Tribute To Singer Dolores Keane

Dolores Kane who passed away peacefully on Monday at the age of 72, born into a family steeped

in traditional music and song. The Gullway native was the vocalist in the original day,

Dan and lineup before she launched her solo career, which yielded five albums,

the best known for interpretations of songs like Caledonia, Gullway Bay, and the island she was

presented with a lifetime achievement award at the TGK Hergradem Keola Award ceremony four years

ago and had many many fans, both regular and famous. One of the latter Nancy Griffith,

of course, the American country legend called her the Queen of the Soul of Ireland and described

her voice as sacred. Now a number of years ago Dolores took part in Clarefem's annual show

in my own words and in this section she spoke about one of her career highlights which was singing

in the legendary Carnegie Hall. One of the highlights in my career, a very frightening one

and frightening is a very light word for it, believe me, to stand up in front of an audience

in Carnegie Hall. It is vast inside and I can still hear the sound of my footsteps coming

from the door of the dressing room and I walked in front of the mic and I looked around and

everyone was standing up and I just went blank and then I said to myself, I have to do this,

I'm here now, I'm here I am, forget about Carnegie Hall, forget about Carnegie Hall.

They put up me and then I said thank you very much for coming along. I came out from

Galway to be with you tonight and the crowd went ecstatic and I really enjoyed it after that.

Every single minute I couldn't care less if it was Carnegie Hall or if it was down the

bug or if it was down my field of turnips. You know, just it was like any other gig,

better than any other gig because the response that I was getting from the audience was just

incredible. That was the last Dolores Kane speaking as part of our annual show in my own words

about singing at Carnegie Hall and there will be a celebration of Dolores's life today,

this afternoon at St. Patrick and St. Kuhner Church in Kylkuna and very after the dog Patrick

Sametry and joining us now to reflect on the woman he knew and an amazing career for Dolores Kane

is our own own own, O'Neil, of course musician and presenter of the West Wind on. We're really

appreciate you coming into. In this occasion it's a real honor to come in and talk about such a

that's a lovely clip what you played because that captures everything or accent. You know sometimes

people are ashamed of their accent you know they get to work on a stage and they they feel

that their accent is unique. You need an admitted Atlantic American accent and it's very

disappointing and when somebody is proud and it just is who they are and they have nothing to

apologize for it's such a beautiful take and she was a great great person. And that clip on as

well what struck me about it was you know we were talking about Rafael so many musicians I admire

performed at Carnegie Hall it's one of the legendary venues in world music. For Dolores to have sang

there tells you a lot about the regard she was held in by international audiences yet she said

she didn't as you say in her own accents unvarnished and didn't care whether it was Carnegie Hall or

down the bog in a turn of field and I suspect she's telling the truth. I mean it was very obvious

you know and I think I'll have the great musicians are like that actually I think I think that when

you when you're the great when you have what people admire you there's there's something about

known when it's the right time to sing a song can I tell you my story about Dolores Kane?

I was affected in my life and I was I did my leave insert and I I studied really hard from my

leave insert and then I went to university and after a few weeks university I knew that it was over

the studying thing was over and I didn't know anything except I needed to go wander and I went

to wander and I was 17 we didn't leave insert very early in those days I went wander and I was

kind of busking over in Germany in Holland in different places wander around and I was busking

one day playing the banjo now I couldn't play the banjo I was singing will you go lasty go

I can't sing either but like you know I was I'll be able to sing or play the banjo didn't hold

back it doesn't hold people back if they're buskers and if they're having fun and I was free and I

didn't know the new where I was and I was having a great and but anyway I was playing outside the

Tineff Cathedral I'm sorry they're Cologne Cathedral a beautiful beautiful big cathedral and this

stubborn fellow who was over in Germany said there's a there's a gigante nice in the Tineff

Irish bar he says I think you'd like it it's traditional music I said okay and I was I'd been

aware of Planckstee and I'd been aware of music and I love Planckstee and I kind of it was the

songs that were interesting but it went along to this beautiful little Irish bar and it was to

put 45 people there Candelis and there was a young couple playing to about 45 people yeah I was

lovely and and I'd heard the name the Lord's Cain of course I had because she'd sang what they

done at this stage but the intimacy there was a man playing a bazooki and his name is John

Faulkner John no lives in Canvarra and John Dolores had a relationship musical and they were married

for for many many years and I knew after about three songs and Dolores has played a few tunes

in the flute as well I knew that my life had changed that moment that minute that I had to I wasn't

