Regular musicians at popular Mayo pub to embark on US tour

Mayo acoustic musical duo Joe Forde and Eric Heneghan are set to embark on a US tour next month.

The pair have been sponsored by Jim Friel, a Chicago attorney and owner of Chicago establishment Fitz’s Pub, to visit and play across the two US states.

They will kick off their two-week tour of Chicago and New York on October 17, playing eight US shows throughout the month.

The two men have entertained hundreds, if not thousands, of US visitors in The Porter House pub in Westport and along the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast of Ireland. 

They have also teamed up with Corduff Travel who provides an authentic, traditional Irish tour experience of the sites while enjoying music and songs in the comfort of West Mayo Hostelries along the famous coastal route. 

After many requests to bring their act to the US, the duo is making their debut across the pond with the help of their sponsorship. 

Mr Forde hails from a singing household in Corrandulla Co Galway. As a young man he frequented ‘Forde’s’ pub in Headford, a live music hotspot throughout the 70s and 80s owned by his uncle Sean Forde. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he found the confidence to sing a song at a cousin’s wedding, to much applause and enthusiasm, and shortly thereafter he invested in his first guitar. 

In 2018, he and his wife bought her Mayo family home and made the move across the border.

Having sung throughout the country, after the Covid-19 pandemic, he met Mayo pub onwner Joe O’Malley and began singing in his pub.

“Once things started opening up, I met Joe O’Malley and asked if he would like me to sing in his pub, and here I am,” said Mr Forde.

His musical partner Eric Heneghan was born in the Bronx, New York City after his father, Sheamus had moved there in the late 1960s to work in construction on the World Trade Center towers. 

In addition to working construction by day, Sheamus Heneghan was a prominent accordion player by night who played in venues all over New York City throughout the 1970s. 

When Eric was three, the family moved back to Mayo, where he grew up watching his father perform in pubs across Mayo.  

Sadly, Sheamus passed away in 2021, but today Eric follows in his footsteps and west Mayo pubs continue to enjoy the sound of a Heneghan on the button accordion. 

“I look forward to inviting my family to see us play and hope to visit the venues my father played as a young man,” said Mr Heneghan. 

“We at The Porter House are proud to have Joe and Eric representing us overseas. No doubt they will provide a unique cultural entertainment experience to all of their listeners, whether of Irish descent or not,” said its proprietor, ‘Cosy Joe’ O’Malley. 

The duo will play the following confirmed dates with other venues to be determined:

October 17 – Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago;

October18 – Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago;

October 20 – Chief O’Neills, North Elston Ave., Chicago;

October 24 – Gaelic Park, Oak Forest, Chicago;

October 26 – Paddy Reilly’s, New York;

October 27 – 11th Street Bar, New York;

October 30 – Paddy Reilly’s, New York;

November 1 – The Dubliner, Boston.

For more information and to keep up with the act, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel.