Town Hall becomes memory lane for singer
When singer-songwriter Paul Durney looks out from the stage of the Kilcullen Town Hall Theatre tonight, it won't be like it was the first time he did so nearly 40 years ago, writes Brian Byrne.
For a start, the Volvo leather car seats that make up the unique accommodation in the theatre were only installed in 2000. The audience will be different too, as not too many there are likely to remember the Kilcullen Capers shows of the 1970s. Paul performed in many of them as a little fella, in the North East presentations.
"Eventually I got a chance of a solo, and I remember doing a Neil Young song, probably 'Heart of Gold', with my old Ibanez guitar," recalls the now much more experienced performer, who goes under the name Seoirse Mhor as he travels in Germany as a full-time musician, busking and taking part in music festivals.
Paul joined the band 'Fleadh', a multi-nationality group that specialises in modern variations of 'trad' music from across Europe in 2007, fronting the lineup with founder Frank Weber (pipes), Frank Dürschner (banjo, mando), Tommy Gorny (guitar), Marcus Eichenlaub (fiddle) and the recently-joined bass player Karl Schramm.
Fleadh have produced two studio albums and have won awards in both Germany and in Ireland for their mix of songs and traditional Irish music. Their current CD, 'The Cleggan Bay Disaster', earned them Best Folk Album & Best Folk Song 2013 at the German Pop & Rock Awards.
The Kilcullen performance is one of two locally — Fleadh will be playing next week in Newbridge, to where Paul's family moved after leaving Kilcullen. He's looking forward to meeting people whom he 'hasn't seen for a while'.
In his Kilcullen days he was involved in a number of bands in the area after the Capers finished, and he recalls practicing in the old Tennis Club and the JKF Boxing Club Hall, and playing in pubs like Berneys. "This phase is branded on my brain and soul. Only recently I found myself relating this remarkable chapter of my youth to my own three children here in Germany. My wife usually rolls her eyes or goes to fetch more coffee when I start on this subject. I can’t blame her really ... you have had to live it before you know what it’s about."
He worked for a while in Berney Bros saddlery, but eventually decided to give the music a chance to prove itself, and headed off with his guitar as an young wandering minstrel. Germany was where he found both a living, and later a wife and their subsequent family. He says he came home three times, but Germany always called again and finally he set down roots.
Even after all the decades there, though, he still feels Irish. "I'm sure some aspects of German life have rubbed off on me. But the Irish line is not easily shrugged off. I could easily have applied for German nationality, but it was never an issue with me."
Like most singer-songwriters, life is the source of the stories in his compositions. "Generally I reflect a lot on humanity and its strivings and failures. Unlike other songwriters I don't really take a firm stance on issues but I try throw light on things and let people do their own reflecting then."
He has interests apart from the music, and recently spent a year renovating an old tractor. "Sometimes I even stitch a belt with my old saddlery tools, and I also spend time in our woods lumberjacking with a chainsaw and tractor."
But it's the music that allows him indulge his underlying instinct of a wanderer and at the same time support his family. It's a characteristic that doesn't look like changing any time soon. "My ambition is to own a camper and travel independently as I play. That'd be grand."
But tonight he's 'home' in Kilcullen. Local trad band Cathú kick the gig off at 8pm.
A version of this article was first published on the Kilcullen page of The Kildare Nationalist. Apologies to those confused by my mixing up day and date, and I hope nobody came to Kilcullen last night as a result!
