JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN! An underground bootleg video has emerged of my reading of Refresher Training Blues at the recent Sunflower Sessions evening in Dublin. Check out the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KDpOFkH61M Many thanks to Eamon Mag Uidhir for surreptitiously recording the performance and sneaking it onto the collectors' black market. If the video makes…
Flaherty’s Honeymoon Blues
When Fingers Flaherty got married, his (few) friends sadly shook their heads and whispered that the marriage would never last. As his battered car smoked away into the dusky distance, carrying the slightly happy couple to their new life together, his (few) friends wiped away the tears and prepared themselves for the inevitable catastrophe. Flaherty wiped the…
Crazy Blues
Fingers Flaherty wasn't the first disgruntled lover to sing the blues! People have been battling with the blues - or the "blue devils" as they once were known - ever since they started falling in love with each other back in those dark caves. They discovered that fire could keep away the prehistoric chill. And…
Wintry watery blues
Life is an ocean, so the philosophers think. Life's an ocean, them dusty philosophers think. Well, the storm's a-brewin', my boat's startin' to sink. Fingers Flaherty There's a light, a certain kind of light, that pours over the landscape on a winter afternoon, enveloping the mountains in a languid melancholy, making the sea contemplate the…
Blue skies, blue eyes
There ain't nothing new to see under God's blue skies. I tell ya, nothing new to see under them blue and shiverin' skies, 'Specially when ya look at them through bloodshot alcoholic eyes. Fingers Flaherty This photo was taken earlier this month in Omeath, County Louth, overlooking the sublime serenity of Carlingford Lough towards the…
Christmas lights
Christmas is comin', the goose is gettin' fat, Christmas is a-comin', baby, that goose is gettin' fat! But Santa won't come near me, kitten. I've been a dirty rat. Fingers Flaherty
Flaherty lookin’ for salvation
(c) Padraig Hanratty 2015 Jesus, lift me up, I feel like I've been cursed! Help me up, Jesus. I feel low down and cursed! Jesus said, "Ya gotta stop hangin' out with the devil first." Fingers Flaherty
The story behind a squirrel
My article about the genesis of Talkin' Squirrel Blues was recently published in Writing & Me. You can find out where the idea for the Floyd the squirrel originated by reading the article here. Talkin' Squirrel Blues ebook is currently available on Amazon. Paperback available in November 2015!
Some Talkin’ Squirrel Blues for the Weekend
Talkin' Squirrel Blues ebook is now available from Amazon here. However, you can now view a sample chapter from the book! Just click this blue link. Talkin' Squirrel Blues sample Enjoy!
The Next Big Thing
Laura Elliot tagged me in the Next Big Thing Author Blog Hop. Laura is the author of three novels: Stolen Child, The Prodigal Sister and Deceptions. Her books have been widely translated and - aka June Considine - she is also the author of twelve books for children, including the fantasy Luvender trilogy, the Beachwood…
QUIPS AND CHORDS 