Barry Murphy

Message from Barry

 Posted by at 11:26  5 Responses »
Oct 292010
 

A message for all of you at Charlie´s Bar:

Ye fought hard through 2010, and until ye come back to Ireland ye have no idea how well ye have done. Anyone who can pay their bills and have a reasonable standard of living in these times is much more than just a success, and for all of you to be able to do just that and be singing off the same sheet is an absolute credit to each and everyone of ye.

This might sound arrogant, but I am very proud of myself for my achievements, not for making Charlie´s Bar & the Craic n´Ceol work every night, but for putting together such a fine bunch of well meaning, caring (and despite mad!) decent human beings, who happen to be reasonably talented as well!

We have dropped the type of customer we didn’t want over the years, despite the cost to us, and collected the best of society, whether they be street sweepers, solicitors or box players. I started out with a dream to have decent musicians and staff who were decent folk, and decent customers who knew the difference between mad and stupid, who had no airs and graces about themselves. I have achieved all that with the help of everyone associated with Charlie´s and the Craic. I thank the whole lot of you for fulfilling one of my dreams and wish all of you and your families health and happiness in the future.

Charlies is closed now from 29th October to 29th December, but the Craic n´Ceol is open, with many of our Charlies musicians playing there on and off over the holidays.

Happy Xmas to you and love you all to bits.

Murphy

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Policies, not Politics

 Posted by at 11:23  7 Responses »
Sep 292010
 

Having spent some time back in Ireland recently, I’m amazed that there isn’t a revolution. Even yesterday, Fine Gael refused to cover a Fianna Fáil minister on a vote in the Dail, so that she could go abroad on a trade mission of some importance. The minister was attending some meeting abroad which was in the direction of where we need to be heading, and the other gang tried to stop her for political reasons. This will just show you that the opposition are as bad, if not worse, than what we have already.  Luckily, Ruairi Quinn stepped in and offered to abstain in the Dail vote so she could travel, and got accused of cuddling Fianna Fáil for his efforts. All I saw was what he did, regardless of the accusations, and put the interest of the State first.

Because of the way our politicians and political parties are set up, the real problem is that we don’t have a pup´s chance of getting the right people into politics to begin with. We need “new meat” with fresh ideas, who have not come up through some old tired political party system, and where the politician has to spend his time looking over his shoulder, licking backsides of some folk who haven’t a clue, just to get their vote.

Simple stuff – the first question that needs to be addressed is what level of salary are we worth to be competitve on the international stage? For example, what should an IT consultant be earning here, given that you can get IT consultants working from India for x Euro- but we are in Europe and have access to better systems, etc. etc.  We simply have to understand what is a competitive salary, so that we can get everyone working.

Then we need to know what taxes we will collect from these salaries or incomes, and whatever that amount is, we spend on education/health/pensions/promoting new export business etc., but only according to our income.  I don’t understand terms like “the long-term unemployed”. There should be zero. A person who is made redundant should get more benefit than they are getting now to give them a chance to find or create new employment without the immediate worry of having to pay bills, but knowing that if they haven’t created or found new employment in, say, 4 months, their dole will significantly decrease, and they will work for any cent they are given after that, at the minimum wage. People would make damn sure that they found or created some employment before the 4 month deadline, and if they don’t, tough luck!

Sorry, but the reality is that life is tough and you ain’t getting anything long-term from the State for nothing.  We are giving young people in their 20s 200 odd € a week long term for doing nothing, and at the expense of old age pensioners who can’t (and shouldn’t!) work, given their years. This has all got to do with politics and votes, and has nothing to do with common sense, and someone who is willing to take the tough decisions in the interest of the State without being afraid of being voted out.

What have we going for us in Ireland?

