In The Lamplight

Órla Sweeney is In The Lamplight! Hear all about Órla's amazing life starting from when she was a newborn baby and her dad placed her next to a record player for a musical christening by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. As a child, Órla attended more gigs than most people will in their entire lifetime, accompanying her dad, Oliver, who worked as a journalist for the music magazine Hot Press.

As a child, Órla had the opportunity to meet many renowned musicians and artists. As a teenager, while Órla's peers were going to popular club nights in Dublin, Órla often found herself at a traditional music session in Whelans or a folk gig in Vicar Street. The songs of Richard Thompson have remained lifelong favourites of Órla's. We get a listen to Órla performing his classic "The Dimming of the Day" alongside former In The Lamplight guest, Seamie O'Dowd.

In her early twenties, Órla recorded and released an album of original material co-written with her father. The opportunity arose out of a recording session for a separate project on which Órla was providing backing vocals and the resulting album led to her being signed to the Warner Bros. record label and she completed several successful tours and performed as support for some of the all-time greats of Irish music.

After listening to a track called "Donegal Rain" from her debut album "The Blue Note", Órla opens up on whether her exposure to the music industry and music journalism as a child gave her a heightened awareness of any criticism she received as a performer. Órla gives a very honest insight into her struggles with confidence when it comes to performing in front of an audience.

Aside from her career as a performer, Órla has been involved in many behind-the-scenes musical projects, chief among which is her involvement with the phenomenally successful "Ceol" album series in which popular artists record Irish-language versions of their hit songs.
Órla produced several albums in the series in the mid-to-late noughties working with artists such as Des Bishop, The Coronas and Eddi Reader. Her work with Reader on a Gaeilge version of the Fairground Attraction hit "Perfect" led to them forming a lasting friendship. Órla performed a song written by Eddi's husband and sung regularly by Eddi - "Wild Mountainside" as part of Kieran's "Not A Theme Night" and we take a listen to that performance here.

Rory asks Órla about the emotion she brings to her perfomances, something evident to anyone who saw her perform in the recent "Not A Theme Night" show. Following up with a tough question, Luke asks Órla about the special pair of headphones she's wearing for the interview.

The three lads wrap up by reflection on their chat with Órla and reveal some plans for next week's episode which will be released on Saint Patrick's Day.

The show opens with this week's variation on our opening theme, a merging of Kieran's original melody movement with a chord progression and instrumentation similar to The Saw Doctors' hit "N17". The lads discuss the feeling of finding yourself in the middle of a performance with someone unexpected in the crowd, be they a famous person or a musical peer whose opinion you value and respect, and the way that this can influence your mindset and your performance.

Kieran introduces Leo Moran of The Saw Doctors and the lads get chatting about the band's early days. Leo recounts one of the key moments that led to the band breaking out in Ireland and abroad, that being the endorsement of Mike Scott of The Waterboys. Leo chats about their early experiences touring and the sacrifices they had to make when they decided to fully embrace a future as a working band.

Kieran ask Leo about his songwriting process. Leo gives us an insight into his workflow when writing songs with fellow Saw Doctors bandmate Davy Carton. Leo praises Davy's compositional ability and creativity.

Leo performs a Saw Doctors song, "Same Oul' Town". The performance features Leo on acoustic guitar and lead vocals with Luke providing banjo, dobro, accordion and backing vocals.

Kieran brings up football and he and Leo swap stories of how their musical lives intertwined with their mutual love of the sport. Hear about Leo performing impromptu gigs outside his house on matchdays in Tuam and about how The Saw Doctors song "To Win Just Once" will, for Kieran, be forever associated with his biggest win while playing for Sligo.

The lads, along with Leo, listen to Sarah Crummy's spine-tingling reimagining of the song which earns high praise from Leo.

Elsewhere on the show, Leo recites a piece of spoken-word prose that he wrote during the first Covid-19 lockdown. The piece is centred on his native town of Tuam and reflects on his life, his travels, his dreams and where he finds himself now in the middle of a global pandemic.

