Irish balladeers The Kilkennys delighted the Nottingham audience, choosing the ever-popular and hospitable Greyfriars Club in the Thorneywood district for their first-ever visit to our city. The band delivered a dose of pure joy as they performed a multitude of well-known songs, sparking plenty of audience participation. It's safe to say great craic was had...
The Kilkennys are a traditional Irish band who have taken up the baton for future generations in fine style from older, well-respected Irish bands who are no longer active either through retirement or passing, such as The Clancy brothers, The Dubliners and The Wolfe Tones.
No guesses as to where these three guys hail from, well two of them anyway: Davey Cashin and Tommy Mackey are from Kilkenny City in the South East of Ireland, whilst Mick Martin is based further South East in Wexford.
The three lads have really come on in leaps and bounds since the former schoolmates got together in 1998, sharing the platform with such notables such as Shane McGowan, Sharron Shannon and Finbar Furey as well as performing on the main stage at the World’s largest Irish music festival, the prestigious Milwaukee Irish Fest.
Greyfriars Club, based in Gordon Road, is more than just a live music venue, it’s more of a community hub, where everyone is made to feel welcome. I was sat a table with some very friendly locals who made me feel completely at ease.
Mick from Burton Joyce told me how the club had helped many people out during Covid, providing hundreds of meals for locals who were housebound due to the lockdown. Another friendly local called Jackie was out celebrating her birthday with friends, which she surely did, as only the Irish know how.
Tonight was a sell out event, with the band bounding on stage just after 9pm for the first of two sets. The band were enthusiastically received by everyone as they rattled off favourite numbers such as The Wild Rover, Fiddler’s Green, Dirty Old Town and Rocky Road To Dublin, as well as playing moving ballads including Grace and The Fields of Athenry.
There was a wide range of ages in the audience with young and old enjoying the shared pleasure of seeing what is a very polished band playing songs that everyone knows and loves so well to such a high standard. It didn’t take long before people were getting out of their seats and singing and clapping along with the band.
I chatted with the band during the break, who very graciously posed for photos. Davey said that he was really happy to be playing Nottingham for the first time, adding that they had previously appeared at Derby Irish Centre. Davey has a very charismatic presence both on and off stage, and is able to connect very well with the audience, which all adds to up to a memorable performance wherever they play.
The whole band boasts wide multi-instrumental skills, with each member playing a varied range of instruments: Davey mainly leads on vocals as well as playing guitar, banjo, mandolin and whistles. Fellow Marble City resident Tommy backs on vocals and plays bass and acoustic guitar, while Mick Martin plays a dazzling array of instruments (which includes bodhran, Uilleann pipes, harmonica, low whistles and guitar) as well as singing.
By now it was time for the second half of the evening so I took my leave of the lads to grab a pint of delicious Guinness, which was just one of many being drunk that evening and took my seat, at least temporarily, as it was likely we’d be all out of our seats anyway once the music restarted...
The band had been taking requests during the break and very kindly obliged a selection of them, starting with my request for Irish Soldier Laddie. There was also a wide range of songs played with the accent more on the ballad and storytelling genre of Irish music. There was music made famous by The Wolfe Tones, including Jamie Mack I’m Nearly 40, Celtic Symphony, and On The One Road all played at a standard that those most famous of balladeers would definitely approve of.
It seemed that almost everyone was on their feet with people linking arms and dancing and singing along, when all too suddenly the band were playing their final number, along with the inevitable myriad shouts for more.
This was a first rate performance of the very best in Irish traditional music at possibly Nottingham’s finest venue for Irish music. The Kilkennys are already booked to play here again in February next year, and you can be sure that that gig will be every bit as good again. Meanwhile, the club are looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, where there will be - as you might expect - live music.
Many thanks go out to Paul, the manager, and the staff at the club for their kind hospitality on the evening. Hopefully it won’t be too long before LeftLion reports on yet another night of Irish music at Greyfriars.
The Kilkennys performed at The Greyfriars Club on 22nd February 2025.
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