  1. Tourism. We have become too expensive for tourists, but this is starting to rectify itself now, with accommodation prices falling to reasonable levels – but we need to get that message out there, because we have been known as a very expensive country to visit…
  2. Agriculture. This is one sector that seems to be doing well. Our products are marketed very well abroad and we seem to achieve good prices for quality products. Maybe we can add more value to what we produce, which might lead to more employment, but it has to be competitive.  When I looked a few years ago a live lamb was making approx 12€ in New Zealand, and the same lamb in Ireland was making 90€.
  3. Our educated youth. We are spending a fortune educating young folk to a very high standard and exporting them for nothing, because we can’t find work for them. As I write this now, my son is going to the airport in a few hours to fly to Australia to try and find work, after just finishing a degree and a Masters in college. I’m sure the experience will stand to him in the future if he comes back to Ireland, but can we afford this luxury just now? These are the very people we need, to pull the nation out of the shit. I would prefer that he stayed here and rolled up his sleeves to try to create jobs etc., but I’m sure if I, or someone, rang him after 6 months and offered him a decent job, he would be home in a shot. Many young people go travelling for a year or so (and nothing wrong with it), but they should be doing so because they want to and not because they have too.

And last but not least… what about our good friend Brian and his hangover on radio? You could say that the nation would be better off if he stayed drinking, and that his mistake was not drinking and singing until 3am, but stopping at that hour! In the interest of the nation, Brian, drink up, and you will do less damage!

Seriously, I think he is a very well meaning person who is entitled to a drink like anyone else, and his real mistake was agreeing to do an interview at that hour of the morning, knowing he was going to be out late the night before. If the country was flying on concrete foundations, and not on quicksand and a very false property market which in turn drove everything, including salaries, to a seriously uncompetitive level, nobody would be talking much about that radio interview – but sadly, that’s not the case.

Come on down to Charlie´s Brian, and we’ll put the train back on the track between us! ;)

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Mundy at Charlie´s Bar

 Posted by at 10:32  No Responses »
May 282010
 

I have heard Mundy sing live a few times, and of course many times on CDs etc, but it was fantastic to hear him live at Charlie´s Bar.

He breezed in, met everyone the following day for a sound check and to make out a plan for the week, and that was the last we saw of work for the week. As cool as you like, and I’m sure he would agree with me, that apart from his own easy going, but very professional manner and talent, it was also made simple because of the work that Skin & Hide had put in before his arrival. After one gig it looked as though they had all played together for years!

The atmosphere he created at Charlie´s Bar was electric, and for me personally, what surprised me apart from his talent, was not his songs that I had heard, but the ones that I had not heard before his arrival.

Thanks for a great week, Mundy, and hope to see you soon again – and don’t forget the sun cream!

.

.

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The Euro

 Posted by at 10:30  1 Response »
May 132010
 

Isn’t it great that we have come up with a Trillion Euro so that it doesn’t fall through the floor further, and to stop the sharks running on it? But the very fact that it had to be done at all leaves the currency as weak as water. Those of you who still have Pesetas, Francs, Irish Pounds… hold on to them!  The communion money brigade are right again!

It’s funny to watch this whole EU thing playing out.  The idea that we can all be buddy buddy, which I feel is like communism, is a great idea in theory – and that´s where it *stops*.

Why? Because we have one currency and sixteen different budgets in sixteen different countries. The only way to have one currency is to give *all* power to Brussels, and they have control over the whole EU budget. The problem is now that we have given them half the power, and a half of anything is the worst place you could be.  Ask a pilot or the captain of a ship!!  So we should either pull out of it or give them complete power.

There are advantages and disadvantages to giving them complete power.  One advantage is that we wouldn’t need that useless shower in Dáil Éirean and could get rid of them for good, as all decisions would be made in Brussels where, as I have said, half of them are anyway.  The dissadvantage is that they would lose us our identity, and God knows what stupid laws they would impose on us simple Paddies, without taking into consideration that we are only complex machines for recycling Guinness!

The way I see it, we (or any other nation outside of France and Germany) would never vote to give *total* control to Brussels and therefore, just like communism, this currency is doomed to fail in time.  The United States have one government controlling all, but to make this possible in Europe it would require the other fifteen nations to learn “The Banks of my own Lovely Lee“, “The Wild Rover” and “Oro se de bheath abhaile” in fifteen different languages, and get them all drinking Guinness by the gallon each day at Charlie´s Bar!

Maybe it’s possible, and the way forward.  Yes!  That is the answer for sure.  Control the total EU from Charlie´s in Lanzarote.

