Radio legend and Irish Broadcasting Hall Of Fame member Brendan Balfe writes for Culture about A Treasury of Irish Voices, a very special live event he will co-host at this year's St. Patrick's Festival.
'Could you do it as a two-hander? , they asked.
‘Certainly', I said.
And who would you ask?
‘Dave Fanning’, said I.
And so, the presenter whom I introduced 40 years ago on the first day of RTÉ Radio 2, and who is now the only DJ from the original line-up still on the station, will be joining me on stage in the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, on the 13th of March this year. It’s a magnificent setting, designed by the Irish architect Francis Johnston, who was also responsible for my previous place of employment, the GPO, which housed the radio service for 45 years. I was on announcing duty that day in 1966 when another of Mr Johnston’s compositions bit the dust, as Nelson’s Pillar was dispensed with.
A Treasury of Irish Voices is one of the many artistic events over St. Patrick's Festival. The idea came from my daughter Ellie, inspired perhaps by the success of my radio series The Irish Voice and its subsequent best-selling CD, coupled with my recent one-man show, Sorry, We’re Off the Air.
It's not an interview; it’s more of a conversation about a collection of fascinating audio recordings that capture the sound, the spirit and the soul of Ireland. You can hear poets, performers, public figures in a 90–minute compendium that ranges from the serious to the witty, the charming to the captivating. In between, we will give the background to the pieces and recall the stories and anecdotes around them. You may have encountered the names before, but you may not have heard their voices.
A country isn't a rock. It’s defined by its values, its art and its culture...
Some of the writers included are W B Yeats, Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw, and Patrick Kavanagh, musicians such as Margaret Burke Sheridan, Bing Crosby, John McCormack, Luke Kelly and U2, performers like Maureen Potter, Niall Tóibín and Frank Kelly, and broadcasters such as Ciarán Mac Mathúna, Gay Byrne and Larry Gogan. There will be poems, songs, prose, comedy and news reports. It will be moving, humourous and, at times, emotional.
A country isn’t a rock. It’s defined by its values, its art and its culture - and the men and women who contributed to our rich history of artistic achievement have ensured that the Irish voice still touches people around the globe.
Ireland is the only country that has a musical instrument as its National Emblem – the Brian Ború harp. Even before it became our State Seal, Arthur O’ Shaughnessy, a young man born in London to Irish parents, wrote a poem that encapsulated the idea that those who wield most influence in the world are the storytellers - poets, writers, musicians and performers. The lines also coined a famous phrase:
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams…,
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
Dave and I welcome all movers and shakers to the Chapel Royal on Friday 13 March at 1.00pm...
A Treasury of Irish Voices: Dave Fanning interviews broadcaster Brendan Balfe, takes place on Friday 13 March at The Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle as part of St. Patrick’s Festival 2020 - more details here.
