I will be away this Sunday, Ron, so I look forward to the archived edition.

Joe Heaney was living in New York City while I was running the traditional music club at Malachy's McCourt's Bells of Hell and The Eagle Tavern and he was a frequent guest and patron at the club. He just about always stopped by when Peter Bellamy or Lou Killen were singing. On one evening when I was sharing the night with James Kelly, Paddy O'Brien and Daithi Sproule, both Joe Heaney and the great accordion player Joe Burke dropped in. That was quite a night!

In the late 1970s, we started what was a new format on certain nights when our featured guest and I participated in a sing-around. Perhaps one of the first singing circles at a folk club. Joe did a few of these in addition to Roy Harris, Frank Harte, Ray Fisher and other singers. Those were great days in New York.

Joe and I appeared at a number of local concerts and small festivals around the area. It was very interesting to see him sing to an audience that was, for example, primarily Latino. He could cut it.

In addition to his great ornamentation, Joe had terrific commitment to his songs. He really cared for the people he sang about.

All the best,
Dan Milner