O´Sullivan’s John to the road you’ve gone, far away from your own native home…

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Volcanic Ash Consequences…

 Posted by at 13:48  2 Responses »
Apr 182010
 

Here are a few consequences of the volcanic ash in Iceland.  By the way, why don’t they throw a sup of water on it and get on with life?

  1. Mistresses stranded in the wrong cities.
  2. Husbands stranded with wives at home or abroad.
  3. Priests and brothers who can’t make their court cases.
  4. The % of the possibility of a bird strike has fallen through the floor.
  5. Can’t get Fitzpatrick and Drum back to lock them up.
  6. O´Leary has his wish again / no baggage.
  7. Plenty of time to check the planes for small cracks and dip them for oil.
  8. Time to repaint all Ryanair aircraft in the Aer Lingus colours before the imminent takeover.
  9. Much higher mobile phone use and the ferries cleaning up.
  10. Property prices and car sales rising due to too many foolish people having too much time on their hands in the wrong places, which could be home.
  11. And last but not least, all of us at Charlie´s Bar having an unexpected week off, which will have a serious effect on the following:
  • condom sales (easy Shaky and Pedro!)
  • a significant rise in Lanzarote pregnancy levels
  • a rise in alcohol consumption levels in Lanzarote
  • a rise in mass attendances
  • a slight darkening of the skin, due to getting up an hour earlier each day at 4pm
  • more music and books written and an increase in the levels of very important bullshit spoken

HERE’S TO THE HOLIDAYS!!! ;)

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Hi there…

 Posted by at 09:52  1 Response »
Apr 122010
 

I am writing this back in Ireland while we are on our easter holidays, and the weather here is absoluley fantastic. The sun always follows the righteous, I suppose!!

We have just had two weeks off before the mad season, and Charlie´s Bar re-opens tonight (Monday the 12th).  I am flying back myself on Tuesday because I have a day´s work to do here today.

It’s so funny, but the first thing that came up on my screen when I turned on my computer was some ad saying “PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST ID FRAUD”.  I was just thinking, if you said that to someone 20 years ago, they would have you commited. Can you imagine walking through Skibereen 20 years ago, meeting a friend along the road and asking him “are you protected against id fraud?”

I read an article in a paper yesterday which said that the website Bebo.com was started in 2005, sold for, I can’t remember how, many billions around 2008, and now it’s falling away to Facebook etc., and is fast in decline. This world has been moving at a dizzy speed for the last 20 years, or if you look at the progress, if you can call it that, which I personally don’t. The world remained more or less the same for millions of years and in the last 100 or so we have had cars, planes etc., which is *some* transfrormation in 100 years – but when you look at what has happened in the last 20 years only, and even more so in the last 10, you just feel like lying down on the grass and holding onto the world before someone sends us off to space to try to grow spuds, and either educate or be educated by the little green men, or are they green and are they little?! If they are little,will we be racist towards them, and if they are large, will we call them sir and hope that they are not racist against blacks and whites??!!

If you lived for a thousand years and never slept, you still would probably only see maybe 1% of what’s on the internet and the more you realise you don’t know as you surf the web, the thicker you feel and the more frustrated you get, the less you mix with your fellow human beings, and the more time you spend on your own.  I was never much one for television because I saw it as a barrier to conversation with our fellow human beings, and I’m starting to think now after a few years that maybe the computer will have to vacate the home as well. Maybe I will have a farewell party for my computer and buy a statue of Obama and put it in the computer´s place.

Why Obama? You could ask, and justifiably so… but when the yanks voted recently to give health cover to 30 Million, which is 10% of their poulation, I couldn’t believe how close the vote was. I spent a lot of time in communist countries, and I know the faults with that system, then you have extrene capitalism in the States, where up to now 30 Million people had no access whatsoever to any medical requirements. It makes you think, even in these sh*t times, that we are lucky to be from Europe where at least the very basics of nearly all humans are looked after, and I know *badly* in a lot of cases, with people on trolleys in hospitals etc., but not all Europe is like that.

