This is a the day when we like to look back at our many visits to Ireland over the years. We did a lot of memorable shows there, met a lot of special people, and lingered post-tour multiple times to ramble around the countryside.
We had tremendous audiences in Dublin, enthusiastic and ready to party. Irish audiences always clapped and sang along, even on songs where it was unexpected. I never thought of “I Am…I Said” as an audience participation number, but they made it one.
Among the fine friends we made over the years, I’d like to mention Michael Devine, who always provided our transportation in Ireland. Mick, as he is known, drove our vocalist every time we came to town—except once. That was the year he had to send a sub due to a previous commitment to attend a wedding in Taos, New Mexico. He was especially needed at the wedding because he was to give away the bride, a young actress named Julia Roberts. His absence was excused.
Our original Irish promoter, the late Jim Aiken, set the bar for how our rowdy bunch should be treated when we blew into town, and during every trip to Dublin, his name was brought up reverently.
Another friend from Dublin was a woman named Grainne O’Driscoll. When we met, she was working in advertising, putting together commercials for Guinness. When we returned a few years later, she had made a big transition into operating her own Pilates studio, and therefore went from toasting us to stretching us.
There were lots of other people we met, sometimes at dinner in a restaurant or at a pub or someplace even more unlikely. We think of all of them on this day, even the ones whose names we can’t remember. We love you all.