Dónal Donohoe » Blog

Get Hooked

Dónal — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:30:26 +0000

A video with a tune I wrote called “Get Hooked” and some animation that I made for yarnclasses.com featuring photographs of some of the many woolly wonders to be found there.

Carousel

Dónal — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:49:53 +0000

I wrote Carousel some years ago for someone close whose best friend had just committed suicide. It was about five o’clock one Friday afternoon when I got the call telling me the news and when I put the phone down without really thinking about it I started playing the guitar. Within a few moments Carousel just came out and about a week later I played it live at a gig, after that it was just another song that I had written which was stored away in my musical bottom drawer, so to speak.

Years went by until one Sunday afternoon a friend came by quite distraught saying that his young niece had just taken her life in similar circumstances. He was in shock and as the girl was so young I thought that surely it was just an accident, but shortly after he left I saw through the window a hearse driving up the road and I realised that it was no accident and the girl was gone. Filled with a deep shock and sadness that descended on everybody in the area that day I took up my guitar and although it had been some years since I had last played Carousel it somehow seemed like the right thing to do that day. When the time came to record the album Slipstring I decided to include Carousel as the opening number and although it is maybe not a happy song as such it is one of the songs from which I have received the most feedback on that album.

Storytelling

Dónal — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:27:40 +0000

Dónal Donohoe – song: The Voyage of Bran

Playing at the Storytelling Session for Families at Chapters Book Store, Dublin last April organized by the Bardic Storyteller Richard Marsh.

Through The Smoke

Dónal — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:46:14 +0000

From the album ‘Midnight ’til Noon’ featuring:

Dónal Donohoe – Electric Guitar & Vocal
Jeffrey Daniel Jensen – Drums
Christian Dawids – Bass
Tony Uter – Percussion

Through The Smoke by Donal Donohoe

Ring-ting

Dónal — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:10:34 +0000

Ring-ting is a song from my recently released ‘Slipstring’ album and is a tongue in cheek take on today’s prevalent mobile phone culture.

Saturday Night Live

Dónal — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:51:29 +0000

It was nice to play in Conary Hall again last Saturday night to a lovely audience many of whom came up to chat with me after the gig, it was encouraging to hear so many say that they had enjoyed the set. JP and Andy played a lovely and entertaining set too and Eoin O’Grady was on sound for the night. Many thanks to Pat Nolan who not only organized the event but who also served up nice cups of ‘Barry’s’ tea for everyone during the the interval.

NEW RELEASE

Dónal — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 12:01:19 +0000

To get more details click here and you can listen to a sample too.

Slipstring Released

Dónal — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:45:18 +0000

The time has come to release another collection of songs into the ether, where they will end or whether anybody will listen to them or like them, no one can know. But the work is done, the CDs are pressed or replicated to use the correct terminology and the album is called ‘Slipstring’.

It is my third release since returning to live in Ireland and follows on from ‘Midnight ’til Noon’ released in 2005 and ‘Ceol ’s Rann’ released in 2007. ‘Slipstring’ is out on CD from my website and from CDBaby.com, it is also be available to download on iTunes, Amazon and other online digital stores either as single tracks or as an album.

‘Slipstring’ is a collection of eleven new original songs some of which touch on the personal and political, others are story songs written about people, places and events that through a process of osmosis percolated to the forefront of my imagination. You can listen to one of the songs from ‘Slipstring’ called ‘No Need To Roam’ on the player below.

No Need To Roam by Donal Donohoe

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F13642370&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=007fff“> http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F13642370&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=007fff” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”100%”> http://soundcloud.com/donaldonohoe/no-need-to-roam“>No Need To Roam by http://soundcloud.com/donaldonohoe“>Donal Donohoe

An t-Oileán

Dónal — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:07:04 +0000

An t-Oileán is the Irish for ‘the island’ and the song comes from my fascination with islands, which I have always enjoyed visiting both in Denmark and off the west coast of Ireland. Built over a minor riff that changes to major in the chorus, the song was written in Irish and has two verses with an instrumental section at the end. It tells the story of a journey to an island and the anticipation of the reunions that will take place upon arrival there.

An t-Oileán by donaldonohoe

The Voyage Of Bran

Dónal — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:52:01 +0000

From the album Ceol ’s Rann this song is based on an old Irish story describing the journey to the other world. The story has it’s origins in the pre-Christian period and was probably written down originally in the seventh century. The ‘Manannan Mac Lir’ mentioned in the song is the major sea god of the ancient Irish and his name is associated with the Isle of Man, which in Irish is called Inis Manannan, ‘the Isle of Manannan’.

The Voyage Of Bran by donaldonohoe