Sunday, 18th August 2013, Barron Brothers Farm, Coolcholly, Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon Agricultural Show will celebrate its 20th Annual event in 2013, and the show committee want to encourage those who have attended in the past, either as a visitor or exhibitor, to come back and enjoy this wonderful community agricultural show event.
They also have confirmation that friends of the show are travelling home from Australia, USA and Canada for the event as part of the year of the “Gathering”. They would also like to invite those who have not attended the event before, to come along for what promises to be a fantastic day, as many wonderful animals will be on display, including Irish Draught Horses, Connemara Ponies, All Breeds of Sheep, Pedigree and Commercial Cattle, (For which Donegal Breeders are renowned throughout Ireland), and Poultry. The very best in traditional home baking will also be on display.
The “Show Dance” with live music from the legendary Declan Nerney and his band will bring the day to a close in the Marquee. Ballyshannon Agricultural Show is one of the largest and most competitive in Co. Donegal, and the indications are that the 20th Annual Agricultural Show Event will exceed all expectations.
MED Committee member Jeremy Mc Gonigle who was a Prize winner at Ballyshannon show in 2011
Music Man
Declan Nerney interviewed by Mairead Lavery for the Irish Farmers Journal, 12/01/2013
Declan Nerney has been on the country scene since his teens, writes Mairead Lavery, and, with shows coming up both here and abroad, there is no stopping this consummate entertainerIf you were out dancing over Christmas and the New Year, the chances are you caught up with the “Nerney beat”. This is the distinctive beat and rhythm of Declan Nerney and his band and what makes the Longford man a big hit with dancers.
Regular dancers know where they stand with Declan – a quick set is exactly that and after three dances the set is over and the tempo changes. “Our job is to get a crowd moving on the dance floor. Some bands can be a bit too clever with their music. But I believe I’m not there to educate the patrons, my job is to entertain them.”
This he certainly does with some great medleys including a couple of tunes on the banjo and crowd pleasers such as My Little Honda 50 and Loughlin’s Bar – for which he has the best jive beat of all the bands currently on the scene.
It’s a formula that works and is drawing the crowds and bringing back a younger crowd into the bargain. “The nightclubs had won away the young people but we are getting them back. The live show is always a winner and I believe the nightclub scene has nothing more to offer.”
However, he acknowledges that the dance scene can be intimidating. “The regular dancers are there to dance and, what’s more, they know how to. This can leave those who are not dancers feeling a bit inferior but it’s easily solved because there are plenty of dancing classes where you can learn to jive, waltz and quick step.”
Declan has been part of the country scene since his teen years. His ambition was to be a lead guitarist and he did that for 15 years before he started to sing. “It gave me a chance to build up a bit of stage craft, but mind you I’d feel naked on stage without the guitar.”
He first played with Paddy Hanrahan and his band before joining Gerry Reynolds and the Hi-Lows. His first professional job was with Gene Stuart and The Homesteaders and he spent the years 1980-88 with Brian Coll and The Buckaroos.
By then he was ready to put his own band on the road and his first show was in Ballymoe on 27 October, 1988, and it’s been all go ever since. “The country scene has been good to me and, thanks to Henry McMahon, I’ve had some great hits with songs he’s written such as The Marquee in Drumlish and Anna from Fermanagh”. Declan’s last DVD Stop the World was a huge success earning him a gold disc for sales and his current CD Nerney’s Gold is also flying.
A lot of what Declan and the band do is country and Irish with a brass sound but he’s a fan of all genres of music. “I love classical pieces and I’m equally at home with Big Tom, Guns and Roses and Metallica. All their music is instantly recognisable and it does what it says on the pack.”
As someone who has been on the Irish country music scene for many years, Declan is well qualified to comment on what needs to be done to promote the sector. “We need to promote country music in parts of the country where it’s not regularly featured. This is where the support of local radio stations is essential. I had two weekends in Arklow recently and we filled the hotels and had 57 people over from Scotland. We achieved our aim but we needed backing and we didn’t get it.”
He reckons country music is reinventing itself especially with so many new performers on the scene, but that reinvention won’t happen without direction. “Those involved in the industry need to sit down and provide that direction. We need to talk as a body.”
But in the meantime Declan will keep with the beat, entertaining dancers up and down the country. His hugely popular “Hooley in the Sun” takes place from 22-29 September in Santa Ponsa, Majorca, and there’s a great line-up including Derek Ryan, Louise Morrissey, Roly Daniels, Gerry Guthrie and Brian Coll to name but a few.
He also maintains his close links to farming and, when he has the time, helps out his brother Gerry who farms the homeplace. He has a special interest in vintage tractors and his collection includes two Dexters, a Major, a Ferguson 35 and an extremely rare 1949 Ferguson petrol tractor.
“I’m a lucky man. I love what I do for a living and it allows me have a hobby that I equally enjoy.”
– See more at: http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-Music-man–16285.html#sthash.374gZprO.dpuf