Was it on that programme that someone said Planxty were like the Beatles, someone said that during the past week anyway. Four musicians coming together, outstanding musicians each, and creating something much bigger than the sum of its parts, take away any of them and they could never be the same (see the period when they had Johnny Moynihan or Paul Brady filling in).

Years ago an old friend from Rotterdam, Rens van der Zalm, came to Ennis with Mozaik. After the concert we chatted for a while and were joined by Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny, who were great, friendly and chatty. But I was acutely aware these were guys whose music had been such a great influence on my life. And I have seen all Planxty members any times in many different configurations, Andy on his own or with Rens or Donal Lunny, with LAPD or a few years ago an early Januari concert of Sweeney's Men in Spanish Point, singing the West Coast of Clare with the beach and the ocean in the dark outside the window, Davoc and Ann Rynne sitting behind me with Luka Bloom, singing harmonies and making it all that bit more special. And it was all great but it was never quite the same, not without all four of them being there to hit the sparks off eachother. And, all other things aside, that perhaps makes the loss all the greater, knowing with Liam O'Flynn one of the essential pieces is now gone forever.