The lads wrap up their chat with Leo with the promise of some in-person tunes together at some point in the future. 

The episode ends with Kieran, Luke and Rory reflecting on their chat with Leo. We also get this week's "In The Rantlight" segment featuring Kendy and Raybo of The Kendy and Raybo Podcast.

It's Luke's turn in the Lamplight hot seat as he becomes the last of the show's trio of hosts to become a guest on his own podcast. The show opens with a swing jazz interpretation of the theme song, arranged and recorded by Luke. In lieu of the usual poem, Kieran (along with some help from friend-of-the-show, "Famous" Dave Flynn) presents a version of Pat Shortt's "Jumbo Breakfast Role", rewritten to run through some of the instruments Luke plays...and take a dig over the ones he doesn't.

Luke's musical childhood is the focus of the first part of the show where he tells us how he became fascinated by the piano accordion at the age of four, inspired by the music of Foster & Allen. Hear about a childhood spent performing at various functions around the country and about how Luke started his recording career at the age of six. Kieran and Rory, having thoroughly done their research, play a clip of six-year-old Luke singing "Red Haired Mary".

The conversation moves on as the lads discuss how Luke's one instrument turned into many more while Luke talks about his own limitations as well as the advantages of being a multi-instrumentalist when it comes to being a music producer. Luke talks about his time in college and how his experiences with the Maynooth Drama Society and his social development were as much a part of his college education as his course.

Luke discusses songwriting, outlining what he likes in a song and how it feeds into his own writing. We hear one of Luke's original songs, "Dancing Lucy".

Kieran asks Luke about a song Rory performed two episodes previously, a brand-new arrangement of Hozier's "Movement". Kieran asks Luke to break down his though process and workflow when it comes to taking an arrangement from an idea and turning it into a finished, polished recording. The lads discuss musicianship and the value of of picking your spots and self-discipline when performing live or in the studio.

Wrapping up, the guys discuss their work on Kieran's show, "Not A Theme Night". With part one of the show having already been broadcast, the lads reflect on the feeling of sending work out into the world.

The show finishes up with another original from Luke which was featured in part one of "Not A Theme Night", a song called "The Ballad of Puss In Boots".

The proverbial tables are turned on this week's episode of In The Lamplight as Kieran becomes the interviewee. Rory and Luke ask him all the tough questions, questions like "Why did your football friends call you five-ninety?" and "How do you feel about your brother beating you every year in the Warrior's Run?", a statement that Kieran assures us isn't true.

The episode opens with a longer intro, a full-fledged piece of music newly written by Kieran and based off our theme music. Rory and Luke present Kieran with their best attempt at poetry before diving into the questions.

Rory takes the reigns to ask Kieran about sport. Kieran discusses finding his passion for sport, what it meant to him to be involved in various teams over the years and how it brought him a sense of community and belonging.

We listen to the original studio recording of Kieran's composition "The Match", a tune co-written with Steve Wickham, also featuring Junior Davey on the Bodhrán. Kieran wrote the tune after being challenged to write a piece that combined his love of music with his passion for sport.

Luke takes over to ask Kieran about all things music. From the lightbulb moment that ignited his desire to play the piano again to his methods as a music teacher, Kieran offers up insights into his thoughts on music in general and its place in his life. He talks about his realisation that he didn't want to do anything else with his life and that music was his calling and how he forged a career as a professional musician.

Kieran performs an original piece called "Something Beautiful" alongside Niamh Crowley on the violin. The piece, along with many more from various well-known Sligo artists and performers, will be featured in an upcoming two-part show called "Not A Theme Night", details of which are available on the Hawk's Well Theatre's website.

Wrapping up, Rory asks Kieran how he found his way back to Sligo after a well-travelled youth. They discuss Kieran's Teenage Theme Nights and the importance of presenting young people with the opportunity to grow and develop through music.

Eoin Troy features on this week's "In The Rantlight" segment with his breakdown of an epidemic that's been plaguing the music industry for some years now...the dreaded Curly Vowels.