I didn't want to be in a band I didn't want to be in YouTube I didn't want to be in that I wanted

to have something intimate I wanted to play music that was just lovely in two's people three people

and what I saw this beautiful woman with juice I was 18 17 18 she was probably 23 24 she'd long

hair and she sat up there and she smiled at and the Germans and they just loved her and she sang

with this amazing accent and the music that came out of that voice the I'd never heard really

anything like before and John on the back and it was the most natural thing I'd ever heard

and after the gig they kindly let this young lad hang out with them for and we you know we were

kind of a bit different in those days we drank people drank that more in those situations and

night times lasted a long time so you're good fun well not only had a good fun I was inspired by

these two people that took me under their wing for eight hours and my life changed and I

was remember I came home two days later a lot of Izuki and I've been doing that ever since and I

hope to I hope I've been stayed true to that that's lovely sound of two or three people singing songs

and playing tunes together as opposed to the the the rest band situation which isn't from me at all

yeah just on that point I want to ask you about that only you were more as you say smaller numbers

of people you know just you and I know they're a communist rather than bands Dolores experienced

both sides of that I'll say daydannin and venture now by herself I wonder is there a particular part

of her career that was a highlight for you or when assessing the legacy of someone at the

stature Dolores Kane you kind of have to take the career in the round as a as a whole daydannin

religion tree she contributed massively there but then it's breaking out by herself yeah she really

established herself she did she did she did to the to the to the whole of Ireland and the whole of

anyway that was interesting or but yeah the dannin story is beautiful because Dolores was brought

up with the entire strand mostly by her two aunts Rita and Sarah and she subsumed the music she

summed up big long ten verse songs and you know that was her thing and she she never learned them

they they were just been sung all the time and she had them but one day in Mrs. Collins

pub she met Johnny McDonald Ringo Ringo's a great glad way man he's an other man with a great

strong accent the bowrun player the greatest bowrun player of all time and he said to her

Frankie and she knew Frankie Gavin since she was 12 you know since he was 12 he was a very young

virtuoso and Charlie Piggett and Alex Finn Alex Finn was a great bazooki player from England

worked at in a group Ringo said and Dolores what she said this at the time he turned and show as

well you know she said yeah yeah great that's really interesting oh we'd like you to sing with us

and it was the first time she'd ever sung with a compliment and it was like beautiful it was like

Alex had such a and and and Frankie we dancing around the fiddle behind her and they totally respected

the tradition and the the long song and you know a random Irish man became a quite a big hit in

if for us they were in the thing and it was just a lovely little channel song almost with and

the bouncing fiddle and and the Charlie Piggett's playing banjo and mando it was beautiful

and it was a great time and it was new and whatever happens now that you never happened again

because it was never done before and we people don't realize that you know Luke Kelly was the first

Liam Clancy was the first Kristi Moore was the first and is that what marks Dolores out as being so

special she was up there with those icons she was ahead of the game she went ahead of them all

you know he'd rate her that highly oh everybody rates her out of anybody that like I would have met her

in in Shinvarrad we it was a great old hotel in Kinvarran in the 80s and 90s Carl Winkle's hotel

and the best music happened there and again it was when we were young and wild and late and long

sessions and Dolores would sit in and she'd just be lovely and it was just very special and like

what would it be maybe 20 people there and she sang from from somewhere deep inside and she

I was dead and even when she got famous when she had a different sound behind her she had a very

commercialized accompaniment you know it was kind of countryish more more than tried and it was

lovely it was great and it really did her it brought her to the huge audience but the fact that

she was Dolores Keane from Cardiastran never ever left that sound no matter who she played with

and the greatest thing was Mary Black and Emilio Harris and herself singing sonny absolutely

beautiful voices you know and that's the impact on international audiences and international

musicians you know I already mentioned Nancy Griffith described in her voice as sacred does that

add to Dolores's legacy the party played and bringing promoting our traditional music to an

international audience but just establishing herself as well as being a singer musician of of real

marriage well you know Dolores going to an international audience is almost secondary Dolores was for

Irish the Irish people loved Dolores Keane so many women particularly women are singing and have

sung for the last 40-50 years because of Dolores Keane she's given them songs to sing so it's not

about her for me or legacy that's not important or what's important is that she's in every household

in this country and particularly the west of Ireland she's there's Edith Piaff in France there's

Dolly Patton in America you know there's Danima Scurry in Greece there's all these one people at

and Dolores's hour is their diva she's our Maria Kewastor Maria Cassie Maria Harris you know and

she really is because there's so much music in our voice and it's a sad day it's a very sad day

that she's not around anymore but she's huge legacy she recorded so much with so many different

people and it's a beautiful thing and there's here I was watching Sunline there the people

head for it up there where she lives or the cuff and those comments through last night and they were

all out in the streets and it's like she might have been the most important singer of all time

you know in this country because she gave voice to so many people and she really kept the

tradition ballad ballad sacred and gave us it is very proud of the traditional song we are going

to play out with a song from Doloresone and look there I mean there's so many to choose from

you know I'm the aforementioned Caledonia the island and go away being wherever it might be but

you've gone for let it be I have why can you tell us why you've chosen this particular song

there there's certain musicians and saying Chamon Spegley was another one that had their accent

and they can make Chamon Spegley could make any song by John Denver's son of the comes from the

Blaski Islands but with they done in here with the beautiful arrangement to feel if I don't have

how long you're going to get it to play this song but it's it's a song everybody knows let it be

and they make it they make it sacred thanks Alan for for for for allowing me to to be here for

the other to say that well it is our pleasure to have you in because I can't think of anyone

better to come in as someone who knew we're as a person and as a fantastic and amazing singer

and musician as well own thank you so much for joining us to pay tribute to the late great

Dolores Kane