Great Louth stories of old London days
THREE LOCALS FEATURE IN NEW BOOK ABOUT THE GREAT SHOWBAND ERA
THREE people with strong Louth connections figure prominently in a new book recalling the halcyon days of the showband era, which was launched this week.
From The Candy Store to the Galtymore chronicles the late 1950s to the 1970s in rural and urban Ireland through the stories of the young men and women who religiously went to their local Ballroom of Romance each weekend.
It was the time of Larry Cunningham, Joe Dolan, Brendan Bowyer, Dickie Rock and Butch Moore and wherever they played, the crowds followed.
Well-known journalist Tom Rowley lives in County Louth and his recall of trying to dance with and date a local girl he fancied in Mayo is a forensically accurate account of how young lads tried to woo their conquest while being tossed around by a tsunami of bodies. Meanwhile, Carrickarnon-born Seán Burns has a hilarious account of how one of his fellow dancers ended up holding hands with a man instead of the woman he was dancing with as they made their way to the front to hear Brendan Bowyer sing Boulavogue.
Eddie Marmion from the Cooley Peninsula gives his account of playing in the North on the night of the Miami Showband massacre and is a chilling recollection of how their group escaped possible death thanks to the fact that their gig ended an hour earlier than others around them.
The book, which is dedicated to music man extraordinaire, Ricey Scully, also contains two hilarious stories rolled into one by the former Twiggs and Crackaways member concerning The Singing Nun and U2.
Co-editors PJ Cunningham and Dr Joe Kearney trawled the country over the past year to bring Ireland’s showband stories together in one book.
In all, there are 70 contributions contained in this social and cultural review of the time.
‘From The Candy Store To The Galtymore is a collection with twists in every turn – stories of romance, of chance meetings and tales that are funny and maybe even mischievous,’ said PJ. From The Candy Store To The Galtymore is now available nationwide for €14.99.