Having visited a Russian hospital 20 years ago, I turned to the person I was with and told them if I got sick there, do whatever you have to do, and charter a plane and get me back to Ireland. Now I think to myself in Ireland, if anything happens to me while I’m here, charter a plane and get me back to Lanzarote, where the local hospital is fantastic. Hopefully I won’t need one anywhere, which brings me to another point – for those of you who know the predicament our good friend Sergi found himself in a couple of months ago, I’m delighted to tell you that after 3 operations over the last few months he has got the all clear, and should hopefully be back playing in Charlies again in September, and again to thank Pedro for filling in for him in style…

Hey, I had a dream the other night after a few pints of Guinness, and the dream went something like this: the credit crunch and NAMA were the best thing that ever happened in Ireland since we got our independence, or most of it! You see I dreamt that in a few years´ time there will be no taxes in Ireland for a period of approx. 10 years because our government bought all the banks´ assets for 50% of their 2007 value, and ended up with the majority shares in all the banks, and even owning some of them completely, which they also got for a complete song in bad times. Then, when the world economy bounces back, they will make a ferocious, incredible, ludicrious amount of money on both the banks and their assets, and they will have so much money they won’t have to collect taxes for a decade, at which point I heard a noise downstairs, woke up, realised it was the postman, opened the post to find out that my mortgage has gone up 5%!  Jasus, that Guinness is great stuff for the head, and you don’t even have to leave the parish to get it (yet)!

I had the honour and the privilige of being at Rory’s and Cara’s wedding in Edinburgh on Saturday, and what a fantastic day it was! The sun was shining, not a cloud to be seen and about 20C degrees. Everyone was in great spirits and the day and evening went like a dream. Fair play to them both, they really made a huge effort with every detail, and hard work in the months leading up to it, and it well paid off. They looked completely at ease and so happy and all because of their planning and effort. I wish them all the best for the rest of their lives together, and I know they will have a great honeymoon for the next few weeks, and look forward to welcoming them back to that silly ould rock we all live on in the Atlantic Ocean.

Must go out now and get a tan before I go back to Lanza on Tuesday!!
Adios!
Barry Murphy

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Tiger Woods

 Posted by at 23:14  2 Responses »
Feb 192010
 

Tiger woods on television apologising. Good Jesus, what’s the World coming too now?!

He said he has been in f**king therapy. For what? For getting caught? For making an ass of himself all over the World at every opportunity?  Let’s look at what he could have done, and made one statement along the following lines: “My personal life is my business only, and I’ll drive my car into anything I like as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else or their property, and I intend to continue to live my life as I see fit not you, so go and f**k yourselves”.

The media would have died down in a couple of days. His marriage may be a different story, depending on his wife and the rules they live by, but that was between his wife and himself only. What in the name of God was he apologising for to the World?  The World couldn’t give a sh*t who he slept with, and if there is any need to go to therapy or to apologise, he should be doing so for hurting himself and making a complete ass of himself. Can you imagine the mind of the therapist that’s treating him?  Holy sh*t. Who is going to offer therapy to the therapist?

Having watched him on the television, trying to a*se lick the World’s media, begging for forgiveness, I have lost all regard for him, and he hopes he will get his image back!  My good friend, you have lost the only image you had since you opened your mouth, not your trousers.

Clown!!!  Ah!  Sure God love him…

PS.: I was talking to a couple of buddies tonight about this, and one of them said that all his sponsors ran when this came out. All I said was “let them run” – turn the negative into a positive, create the image of the black Page 3 boy golfer, and get twice the money for sponsorship from the likes of Playboy and Durex, which would pay off the wife, if she was stupid enough to leave such a virile man!

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Haiti

 Posted by at 22:35  2 Responses »
Feb 062010
 

Having been within 20 miles of the Haiti border myself last year, it was very obvious that when the news of the earthquake came through they wouldn’t have the resources to try to deal with such a major catastrophe in such a poor region of the World.  We were discussing this in Charlies a few weeks ago and talking about the images on the television, and Shaky came up with the idea of having a fundraising event both at Charlies and the Craic n´Ceol one night.  Jon said that he would cut his hair, Widgeon was shaving his beard, all those connected with the two bars were donating their salary on the night, and I said that I would give 50% of the bar takings on the night to the fund.

I am writing this the day after the event, and with everyone´s help we raised €5,100 and had a great night as well.  We would all like to thank everyone that supported the event, and there are people in Haiti (who we will never meet) that will have a tent, food, clean water etc., because of all your generosity.

