Craic On

Sean Ti

I went to the Sean Ti last night to collect my coat after leaving it there on Saturday night. Paddy the Shoe had told me that he and John Collins and a couple of others would be playing for a wedding group.

Paddy is the area’s most accomplished musician and John is a fantastic singer, especially of ballads, so I thought I’d stick around. They were playing in the main bar rather than the snug and I think I was the only one there not with the wedding party but no one seemed to mind.

Paddy and John are great to get for this type of event as they know so many songs and can play requests rather than just their repertoire.

Guest Singer

During the night they asked one of the girls in the wedding party to sing and play guitar. This type of thing is hit and miss as sometimes they can be good but other times….

The worst ones are the ones who keep responding to the applause that they inevitably get by continuing to say “I’ll sing another one”.

This was different, the girl from the wedding party (whom I later discovered was the bride) sang beautifully. She was cajoled into singing several songs which was great news.

Talent

In any walk of life, the very best make it all seem easy. They are in complete control of their skill. Think of Lionel Messi and his ball control. He has complete control of the ball. When others take a bad first touch, or knock it on just too far, wasting scoring opportunities, Messi seems to have the ball connected to his feet in some way.

Think of Mohammed Ali, of Michael Jordan at basketball or Usain Bolt. Whilst most of their competitors look as if they are bursting a gut, these guys make it look easy. They always seem to have more time than anyone else. Time seems to stand still for them – and they have complete control.

Nicole

It was like this for Nicole Craddock (or Coutlangu till yesterday). Every word and note was sung with feeling and she had complete control of her voice. She made singing seem easy and time seemed to stand still as she sung.

After she had sung a couple of songs I started thinking “I wonder if she writes her own songs”. I turned to Kevin Cavanagh at the bar. Before I could speak he said “Songwriter Contest….”

Introduction

Someone related to her was at the bar and heard us talking about the songwriter contest and DylanFest etc. He said that she did write her own songs and brought her to see me. She did confirm that she wrote her own songs and would love to play at an Open Mic at the DylanFest and BeatlesFest. One thing I always like about Americans is their enthusiasm.

I took her details.

When she went up later to sing again I asked if she would sing one of her own songs and she did. It would be a strong contender at the next Songwriter Contest if she was available.

Dylan

I asked her to sing a Dylan song. She asked Paddy if he knew Don’t Think Twice.

Silly question!

She sang it beautifully.

It seems she comes from Pennsylvania. I think she said they are living in Dublin but could get up here for events taking place.

That would be excellent.

She seemed a very nice girl too. Mr. Craddock has got himself a special wife.

We hope to see them both back in these parts when the events are taking place – and Movillians and Greencastlers (or whatever they are called) will get the opportunity to hear a special talent.