The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
The man comes around... Cash to hit Kilflynn
THEY can hear the train a comin right now in Kilflynn as the man in black, Johnny Cash, is all set to take the village by storm. The Arkansas music legend will make his first ever North Kerry appearance on November 25 and 26 at the St Columbus Centre where the winter blues will be replaced by the ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and many more hits besides.
Rumours of Johnny’s arrival in Kilflynn have been circulating for weeks, but on Sunday evening the sight of Johnny Cash (aka Fergus O’Sullivan) riding through the village at sunset on a horse, ended all speculation. Dressed in black with a guitar strapped to his back, Mr Cash tipped his hat to onlookers in the village as his horse paced slowly in a scene more suggestive of Kentucky than Kerry.
Johnny’s nag then came to a halt outside the Columbus Centre where Mr Cash dismounted to speak briefly to reporters. “We’re very happy to be arriving here in Kilflynn this evening. My wife June and I and the full band are gonna be here on November 25 and 26, and we’re really looking forward to it.” Johnny then gave a short blast of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ before walking away into the fading light.
The Johnny Cash event is organised by Kilflynn Community Together – a group formed with the aim of promoting and enhancing the physical and social environment of Kilflynn and its surrounding areas – and so far they have been extremely busy to say the least: organising walks, village clean-ups, Halloween and Christmas parties, you name it, they organise it.
“We’re organising the event as a fundraiser as we’re currently engaged in doing up the main entrance to the village and Fergus very kindly approached us with the Johnny Cash idea. We’ve been a very busy group since we started and we try to do as much as we can for the area,” said Michael Brady, Chairman of Kilflynn Community Together.
Fergus will be joined over the two nights by his band and wife, Evelyn, (aka June Carter) where he’ll perform around 25 songs each night and, of course, those legendary duets between Johnny and June. Tickets cost €15 and can be purchased at Parker’s Bar and Herbert’s Bar, Kilflynn.
So make November 25 and 26 a weekend to remember in Kilflynn where the folks there are looking forward to welcoming ya’ll.