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Music and song has been an integral part of the shared cultural life of Co Derry over the decades. Perhaps it was only fitting that Ireland’s first Eurovision winner, Dana Rosemary Brown, hailed from the city where the Foyle waters flow.
Phil Coulter serenaded the place in his classic song, The Town I Loved So Well. Country music has always found favour around the county and Brendan Quinn, Kieran and Jason McGilligan, John McNicholl, Curtis Magee, Gretta Elkin, Jimmy Hendry and the late Brian Harkin are among the many that have graced the country scene in style over the years.
Pat McKenna hails from near Maghera and, together with Hughie Turner, comprises the duo known as Glenshane Country. They have amassed a major support base around the Ulster region, all around the west of Ireland and in other places such as Kerry, Tipperary and Wexford.
Pat began his career in the music scene many years ago, singing a mix of folk and country songs in his home county. “It was mainly around Derry and parts of Tyrone. Things were difficult for all entertainers because of the prevailing situation in the province back then. But we all did our best to cultivate friendships and got on with the day-to-day matters.”
Around 10 years ago, on an Enjoy Travel trip to Ibiza, I first met up with Pat McKenna. It was Pat Jordan, a native of Wicklow who has resided in Manchester for many years and who fronts his own band, that introduced me to Pat. Talk turned to songs I had written for others in previous years and Pat hinted that I might write a song for him and The Wind on The Hill became our first collaboration.
“When I got the lyrics, I set about working on the song right away. I took it to Paul McNeilly’s studios in Ballymena and I was convinced I had something special when Paul brought his wonderful production talent to the song,” says Pat.
I could never have envisaged the outreach the song would have on so many people. It has been sung at several funerals and it seems to strike a special chord with so many people in so many walks of life
“Within a few months of its release, it took on a life of its own. It spent several weeks at number one on Tony Kehoe’s Top 10 popularity charts on South East Radio in Wexford. It was massive on Mid West Radio in Mayo and it became the most requested song of the year on Shannonside-Northern Sound Radio.”
The Wind on The Hill soon made Pat one of the best-known names on the country circuit. Bookings poured in for Glenshane Country and Pat and Hugh have been travelling the highways and byways of the island of Ireland ever since.
“I could never have envisaged the outreach the song would have on so many people. It has been sung at several funerals and it seems to strike a special chord with so many people in so many walks of life. I was especially delighted when Big Tom recorded the song on his last DVD and it was so special watching him sing it at his shows. Big Tom and Johnny McEvoy, along with Brian Coll, and the Keane (Galway) and Sands (Down) families have always been special favourites of mine.
“The appeal of The Wind on The Hill is further reflected in the fact that Larissa Tormey, who hails from Russia, loves the song so much that she too, as well as several others, have now recorded it.”
Pat has recorded a number of albums in recent years including The Wind on The Hill, Songs from The Heartland and Better Times I Can’t Remember. All three have chalked up substantial sales which have further enhanced Pat’s standing on the circuit. He is currently well-advanced on another album which is due for release next June.
Apart from his music career, Pat is also an accomplished artist in the real sense. He finds peace and contentment in the solitude needed to work on and complete many of his acclaimed paintings.
Meanwhile, Pat and Hugh (Glenshane Country) continue their hectic schedule with dates all over the country including the Waltzing in Wicklow Festival in the Arklow Bay Hotel in mid-November and the annual Enjoy Travel Festival in Torremolinos, Spain, next April. Pat is also among the guest performers at the Galway Sessions in the Clayton Hotel on next Monday night, 5 November.
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