It was great to see all the musicians from both bars, and a few other bars as well, on the stage together for the last few songs, and the atmosphere was electric. After the bar closed there were 6 or 7 of us that stayed back for a quiet drink, and I was telling the story of the taxi driver that drove Anna and myself from Pattaya to Bangkok, a distance of 150km for €6.  The drive took 2 1/2 hours, and he had to return to Pattaya again as well.  He drove us in a brand new Toyota car, and if he got the car and the petrol for nothing, he would still have had only €1.20 per hour for his time.  Don’t worry, we gave him a tip bigger than the fare, but the point is that it shows how far €5,100 will go in countries like that, and Haiti is much poorer than Thailand, and the money we and you are sending over there is worth the equivalant of €1,000,000 approx. if you compare the price of a Western taxi for the same distance, and do the maths.

On a slightly different note,  I was lucky enough to have spent some of my early adult days with very little, and even no money at times, and I was also lucky enough to have spent some time living in countries which were as poor as Haiti.  The reason I say this, is because a gentleman walked in to the Craic the other night and started a conversation with me.  He told me that he was a Publican in Ireland and then told me he just got a text that day to say that a good friend of his had commited suicide.  I had just read that the rate of suicide had jumped something like 35% in the last year or two in Ireland.  He then went on to tell me that his friend was in his 60s, built up a good business, borrowed to build property, credit crunch, and was heading to go bust, like many… this is why I say I was lucky to be poor at one time in my life.  I know what it is to have nothing, and I’m not one bit afraid of it.  The worst that can happen in Ireland is that you get a coucil house, the dole, and despite the fact that you won’t be going on foreign holidays, there are thousands and millions fighting to stay alive in Haiti who would kill for the worst that can happen in Ireland.  The problem is people are putting this image, and believing themselves they are, who they portray themselves to be, by what car they drive or where they live, and when something goes wrong they are ashamed and embarassed.  Suicide is desperate sad, and believe me, I know, but depression I can understand, even if badly, but why could this man’s friend not see that he was the same man he was last year and for the last 40?  He lost his money, but not his ability, and he wasn’t going to be cold or hungry.  We know the answer is “status”, but that’s why I was so lucky, and it’s a pity that more people don’t realise the difference between who they are and what they have.

Anyway, enough ranting.  Must go to work – and a million thanks again to everyone for last night!

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To Sergi

 Posted by at 11:03  5 Responses »
Jan 212010
 

Hey comrad. I awoke this morning at 6 something to find your text on my phone. I was sure it was a nightmare and tried to sleep again, but after 2 minutes I decided to get out of bed to turn on the light, in case this was for real. Then I was thinking, maybe this is a mistake, and in your good but not fantastic English, you made a mistake. It was only the third time I read the message that I understood this is very real, and there is no mistake or nightmare, unfortunately.

Now I was really awake and the first thought that came into my head, or maybe picture, was of watching you and “Papa Caros” (as I called him) playing together in Cork, and the way you bounced off each other. After putting on the kettle, I eventually got my brain to function and made the call, and the rest is…

A little like yourself, Papa Caros always shook hands sincerely,and always with his own unique kind of graceful smile. A man that would not know how to hurt anybody, who would make a bad soldier. His strengths were much deeper than anything physical. I met Vicente a good few times, and despite not being able to speak his language, I always communicated very well with him, as did the rest of the lads. We were always so happy to see him coming around our “nuthouse” with his positive but discreet humble energy.

Each and all of us are with you in the battle of all time battles that lies ahead in the future. You have an army that would have flattened hitler behind you, Serg,and yes, I spelled hitler with a small “h” on purpose. The days and the weeks and months will pass, Serg, and the tears will turn to laughs and smiles at the happy memories you are lucky enough to have. The length of time is not so important as you will find out, but the quality. You may not feel it right now, but you will understand later how lucky you are.

