Keane insight with The Gathering

WHEN Ennis songwriter Peter Keane first came up with the idea for a song about the experience of emigrants back in the late-’90s, little did he realise the effect it would have years later. His song, The Gathering, was first penned in 1999, many years before the notion of Ireland’s Gathering festival was born. Now it has been chosen as Clare’s official song for the national event calling the county’s diaspora home.
The song was written following Peter’s years playing the vibrant music scene in New  York and Boston  and emerging local band Socks in the Frying Pan have been chosen to perform the song, which is now available on iTunes, with a video on YouTube.
The song reflects an emigrant’s absence from his homeland and looking forward to a homecoming in Ireland. Peter’s ambition was always to professionally produce the song and make it available to a wider audience. In mid-2012 he approached the Gathering Clare 2013 Steering Group for support and advice, with the group connecting with the song and adopting it as one of its major initiatives for the Gathering 2013.
The recording, supported by Clare Local Development Company through LEADER and Clare County Council, was officially launched on Monday at Áras an Chontae.
Speaking at the launch, Peter said, “Fourteen years ago I had an idea in my head about a Gathering concept, trying to connect with people around the globe.
“I wanted it to be a happy song of welcomes and homecoming. For people who have left, six months ago, or 30 years ago, I wanted the song to let them know that we are still thinking of them  no matter what part of the globe they are.”
He added he was “delighted”  the song was now recorded and acknowledged all involved in making it happen.
Mayor of Clare, Pat Daly, said there was a “great buzz” around the county and that Peter had “great vision” in his song idea. “He was ahead of the posse, talking about the Gathering back then,” said Councillor Daly. He complimented the band’s performance saying, “it’s nice to see some home-grown talent”.
He added, “All Clare families should promote this to their relatives, who will hopefully be coming home. All the hotels around Ennis and the county need to be filled, particularly in these recessionary times.”
Ger Dollard, director of services with Clare County Council, stated  a “great job” was done on the song and video. He outlined that the song is only one of a number of initiatives that have been supported by the Gathering Clare 2013 Steering Group.  There are currently 230 Gathering festival events planned for the county this year, with upcoming highlights including the Ennis Phoenix Twinning Week, the Love Live Music Festival and the world record attempt to see how many Clares will gather in the same place.
Doreen Graham of the CLDC commented, “We are delighted to be involved with this, working with Clare County Council and we are delighted to be working with other organising committees around the county, who are going out there and doing so many things under the Gathering banner.
“Hopefully, these events will continue beyond this year. The aim of this is to bring more visitors to the country and to Clare in particular.”
Both Patrick Keane and the members of Socks in the Frying Pan were presented with framed copies of the CD. The band are set to perform a gig in Kilrush as part of the National Famine Commemoration in early May. They have recently released their debut album and are growing in popularity, both at home and abroad. The group, led give vocalist Aodán Coyne, giving the Gathering song their own interpretation including harmonies and instrumentation from other band members brothers Shane and Fiachra Hayes.
Aodán  said they were very excited to be involved in the song. “We were happy to have so much involvement with the recording. We were a bit worried that it would involve changing our style of traditional Irish music but we had lots of ideas and were able to compromise. It’s a real blend, a bit of a pop vibe but also keeping the traditional side.
“We are very happy with the way it turned out and it will be interesting to see what people think of it now that it’s out there.”
The song is produced by Paul Byrne of Optophonic and is now available to promote the county in national and international markets. It is available as a digital download on iTunes, the video is on YouTube and it is also on the Clare Gathering facebook page.