Athy was buzzing as the October Seis made the town one big gig

IT IS a little-known fact that The March of The O’Neills was the inspiration for the 1973 hit Dearg Doom by Horslips. The same piece of music found its way into Ireland’s sporting history when it was used as the backing track for Put Them Under Pressure, the Irish soccer team’s anthem during the glory days of Italia ’90.

That said, the homecoming of the O’Neills to Athy last weekend for their annual ‘October Seis’ was something to behold. Six sold-out events and three impromptu gigs in 44 hours must go down as some kind of record. 

The Bandwagon, bursting at the seams with musicians, singers, banjos, guitars and saxophones, pulled into the Methodist Church on Woodstock Street on Friday night and 25 musicians tumbled out for what would be an unforgettable night, and the start of an incredible weekend. Before the night was over, the capacity audience were on their feet singing along and moving to the music in the unique setting of the 19th century building.

Following a 20-year tradition, The October Seis Band were first on stage, and the O’Neills from all over Ireland and the UK performed a wonderful opening set before Richard Bennett, a Welsh tenor and family friend, sang two songs in his native language, his wonderful voice reverberating the ancient oak-beamed roof of the building. It was a truly memorable performance.

Margaret Brennan sang from the Nanci Griffith songbook, some wonderful renditions by a truly talented singer.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a recitation by Kevin O’Neill of a self-penned poem titled Crippletown Kevin wrote the poem based on stories his late father, the incomparable Joe O’Neill, had told him about the many broken and disabled men who had returned to Athy after the First World War, leading the town to become known as ‘Crippletown’.

Jamie O’Neill and Makayla Farrell from the band MOA joined Kevin on stage to sing the anti-war song Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya; it was a poignant and moving performance.

Shane Sullivan entertained the now-rapturous audience with a number of his own compositions, before the entire stage was filled to capacity with musicians for the final encore.

As the crowd filtered out into the soft October night, many of them took a detour to Paddy Dunne’s for the second performance of the night. The CI Bar and Anderson’s were both sold-out shows on Saturday as the music played on. 

In fact, so full was Anderson’s on Saturday night that some of the musicians crossed over the new Emily Square and set up shop in O’Brien’s for an impromptu session, with thanks to Judith for facilitating them.

When I spoke to a very hoarse Kevin O’Neill on Sunday night, he was fulsome in his thanks and praise for the people of Athy who had come to the gigs and given so generously for the St Vincent’s Hospital Patients Comfort Fund.

“I am overwhelmed with the support and kindness of the venue owners and the people who attended the gigs. It was really a recognition of the work of the staff at St Vincent’s Hospital and the contribution it has made to the town over the years, I was blown away, I truly was.” 

 A jazz session in Paddy Dunne’s rounded off the weekend, and it was jammed.

Reminiscent of the smoky jazz clubs of New York in the 1950s (without the smoke), Kevin was in his element there, dressed in his best jazz attire and pumping it out on the saxophone.

Next year, the Seis will be in London, hosted by Kevin’s very talented son Joe. The legacy lives on.