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Commins Calling The ever popular Margo O'Donnell returns to the Royal Theatre in Castlebar on Sunday night.
Enduring Margo returns to Castlebar
Commins Calling Michael Commins
ONE of Ireland’s most enduring country favourites, Margo O’Donnell, returns to the Royal Theatre in Castlebar on Sunday night. This will be her fourth concert over the past few years at this venue and she will be joined by a number of guests for the night. Margo has been performing at dances and shows since she came on the scene as a young teenager in the late 1960s. Things were not always sunny in her career and she certainly has known the ups and downs of showbiz and all the pressures associated with the circuit. Last year’s concert in Castlebar coincided with the launch of her new album. Parcel of Dreams contained a wide selection of some well-known and some original songs such as the great Big Tom McBride. Arran Records have just compiled a double compact disc of material recorded by Margo going back to the early days. Margo’s Country and Irish is the title of the two-CD set which contains 32 songs specially selected by Margo from her back catalogue. Among the numbers are such favourites as The Coalminer’s Daughter, Must You Throw Dirt in my Face, San Antonio Rose, Destination Donegal. The Dying Rebel, Irish Eyes and the Cliffs of Dooneen. Her brother Daniel headlined his annual concert in the Royal Theatre last Sunday night while her mother Julia has just published her life story in a new book out in recent weeks. It is expected that Julia will be in Castlebar on Sunday night. The show in the TF on Sunday night is one of four concerts being undertaken by Margo in the second half of this year. She was in Killarney last Friday night and is also doing a concert in the Donegal Shore Festival on September 8. Her final date for the year will be in the Iontas Theatre in Castleblayney on December 7. Tickets for the Castlebar show are available from the usual outlets and from the Royal Theatre at 094 9023111.
Gina back in Castlebar IN the late 1970s and during the 1980s, Gina, Dale Haze and The Champions were one of the biggest attractions on the dancing circuit. They were especially popular in the West of Ireland, playing to packed venues in Castlebar, the Beaten Path, Castlerea, and all over the region. New trends brought about their own changes. Dale Haze quit the business while band members Eddie Fitzgerald and Tony Brooks went their town ways. Gina and brothers Pat and Mossie Walsh kept the show on the road, adding some local musicians, for their regular gigs, mainly all in the general southern region. The nature of their shows changed as well as they concentrated more on corporate gigs and party nights. Some months ago, after many requests from people around the west who had fond memories of dancing to the Champions, Gina and the band played a dance date in the Travellers Friend Hotel in Castlebar. It was a nostalgic night for several of their loyal followers who were out in force to meet Gina and the band again. Last January, she was among the featured guests on the Midwest Radio concert night at the same venue and next Saturday night sees Gina, Pat and Mossie and the lads back by popular demand for the regular Saturday night dance which runs from midnight to 2am. Welcome back The Champions!
The Duets release new 15-track album
THE Duets are no strangers to the recording studios in recent years. Firm believers in keeping new material coming on stream, they have just released their second album, Precious Memories, a 15-track compilation of country and Irish style songs. Tommy and Kathleen Moran hail from Glenamoy and have been ardent country enthusiasts for many years. Tommy sang with a few bands before himself and Kathleen decided to form their own duo. And so The Duets were born. They now do gigs in various parts of the country and their music is played on many of the regional stations, especially in the west, midlands and north. The new album has ten newly recorded numbers as well as the five that appeared on their first release. Among the songs included are Offaly My County My Home, If Teardrops Were Pennies, A Loved One’s Goodbye, Geisha Girl, Down By The Old River, Achill in Mayo, Leave a Light On For Me and If I Had My Life to Live Over. Chart Records distribute their albums countrywide and Tommy and Kathleen are very pleased with how things have gone for them in the business. They have picked up a number of awards at various shows in Kildare, Meath and Donegal. And with a busy diary, they are looking forward to entertaining dancers up and down the country in the times ahead. Said Tommy: “We had an extensive range of songs to choose from but we decided on some old favourites and the ten new numbers to record. We paid particular attention to what would appeal to fans in our native county.”
fans in our native county.”
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