After a Covid-imposed break, In The Lamplight returns with Season 1.5 and one of its own as the special guest, barber extraordinaire and cinematographer supreme, Rory Maitland.

Hear about Rory's experiences in musical theatre growing up, including the time he swore on stage as a child a production of "Oliver!" where he first crossed paths with Luke. Luke and Rory re-enact one of the scenes they shared. Kieran asks Rory about the time he was co-opted into a production of Grease after someone pulled out in the late stages of the rehearsal process which lead to Rory's first meeting with Kieran who was the musical director of the show.

Rory talks about his work and work ethic, about how he feels its important to be true to yourself and find something that you enjoy doing in live, something you have a passion for.

Other topics discussed are favourite albums, songs, favourite theme night performances, and more.

The lads premiere a new podcast slot called "Lamplight Pet Peeves" featuring "Famous" Dave Flynn, a good friend of the podcast. In this slot, the lads will be giving musicians free reign to rant about the things that irk them the most.

Rory performs twice for us in this episode. First, he does his on-point Ed Sheeran impersonation, improvising an Ed Sheeran-style song after being given three random words by Kieran and Luke. Rory breaks down Ed Sheeran's songwriting formula with a live demonstration. Rory's second performance is a beautiful reimaging of Hozier's "Movement" with Kieran providing keys with Luke providing guitar, organ and a string arrangement.

Part two of In The Lamplight's End-of-Year Special for 2020.

Kieran, Luke & Rory continue where they left off at the end of part one, discussing the imminent streaming of Theme Night 26 - Ireland In Song. Hear about the last minute hurdles that cropped up shortly before the show.

The lads move on to Theme Night 27, chatting about how it differed from Theme Night 26. Hear stories about how they ended up losing a day of recording time, about Kieran and Rory's scouting mission to find a location for a night-time shoot and about how they almost got rumbled by the guards.

Featured audio clips from Theme Nights 26 & 27 include...

- "Running To Stand Still" - Joe Hunt
- "Your World" - Sam & Ollie White
- "Dancing In The Street" - Jamie Callaghan & Sinéad Conway
- "Summer Medley" - Niamh Crowley & gang
- "What A Wonderful World" - Barry Brennan
- "All I Ask" - Chris Baillie

All of the above performances are available to watch on Kieran's YouTube channel, along with all of the other songs from both shows.

Luke opens the show with a gentle Christmas lullaby written by John Denver called "Christmas for Cowboys", playing guitar and harmonica and delivering the vocal.

Aileen joins the guys to discuss her job and how it fits into the bigger picture of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aileen chats about her memories of working on the two Kieran Quinn Online Theme Nights that took place this year, those being "Theme Night 26 - Ireland In Song" and Theme Night 27 "Summer & Sunshine". In the former, Aileen performed "No Frontiers" along with Gráinne McCarthy and in the latter, she performed "La Vie en rose" with the Old Market Street Swing Band, the classic, signature song of Édith Piaf. Hear about how the songs were recorded, the challenges that were faced as a result of Covid-19 restrictions and how the recording of the two tracks differed.

After chatting about how they felt on the night that the completed show was streamed, Aileen performs an original song called "Grateful". The song has Christmas themes but also features a broader theme of thankfulness. Aileen delivers a beautifully emotive performance, wrapping up her time on the show on a poignant note.

The lads move on to chat about their broader experiences of working on the first online Theme Night, swapping stories about the problems they encountered, late night phone calls, all-night marathon mixing sessions, the benefits of recording vocals under a duvet and much more.

Other recordings heard during the show are the Theme Night Choir performing "Flying Without Wings" and Sandy Kelly singing "Katie", both of which were recorded for Online Theme Night 26 - Ireland In Song.

The lads bring season one of the podcast to a close, opening the episode by swapping stories of encounters with famous people which leads into a discussion about how Irish people treat famous people and whether or not we might just be a little bit unique.

Kieran, Luke and Rory are joined by their guest, Steve Wickham. From fuzz fiddle to traditional Irish fiddle, from John Prine to Country Jack, Steve has led a well travelled life and has seen many corners of the world through the eyes of a touring musician. Hear him talk about his experiences meeting and playing with names such as U2, John Prine and Bob Dylan, as well as how he views himself within the context of his own gigging life with his highly successful band, The Waterboys.

