In the late '50s, I was living in New York and used to spend a couple evenings a week at the White Horse Tavern. The Clancys and Tommy Makhenm used to drink there and often would sing, just for the hell of it, out of just exuberance. There was a woman who lived upstairs who always omplained when the Clancys sang, I guess because they were really loud. Their voices were so strong and powerful.

People resented her complaints because it kept the Clancys from singing as often as they might have.

This was during a time when the Clancys were getting better known. They were even appearing on television.

One night, the phone rang at the White Horse bar while the Clancys were singing. Sure enough, it was the woman upstairs.

"Are those the young men who were on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' last night?", she asked.

The bartender told her that, indeed, they were, they were the Clancy Brothers, and they had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show that Sunday. The woman politely thanked him for the information and she never, ever, called to complain again.

The Clancys always liked that story.