FATHER Brian D’Arcy is chaplain to the world of Irish showbusiness and has been a friend and confidante to our entertainers since the 1960s. A columnist with the Sunday World for 46 years, Fr Brian has led a remarkable life and here we focus on his interactions with Irish and international music stars from the showbands to the world of country music. Here, in part two of Fr Brian’s story, he recalls his personal encounters with American country superstars such as Johnny Cash, Charley Pride and Kris Kristofferson, and shares his fond memories of Irish entertainers including Joe Dolan and Brendan Bowyer. Fr Brian recalls how he had to break the shocking news to Kris Kristofferson, minutes before he was due to perform on a Dublin stage, that his daughter was in a critical condition after an accident back home in America. Fr Brian also tells how Johnny Cash would have him pray with the family before his shows. And one of the most traumatic periods in Fr Brian’s life, he says, was in July 1975 when he had to officiate at the funerals of five Irish entertainers in one week, including those murdered in the Miami Showband massacre.

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