Our thoughts are also with your dear mother who has lost her best friend. May God give her strength and courage to fight on positively, and also your brother. Bless ye, and be sure the sun will shine again for all of you with purpose and energy. xxx

Barry

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Alcoholism

 Posted by at 15:14  1 Response »
Jan 082010
 

I have always asked myself the following question: is alcoholism a chemical addiction or not? From watching different alcoholics and their behaviour over the years, whether they are drinking or not drinking, I have often thought that there is more to alcoholism than just a chemical addiction. Then, in the last few days, I have met two different people by chance who related more or less the same story to me about two different family members. Basically, in both cases the family member gave up drinking because it was interfering with their lives, or so they thought, but both of them started and continued to drink in a normal fashion a few years later. In both cases, again, they said that when they were drinking too much and having trouble with it, the reason was because at the time they were not happy with where they were in their own lives, and they were hiding behind drink, and then blaming the drink for the problems, even after they stopped. Of course, the drink wasn’t helping the situation, but the drink in itself was not the underlying problem. Both of them gave up drink and made a serious effort and succeded in addressing what was for them the *real* problem, which was different in each case, and became comfortable in themselves and where and who they were, and in both cases they returned to having a drink, and have been for quite a few years without any problem whatsoever.

The question is, are all alcoholics hiding from something, whether they are on or off drink, and blaming drink for everything that happened in their lives and hiding behind it, joining the club AA and unknowingly supporting each other from facing whatever the *real* problem might have been from the start? Is it possible, like the two stories above, that if they had addressed the *real* problem, if they could face it and deal with it, that they would be able to drink normally? Or maybe there was no real problem, simply a chemical dependency?

I don’t know what the answer is but these two stories really got me thinking to what I always thought was at the very least a possibility. Maybe the truth is that they simply can’t face whatever the real problem is or was, and therefore they are quite happy to hide behind and blame alcoholism for everything, and even if that was the case, is there anything wrong with that, if it’s getting them through life?

I would love to hear other people´s thoughts and experiences of similar situations, but more from family members rather from those who have had or have a problem with drink, or the lack of it!!

I don’t mean in any way make a joke of what is a very serious problem for those who are affected by drink or an underlying problem, whether they are or were the drinkers or family members, as I am one of the above myself, and, like you all, I know many people in the same situation. But we have to keep a sense of humour, even if we´re laughing at ourselves, and maybe this is all bullshit and drink is simply a chemical addiction that affects some more than others?!

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Xmas Message from Barry

 Posted by at 20:54  2 Responses »
Dec 142009
 

What a fantastic, even if funny, year it has been for all of us at Charlie´s Bar!  The fantastic parts of the year for me were seeing so many familiar faces again and again, and watching Charlie´s Bar becoming more and more like a local, despite the fact that so many people are here for a week only – and how many of you know each other from returning again?! I was amazed when we were in Galway
so many people knew each other from back in Lanzarote and decided to meet up together at our Xmas gigs back home.

As I write this in Thailand on a working holiday, I am just thinking of all of those who travelled to Galway from Scotland, England, Wales and all parts of Ireland, and it was great to see everyone together, even those that can´t sing or dance!  It was a very unusual feeling to be playing outside of Charlie´s Bar and to see so many friends.  We all looked so different with four layers of clothing, designer Wellington boots and walking sticks – or were they umbrellas? Now we are looking forward to the Cork gigs (18, 19 & 21 Dec – info HERE), and I know some people that were at the Galway gigs who are going to be in Cork as well.

Another great memory I have from 2009 was welcoming Sharon Shannon, Damien Dempsey, The Wolfe Tones, Jon Kenny and then, just before we closed for the holidays, the great Finbar Fury.  Each time we had special guests over we all got a great buzz from it and enjoyed their company as much as their music.

We were all delighted to have acquired the Craic´n Ceol in June of this year. It´s a bar that fits in very well with what we do and complements Charlie´s Bar as well, and we are very proud to have it.  We were also delighted to have Rory Gallagher joining us at Charlie´s Bar & the Craic with his fantastic talent, and we wish him and his fiancée Cara the very best for their future.  Both of you have only 4 months left to do what you have to do!!

If I made one cock-up this year, it was opening Charlie´s Bar 7 nights a week from May until October.  It was too long playing 7 nights and we should have stayed on 6 nights until the middle of July – but I will learn at my own pace!  I am even contemplating opening 5 nights a week from January with the way things are at the moment, but we will see as we go along.  Unfortunately, there have been quite a few bars that have closed down in Lanzarote over the year, and I know the same is true in Ireland and here in Thailand as well.  Thankfully we have gone from strength to strength, but we have to be on the ball all the time and never let up.  It´s a good job we all love what we are doing and get on so well, or it would be next to impossible to keep going in these times.