Steve opens up about how he came to call Sligo home. Although the move from Dublin was jarring at first, Steve now finds sanctuary and solace in Sligo and has climbed more of the county's many peaks and mountains than most Sligo-borns ever will.

Steve chats about his experiences with the Covid-19 pandemic, how it has affected his life as a touring musician and his current studies in fine art.

Steve performs three pieces during the show. The first is a self-composed jig called "The Whispers of New England". He is joined by Kieran on keys and Luke on bass guitar while he plays the fiddle himself. Hear the story of how the tune got its name. Next up is an original song that reflects on the lockdown experience but also looks forward with tentative optimism. Steve is on vocals and guitar here with Kieran on keys. Finally, Kieran (keys) and Steve (fiddle) perform their co-composed tune "The Match", a piece of music that sweeps through the highs and lows of an intense Gaelic football match.

The lads wrap up the episode with their usual reflections on their chats with their guest and throw around the possibility of a Christmas special...

Before introducing this week's guest, Kieran asks Luke and Rory if either of them could recall saying yes to a question which had much further-reaching consequences than they could ever have imagined at the time. This week's guest, Brian Devaney, certainly could.

Brian joins the podcast to talk about his life on and off the stage as one of the pillars of the Coolera Dramatic Society, a group who produce a yearly pantomime in the Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo. Hear about his theatrical origins as well as what led to him taking on the role of the dame.

Brian recalls various productions that the group produced over the years and tells stories of their time touring the All-Ireland Festival Circuit with both one-acts and full-length productions.

Hear some absolutely hilarious stories about the various ways that Brian has made an entrance onto the stage over the years as well as some dubious plumbing solutions that helped them stage the pantomime elsewhere when the Hawk's Well was undergoing renovations in the mid-nineties.

Kieran and Luke perform Dire Straits' 'Walk of Life' with Kieran on keys and Luke on electric guitar and vocals, a favourite song of Brian's. Brian performs a version of 'A Boy Named Sue' with the guys on the same instruments, before rounding his time on the podcast off with a solo rendition of 'The Canon's Dream', also known as 'The Boys from Ballysadare'.

Kieran, Luke and Rory chat over the episode with Brian and what he brings to the stage and indeed the greater table as a performer and company member. The lads talk about the possibility of a season two before signing off.

Kieran kicks off the podcast with a story from his GAA days, telling us how his off-pitch life as a piano player became a target during an on-pitch butting of heads. 

Kieran introduces Mabel Chah, a former asylum seeker from Cameroon who has lovingly adopted Sligo as her new home. Mabel talks about the process of seeking asylum and how, after being placed in other direct provision centres elsewhere in the country, she was eventually placed in Sligo.

Mabel opens up about the circumstances that forced her to leave Cameroon and the impact it had on her family still living there. She tells us of the inspiration she found in her great-grandmother, a woman she viewed as invincible until her unfortunate passing.

The guys, along with Mabel, reflect on Mabel's debut theme night performance as part of Kieran Quinn's Theme Night #25 - The Bee Gees & the Disco Era. Mabel performed "I Will Survive" but all was not as cool and calm as it appeared from the audience!

Mabel talks about her work with the "Global Food Kitchen", a series of periodic events ran in The Model in Sligo pre-Covid. The events bring together immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and those living in direct provision centres to cook meals from their home countries, something they are often unable to do elsewhere. The events are open to the public and people are invited to join them and experience some of their culture through their food.

Mabel performs three songs on the podcast. The first two are originals with Kieran on keys, Luke on bass guitar and Mabel on vocals. They are called "Burning Coal" and "Yassi". They guys round up with a cover of Bob Marley's "One Love" featuring the same line-up but with Kieran and Luke also singing backing vocals.

Kieran, Luke and Rory finish with some thoughts on Mabels interview and answer a question from a listener in Boston, namely...how did the podcast get its name?