Lennie launches his labour of love

MAN ON A MISSION Lennie Grimes is launching a CD of songs sung and written by himself in Darby’s of Cushlough on Friday, October 12.  Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Ciara Galvin

FROM the showband era filling dance halls in London and Birmingham, to returning to his own ‘Lovely Westport’, Lennie Grimes’s new collection of songs covers it all.
Having previously recorded some ballads on the good old reliable tape many years ago, this time around Lennie has enlisted the help of his talented grand-nephew, CiarΡn O’Malley, to pen some new work.
“A few years ago I wrote ‘A Piece of My Heart’ and then the last one was co-written with my grand-nephew CiarΡn O’Malley, he wrote most of it, it’s called ‘The House Beside the Lake’, it has got a lot of air play,” explains Lennie.
A tribute to his late sister Margaret, who is also CiarΡn’s grandmother, the two worked on creating something in her memory.
“CiarΡn did a lot of it and then he came down to me and we finished it off. CiarΡn is one of the best guitar players in Ireland at the moment, he’s in the wedding band, The Bentley Boys,” said the affable Lennie, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday.
The new collection of songs includes ‘The House Beside the Lake’, the famous ‘Lovely Westport’ and ‘My Achill Island Home’.
Lennie started off his music career with The Croagh Patrick Trio in the 50s with Frank Baynes and Pat Friel, then later with Pat Friel in the Pat Friel Group, and later The Friel Men.
“We toured England and then I went to England for a few years where myself and Pat O’Malley joined ‘Slim and the Westerners’ and played all over Birmingham and London.”
Reminiscing about times gone by, Lennie said there was barely an Irish dance hall that they didn’t play in.

A home from home
“It was brilliant. They used to have residents bands there who would lose and find us, but the crowd were waiting for the Irish band. In the ’60s the Irish were going over in their hundreds. People just wanted a piece of home.”
Lennie says his favourite song is probably, ‘My Achill Island Home’.
“I should probably say ‘Lovely Westport,” he says, smiling, but adds, “We used to play in Achill four or five nights a week during the summer. So I called it ‘My Achill Island Home’, it used to be thronged.” The song has since been recorded by a host of Irish country singers.
“It’s lovely to think you wrote something that other people thought was good enough to record.” Now the song closest to his heart is ‘The House Beside the Lake’, that reminds him of his late sister Margaret, who would have turned 90 this month.

Eclectic taste
Far from a music snob, Lennie said he supports ‘all types of music’, with country, ballads and folk being his main interests.
Big bands that Lennie enjoys includes The Eagles, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and among the first records he bought were Brian Coll and Brendan Boyer.
A firm country music fan too, Lennie cites Frank McCaffrey as ‘one of the greatest voices in Ireland’ along with Philomena Begley.
Proud of what he has produced along with his talented grandnephew, CiarΡn, Lennie hopes the collection of songs will live on as a legacy.
“It’s nice to hear when people remember hearing ‘Lovely Westport’, I think any song you write, even if it doesn’t get anywhere, it’s something to be proud of, it’s your work.”
Now, the Westport man is looking forward to launching the collection of songs with friends, family and the community in Darby’s of Cushlough on Friday, October 12.