Head Start on St. Patrick's Day

I Know. I Know.

You're probably thinking : That's Just Jim Being Jim -- getting all pumped up for his High Holy Day.

To which I say: Why Not! Saint Patrick's Day will be on us before we know it!

And So...

To get the celebration off to a rolling start, let's share a wee bit of The Great Phil Coulter.

Phil is one of Ireland's National Treasurers: not quite up there with the Book of Kells but give him time. He composes music that transcends the steady diet of Dublin Pub Meets Republican Bravado -- in a word, what we normally hear around the High Holy Day.

I've raised a pint now and then, in toast to Padraic Pearse and Michael Collins. But now, perhaps more than ever, I find myself gravitating to a kinder and gentler form of Irish Music... to a genre that speaks more to deeper feeling than outright action. In this matter, Phil's compositions are my favorite cup of tea.

In the link below,  Sinéad O'Connor performs "By The Shores Of The Swilly," an overpowering composition Phil wrote in rememberance of his sister, who drowned in Lough Swilly many years back. If that wasn't enough to grieve over, Phil also lost his brother to the Lough, a victim to a sailing mishap.

This track comes to us from Phil's brilliant CD "Lake of Shadows," which is in many ways was his "therapy" in getting beyond the tragic losses of his brother and sister at young age.

(NOTE: Lough Swilly is where the British Home Fleet anchored after the Battle Of The Jutland. Imagine what those Irish fishermen were thinking when they woke up and saw all of those dreadnaughts anchored off-shore)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xltvpZ0EkqM

The clip just below shows Phil performing his classic "The Town I Loved So Well, " in concert, in Dublin.

Coulter was born and raised in Derry and witnessed, first-hand, the effects of sectarian violence in that proud city.

"Town" is one of Coulter's better-known works, and what makes this special -- the accompanying video which capture the violence of the times which, fortunately, has long passed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OJSTMC0VjQ

The clip just below is one of my all-time faves. Every time I listen to it, I think about those who went through the Famine, or of those bound for Austrailia on Prison Ships -- in other words, of those who long for home and loved ones.

The tune's entitled "Take Me Home" and it's the last cut on Phil's "Lake Of Shadows" CD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZZ5ef3Vh8&feature=BF&list=MLGxdCwVVULXdWUlKTJVF5stRu7OcT5v16&index=3

Last, but not least, we'll get to hear "Tranquility," an instrumental featuring Phil as he wistfully strolls along a path out there on the wind-swept Aran Islands.

Phil's aging gracefully -- in tune with his masterpieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXl-9jAD-FA&feature=related

Credit "U Tube" for providing the ammunition and Jim Ringrose & Anson Smith for the inspiration.

Slante to you all!