Monthly Archives: January 2012

January 29, 2012 · 9:44 pm

Beating Hearts

This is a new version of a song I wrote almost a year ago … originally called ‘All We Had’. PapaGuinea liked it and did a lovely arrangement, which is tweaked a bit for this version … Pauline and I showed it to our friends Timmy and Martina last week, and Timmy suggested some new chords.

To listen to the song, please click here: Beating Hearts

We’re hoping that Timmy and Martina will record it soon, as they are both excellent singers – we will then put it on YouTube. In the meantime, this is Pauline and me. Continue reading →

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January 22, 2012 · 5:01 pm

Rugby heaven

It’s been a great weekend for Irish rugby, starting with Connacht’s first Heineken Cup victory, 9–8 against English high-fliers Harlequins on Friday night. Yesterday Pauline and I watched the Leinster–Montpelier match in a pub in Virginia, and the Northampton–Munster match in our local.

Leinster comfortably beat Montpelier 25–3 to finish their group unbeaten, but we had no way of knowing what would follow – one of those stunning, gargantuan performances that Munster have produced regularly over the years, ever since they beat Toulouse 31–25, away, in the 2000 semi-final (clips from that match below).

To play Northampton (beaten finalists last year) away and score 51 points despite being crucified in the scrums was simply amazing, and the emergence of O’Mahony and Zebo this season augurs well for the future. This game summed up why Sean loved Munster so deeply. Continue reading →

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January 16, 2012 · 9:16 pm

Some diary entries … September to November 1997

1/9/97 – Sean went back to school. Last night in bed he had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to read and write well enough, and he practised a bit of reading this morning. He’s going into first class … [later] Sean’s day at school went well – he needn’t have worried, he said … [later] in what is to be a nightly occurrence, the four of us sat down at the table for 10 or 15 minutes and the kids did some drawing, writing and (in Sean’s case) reading.

2/9/97 – Pauline left Sean to school – he’s got all his old enthusiasm for going.

3/9/97 – Sean had another good day at school.

4/9/97 – Pauline picked Sean up from school around 12, and drove the kids to Malva’s place for the afternoon, which is in the middle of the countryside near where Kildare, Wicklow and Carlow meet … [they] had a great day – the countryside was lovely; they saw a lot of animals; held a kitten, met a pig walking down the road and had to shoo it into a field, etc. Continue reading →

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January 10, 2012 · 10:43 pm

Sean’s music 35 … Nina Simone

Sean loved Nina Simone’s epic ‘Sinnerman’ track, and used to play it a lot. He may have heard it first in Scrubs … I know that it features in various movies as well, and that he made a point of tracking it down when he first heard it on television.

There are other versions of the song, including, according to Wikipedia, several by the Wailers. I’m not sure whether Sean ever heard those – if so, he would probably have shown them to me, as he liked to do.

The other Simone track he liked was ‘Ain’t Got No, I Got Life’, part of which featured in an advertisement to which we were heavily exposed a few years ago. Continue reading →

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January 4, 2012 · 7:07 pm

On eagle’s wings

I remember the day the photograph was taken … Sean told me that he and some of his friends had been touring around aimlessly in a car – I think Conor was driving. They saw some wind turbines on a hill in the distance, and decided to drive to them. Accomplishing this was an adventure in itself, and they had a fun day.

At Garry’s funeral today we spoke to Conor and the other friends that would have been with Sean that day, as well as Clio. It was strange to see them in the setting of a funeral again. I hope that this will not be repeated any time soon, and that we’ll be seeing them in happier circumstances.

Last night in a vivid dream I was walking down a slope in some unknown city, with the sea straight ahead; the sun was shining brightly. I was thinking about Sean and Garry, and wondering about the meaning of life and whether I had learned anything in my 51 years. Continue reading →

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January 4, 2012 · 3:05 pm

RIP Garry Morgan

Today is a terribly sad day, with the funeral of another young man … Garry Morgan, just 22 years old.

We are thinking of Garry and his family. May he rest in peace.

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