When the writer Brendan Lynch strolled down Grafton Street a couple of years ago, the “old ghosts” of Patrick Kavanagh’s poem On Raglan Road haunted his every footstep and he decided to make them the subject of his latest literary assignment.
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Jim McCann – A Master Balladeer
Liam Nolan pays tribute to a master balladeer forever remembered for his beautiful rendition of ‘Grace’ and who sadly left us too soon, in March 2015.
“He enriched my life, I will never forget him” – Ralph McTell
“One of the last great balladeers” – Phil Coulter
“Where in God’s name are you taking me?” my eldest sister Norma said, looking out at the unfamiliar area we were driving through.
“Hold your horses, Norm, we’re nearly there,” I said.
I knew we weren’t far from The Embankment, Mick McCarthy’s iconic live music venue on the Blessington Road. The Embankment was then a place of entertainment, of chicken-in-the rough and whatever-you’re-havin’-yourself when it came to liquid libations.