann during a Times Square showing of Kubrick’s iconic film.

If Seán O’Riada’s Mise Éire sountrack changed the way Irish people thought of themselves, then Moloney’s scoring of Barry Lyndon for this Academy Award winner put Irish Traditional Music on the international stage.

But then Paddy has received many awards including a doctorate from Trinity College Dublin. That finally put paid to his mother nagging him about giving up his “nice steady job” as an accountant for the uncertain life of a gigging musician.

The Dublin of the 1950’s was a quiet, but seething, backwater when Paddy took his first steps on the road to fame. Was there anyone of note he didn’t know?

Brendan Behan was a friend and “had a lovely voice. He could hit a high G effortlessly and was a nice man – most of the time.”

Paddy, in his work for Claddagh Records, actually recorded Patrick Kavanagh and recounted the poet’s volcanic and argumentative nature while imbibing in McDaid’s Pub.

Another poet, John Montague, suggested the name The Chieftains when the boys were contemplating calling themselves “The Quare Fellahs” in honor of Brendan Behan. 

Think how Irish Traditional Music might have been perceived down the years if they’d been known as “The Quare Fellahs!”

Though he’s recorded with everyone from The Stones to Pavarotti, Paddy is at his hilarious best talking about the Chieftains’ outings with Van Morrison. His take on the East Belfast man’s accent and eccentricities is spot on.

And yet Moloney has a reverence for musicians, and is well aware that together Van and The Chieftains created Irish Heartbeat - a classic in modern Irish music – in five frantic days. 

As you read this The Chieftains are touring America. As ever they mix the mad, the merry and the melancholic.

Go see them. They are a link to both the past and the future, and will work wonders on your soul.

Not bad for a crowd of bank clerks!