John Spillane just about made it to the church on time. Flight delays and Geneva traffic saw him arrive at the Lutheran Evangelical Church an hour before showtime. He was up since 5am but there were no signs of exhaustion as he delivered a non-stop flow of songs and stories in his inimitable style full of Cork wit.
Old favourites were intermingled with great new songs such as Belfast, which had one audience member in tears, and the Dingle Druid, inspired by Julie Malone who helped to bury Sinead O’Connor.
He reprised one of his most significant recordings, the album Irish Songs We Sang in School, and encouraged the Irish in the audience to delve into their primary school past and join in the Irish language medley. Audience participation peaked on the rebel call of Óró, sé do bheatha ‘bhaile.
The acoustics of the old building on the Place Bourg de Four were perfect to set off the cascade of notes pouring out of Spillane’s beloved Spanish guitar with its beautiful tone, notably on All the Ways You Wander, The Dance of the Cherry Trees, Passage West and his closing number the charming Dunne’s Stores Girl.
The evening concluded with a standing ovation and CHF 5,200 raised for the Edith Wilkins Foundation for Street Children in Darjeeling, a fitting close to twenty years of GLAS.
We will be back soon, watch this space.
