Pavee Song – Pavee Culture: “Dark Horse on The Wind” The Life and Songs Of Liam Weldon
“PAVEE SONG – PAVEE CULTURE” A Season of Photographs, Films and Music, paying Tribute to the Culture and Song Tradition of the Irish Gypsy and Travelling Community.
This short season will comprise of an exhibition, three films and a live concert:
🗓Thu 16 November – EXHIBITION of Photography opens “The Travellers by Donovan Wylie”
🗓Fri 17 November – FILM: “Dark Horse On The Wind”, a homage to the life and songs of the traditional ballad singer, song-writer and Travellers Rights Campaigner, Liam Weldon (1933–1995)
🗓Sat 18 November – FILMS (A DOUBLE BILL) “Songs Of The Open Road”, a focus on the life of the award-winning Irish Traveller, Traditional Singer and Song Collector, Thomas McCarthy, (winner of the 2019 Gradam Ceoil Award’ – Ireland’s most prestigious award for Irish song & traditional music): Followed by Sé Merry Doyle’s film “Traveller Tales” winner of the prestigious “2019 Irish Garda Award”.
🗓Sun 19 November – A LIVE CONCERT with the award-winning Irish Traveller, Traditional Singer and Song Collector, Thomas McCarthy. (Winner of the Gradam Ceoil Award 2022, the most prestigious award for Irish traditional song and music in Ireland)
Doors 7.30pm, Starts 8.00pm
Tickets: £10 for film, £30 for weekend pass
“Dark Horse on the Wind” looks back at the life and songs of the traditional ballad singer and songwriter Liam Weldon (1933 – 1995). A great admirer of Irish Traveller songs and music and a strong advocate for aural tradition, Weldon was notoriously wary of self-promotion and he left behind little in the way of recordings. But his legacy is more alive than ever today and flourishes in a new generation of folk singers.
Weldon was undoubtedly one of the finest Irish singers of any generation. He was also an outstanding songwriter and a champion of the oppressed and of the Irish Traveller community in particular, whose influence on his singing stretched back to his Dublin childhood. Unaccountably, his singing never really received the accolades it deserved, and he remains largely forgotten since his death, 28 years ago.
With newly discovered archive footage, stories from family and friends, and powerful performances of his work by Damien Dempsey, Radie Peat (Lankum), Lisa O’Neill and Daoirí Farrell, the film reveals much about the musician and about the family man, who gave so generously to the community in Ballyfermot (Dublin), where he lived.
Myles O’Reilly, prolific director of music films and himself a composer, celebrates the personal, public and political aspects of Liam Weldon, in this lively and insightful investigation.
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