Showband legend on TV

Showband legends light up nation’s TV screens


Michael Commins

THE current RTÉ series of ‘A Little Bit Showband’ is proving very popular with viewers around the country. The shows, which are narrated by Ronan Collins, are going out on RTÉ 1 from 7pm to 7.30pm each Tuesday night.
Last week featured my long-time friend from Castleblayney, Paddy Cole, and it was another lovely show in an enchanting series. Paddy, who has resided with his wife Helen in Dublin for many years, is one of the great characters of the business. Not alone is he a terrific musician but he is a gifted storyteller and a man who exudes an earthy Monaghan charm.
It was great to see some archive material from the days of the Capitol Showband, featuring Butch Moore, Des and Johnny Kelly, Eamon Monaghan and the lads. The years in Las Vegas were interesting too and the whole story was liberally sprinkled with anecdotes from over the years.
The first show in the series featured the genial Brendan Bowyer from Waterford, one of the true legends of the Irish showband scene. It was an engaging and nostalgic look back at one of the icons of the Irish showbiz scene and the Royal Showband who blazed such a glorious trail out of Waterford way back then.
The unwarranted and cynical attack on this show by Irish Independent critic John Boland in his television column in that newspaper was sad in the extreme. Boland clearly understood nothing of the significance of Brendan Bowyer to such a huge swathe of Irish society and the tremendous respect in which he is held by so many people. It was like asking a GAA reporter to cover a cricket match.
The onslaught by Boland, especially in relation to the script by Ronan Collins, reflected more on Boland’s poverty of knowledge of an icon of Irish showbiz than anything else. It was despicable in its attempt to downgrade a true institution.
Eden Phillpotts once said: “It is interesting to note how most art-lovers and critics are town-bred and town-minded.” In John Boland’s case, he has shown gross ignorance of the country people’s love of their showband stars from back the years. Brendan Bowyer and others of the era will always command respect. Wonder how many would pay to see John Boland on stage or recognise him walking down the street?
Rock on Brendan and Paddy and Ronan!