One benefit I can see since the Celtic Tiger ran out of borrowed steam is that the arrogance that some of the Irish yahoos had is gone, thank God, and we are back to doing what we do best: drinking a few pints, having the craic, singing a few songs and talking proper shit, not the Celtic Tiger shit.

Looking forward to 2010, we will have quite a few special guests coming over again, and the fantastic Sharon Shannon will be the first on 20th February 2010.  We are currently working on mixing more tunes with songs and we look forward to doing plenty more of that – for me that is what I love the best and to see what kind of concoctions we can come up with.   It´s amazing what can happen when you put 6 thick heads together!

I learn so much about life in Charlie´s with friends and customers telling me so much about their lives.  It´s as if they reflect on life when they get a chance while on holidays, and it´s great to see them a few months or a year later and see how they got on with whatever situation in the meantime.

Like I already said, we are now looking forward to the Cork gigs and then re-opening Charlie´s Bar on 26th December, and getting back to what we do best together.  I won´t talk about what we don´t do best together here, apart from fishing, cooking and skydiving!

We all wish you a very Merry Xmas and a peaceful, prosperous, loving and, above all else, healthy New Year.

“Go raibh mile maith agaimh” which translates as “I hope you get laid soon, have triplets, a crippling mortgage, and never see the light of day again!

Cheers
Barry and all at Charlie´s Bar

P.S. My back is f*cked here in Thailand – and not for the reason you perverts think!  It´s from trying to get under showers that were built for 4´6″ humans and not 6´4″ aliens.  Happy Christmas.

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Finbary Furey at Charlie´s Bar

 Posted by at 17:55  No Responses »
Nov 142009
 

Howdy again!

It was a fantastic last week in Charlie´s Bar before we broke up for the holidays.  I really enjoyed the week with Finbar and Sheila Furey.  The one thing that I enjoyed more even than the fantastic performances Finbar gave, was their company.  Finbar reminds me of a great friend of mine who has passed away, but with the same name. They would have really enjoyed each other´s company because the Finbar that sadly passed away was the same, in as much as he had great principle and honour in his bones, and was a mighty character and great craic as well, and always up to devilment.  I would have loved to have had the opportunity to go away with both of them for a weekend – for sure it would be a weekend you wouldn’t forget in a hurry…

Photos of Finbar on stage with Skin & Hide in our Photo Gallery

I will always look forward to welcoming Finbar and Sheila over here to Charlie´s Bar anytime they can make the time to visit our humble little watering hole again.  I know I can speak for all of the staff and musicians at both Charlie´s and the Craic when I simply say “thank you” to Finbar for taking the time to get to know us and giving us the opportunity to  play a few tunes with you.

Now we take a break for a few weeks before we head for Ireland to play the Xmas Gigs, and it’s a true testament to Finbar that he has decided to come along to one of our Irish gigs and join us on stage for a few tunes and a bit of craic.  We look forward to seeing you back in the old sod!  Rumour has it that there might be a very beautiful box player joining us for a few tunes along the road as well…

I would just like to thank all of the customers of Charlie´s and the Craic on behalf of all of us for your custom throughout the year, and we will be looking forward to getting home and firing Charlie´s Bar up again on 26th December.  In the meantime Rory, Jon, Widgeon and (I think) Gally will be playing at different times at the Craic over the next few weeks – so enjoy, and thanks again.

Cheers
Barry Murphy

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Slatterys Travel gone into liquidation…

 Posted by at 13:48  2 Responses »
Sep 172009
 

I read with regret that Slatterys Travel have gone into liquidation.

I met Dave Slattery here in Lanzarote a couple of years ago, and again we held a meeting in Killarney soon afterwards.  I formed the opinion at the time that he was running too fast, but also that he was a damn fine individual and he employed the best of people here in Lanzarote.

I’m sure that this is a dark moment for him, but I’m also sure that he will learn from this and mushroom again.

