Traditional music band, Shaskeen, has been a cornerstone of Irish Traditional music and song for over half a century and show no signs of slowing down, ahead of their appearance in the Town Hall Theatre on June 10 as part of Advertiser Events, we look back through various publications that have covered the group's long history.
Last week's instalment of Shaskeen Snippets covered the establishment and growing fame of Galway based super group Shaskeen in the 1970s, with the band being described as "one of the best Ceíli bands in the country at the moment" in The Tuam Herald (November 11, 1974 ).
We pick up this week in the 1980s, a period where music scenes across the world were going through an evolution never seen before. In Ireland rock groups, Thin Lizzy, Aslan and U2 dominated radio stations and the charts, incorporating Celtic undertones with rock beats to create a sound that took the world by storm. The showband era in Irish music was still going but there had been a marked shift into this new sound. This all sounds like it would be detrimental to an Irish Traditional band like Shaskeen, but this was not the case.
Like other bands of the era, Shaskeen had also been going through a period of evolution in the 1980s, beginning with the establishment of their own record label, Faoilean, in 1982. An article in The Irish Observer (October 9, 1982 ) describes Shaskeen as a group "still very much in demand in Ireland and are known occasionally to make tours - Shaskeen are to play West Germany, 1983. They have also appeared on such TV shows as SBB, Humours of Donnybrook, and Throm and Eadrom."
The line up of the group changed in the early eighties, with group founder Tom Cussen playing the tenor banjo, mandolin, and concertina, Sean Conway playing the concert flute, tin whistle, brass and vocals, Mike Fahy on guitar and vocals, Charlie Harris playing the accordion and Benny O'Connor on drums.
In The Irish Post (October 2, 1982 ), music journalist Mary Hardy broke the news that Shaskeen had planned a UK tour in 1983, some five years since they last visited British music halls. Hardy describes the information as being relayed to her by telephone from Galway, bringing 'glad tidings', "having heard their latest single a couple of times on Radio Éireann of late, I must say that I am keenly looking forward to hearing and seeing them in the flesh or so speak." The 1983 tour would see the group share billing with Foster and Allen to play some 15 venues across the UK. That same year, Shaskeen embarked on a highly successful US tour, bringing their music to American audiences.
With Shaskeen continuing to gain international recognition, in 1986 the band embarked on their second US tour that decade, playing for a 'special concert and dinner' at the Greek Community Centre in Boston, Massachusetts as well as pubs and bars throughout the city. The 1980s would be a decade of travel for Shaskeen, with the group touring the UK and the US regularly as well as playing to crowds across Ireland.
Shaskeen's founder, Tom Cussen, appeared on The Late Late Show in February 1989 discussing his career, Shaskeen and his love of music. Local newspaper, The Limerick Leader (February 1, 1989 ) paid homage to the Limerick native with an article that described him as "a brilliant man surely and one who appears to have a very bright future.
"Certainly Gay Byrne is to be complimented on giving such well deserved publicity to Tom Cussen and those many other gifted people who were given an opportunity to display their wonderful talents, which are sure to be a great benefit to each and everyone of them and indeed to the country in the years ahead."
Next week's instalment of Shaskeen Snippets will explore the band in the 1990s and early 2000s.
