MUSIC Christy Moore added to Westport Festival line-up

NO ORDINARY MAN?Much-loved Christy Moore will play the Westport Festival main stage on Saturday, June 29.

Christy to walk among us


Legendary folk singer and balladeer Christy Moore has been added to the line-up for this summer’s Westport Festival of Music and Food. Christy will take to the main stage on Saturday, June 29, with long-time collaborator, singer/song writer Declan Sinnott, who has performed with Christy for over three decades.
A veritable national treasure, Christy Moore was named Ireland’s Greatest Living Musician in RTÉ’s People of the Year Awards 2007. His career has spanned over 45 years, and he has released over 40 acclaimed live and studio albums as a solo artist, and as part of trad bands Planxty and Moving Hearts. He is the only artist to have two albums in the top 10 biggest-selling albums in Irish history, outselling the Beatles, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Adele and Oasis. ‘Christy Moore – Live at the Point’ (1994) is number five, and ‘Christy Moore – The Collection 81-91’ (1991) comes in at number eight.
In 2009, his platinum-selling album ‘Listen’ – his first in four years – debuted at No 1 in the Irish album charts, where it stayed for four weeks. His most recent work, ‘Folk Tale’, was produced by Sinnott and features fellow trad greats, Gerry O’Connor, Tim Edey, and Neil Martin with The West Ocean String Quartet.
Moore was born in Newbridge, Co Kildare. He originally worked in a bank, but he always had a huge interest in traditional music. During a bank strike in 1966, which lasted 12 weeks, he went to England, but didn’t return when the strike was over. “I had a wild and wonderful time in England, with no bank manager looking over my shoulder,” he said.
Doing general labouring work, he frequented the folk clubs and the Irish music pubs where he met Seamus Ennis, Margaret Barry, Luke Kelly, Mairtin Byrnes and many other traditional musicians – and his life’s path was hewn.

Festival line-up
The festival line-up this year includes Elvis Costello and The Imposters, Imelda May, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, Blind Boys of Alabama, Squeeze, Martha Wainright, The Silver Seas, LAPD (Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn and Paddy Glackin), Jack Lukeman (Jack L), The Riptide Movement, Sharon Corr, Gavin James, Julie Feeney, Cry Before Dawn, I Draw Slow, The Clew Bay Pipe Band, Hermitage Green, New Sunset Hotel, Delorentos, Le Galaxie, Squarehead, Daithi, Funeral Suits, Kid Karate, Sleep Thieves, Mojo Gogo, Elaine Mai, In their Thousands, So Cow, Dott, The Depravations,  Doghouse and Stephen James Band.    
Comedy acts include Phil Jupitus (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), Barry Murphy (Apres Match),  Bernard O’Shea,  Joe Rooney (Father Ted), Karl Spain, Danny Dowling (DannyMadHatters) and Colin Murphy (Blizzard of Odd).

The Westport Festival of Music and Food takes place on June 29-30 at Westport House. Day and weekend tickets are on sale at www.westportfestival.com. Weekend tickets including camping and/or campervans and car parking tickets are available from  www.westporthouse.ie.