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Article in the Irish Examiner today… and my thoughts on the state of the economy

 Posted by at 12:18  No Responses »
Sep 172009
 
There is an article in today´s Irish Examiner which is fantastically stupid.  First of all, it took 4 people to write it – which says a lot about Ireland as it is now.

The most imprtant part of this article tells the story that each family in Ireland is taking a risk on NAMA of 34,000€.  Property prices are down 50% and they are taking the gamble with your money that they will rise 10% over the next 10 years.  This is a good bet, and if it doesn’t work out we are totaly f*cked anyway.

Two things cross my mind.  The first is that Brian Cowen got us into this sh*t big time as Minister for Finance, but if his hands were tied by Bertie he should have walked and kept his dignity and gained the respect of the country, instead of trying to hang on to power. F*cking ego.

The second thing that crosses my mind is that, for sure, his proposals are probably the best way out of this situation now, and as I have said, the chances of property rising 10% from where they are now is pretty good over a decade because of the forecasts of population increase, which will lead to demand.  But if each family is taking the risk of 34,000€ over a decade, or 3,400€ per year, will they directly benefit from the upturn?  If you go to a bookies and put money down you get the benefit if you win. How will the government pay the tax payer the benefit of their risk?

This is the wrong time to change government. Let the a**holes sort the mess and then change. The opposition are worse to be knocking the government for what they are doing now, because they are doing the right thing.  A clever opposition would back the government now but keep emphasising that they were the ones that f*cked it up in the past, and then gain the respect of the people for doing the right thing and being honest.

Short-sighted clowns!

Charlies for the craic, the women and the beer!! 

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How do we penalise the guilty, and who are they?

 Posted by at 13:11  2 Responses »
Aug 132009
 
I look at the High Court case against Liam Carroll and think to myself this NAMA is unreal, and very unfair.  They want to shove all of the bad debts of these kinds of people on top of the tax payer for a generation ahead.

Here are two very simple facts.  The first is that Brian Lenihan said recently that he wouldn’t interfere in commercial decisions of a bank who wanted to put up interest rates. Think about it – the government let the banks do what they like for 10 years but the minute it went wrong they had to bail them out with tax payers´ money.  If I had to give an insurance to a company, you can be sure that I would want to know exactly what was going on in that company, and if I didn’t like it I would pull the insurance rapido.

It seems to me that the government should never have bailed out the banks and, just like it said, should not have got involved in commercial decisions and let any bank that couldn’t stand up simply go bust.  Sure, it would have created hardship, but at least we would get to the bottom fast and therefore could start to rebuild on solid ground.  Now we are prolonging the agony for nearly a generation.

The second fact is that the property developers, bankers (is bankers spelled with a B?!) and politicians who stood to gain the world, with only others´ money to lose, should be stripped of their cars, homes and all assets for putting a generation of Irish citizens at such risk.  There are good balanced property developers out there too, and they are the ones who kept a sense of reality over the last 10 years, and despite the fact that they are also hurting now, they are simply not hurting others for their own gain.

We have no choice now, only to continue with NAMA and bail out the greedy and stupid over time – but maybe along with the government having shares in these mismanaged institutions, there should also be a higher rate of tax applied to them when they return to profit to compensate the tax payer.  Of course, there is another catch in this because they will make the profit by rising interest rates and charges on the very same tax payer who bailed them out in the first place.  So therefore, as far as I can see, we have to pay the debts of these greedy, immoral, irresponsable a**holes for years – or else simply let them sink and pull all state guarantees.

Fine Geal and Labour are knocking anything the government are doing, and whether they are right or not is irrelevant, but what is relevant is that they are only knocking and not coming up with any positive alternatives of substance, which means a change of government ain’t going to help either.

One alternative that I can think of would be to tax the profit of exporting companies only, which means we would get other nations to compensate the Irish tax payer.  However, this is also immoral and it would further turn manufacturing exporting companies to relocate elsewhere.

The bottom line is that we are simply f*cked for a while, and we might as well accept it with a smile, a song and a pint in Charlies, and do the best we can to make the whores that put us in this position pay for it personally.  I would love to hear others´ opinions or solutions here on this blog that my simple brain can’t see. Ah, just a few thoughts, sure, ya know yourself.

Drink sex feck arse & fags!!! ;)

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