The Fall River Herald News
Friday, March 17, 2006
“Clancy Brothers Fan Pens Book”
By Kathleen Durand
SOMERSET – He was only 3 when his parents, Tom and Holly Murray, took him to a Clancy Brothers concert at the Venus De Milo. Conor Murray swears he remembers it.
It took him another 11 years to become a diehard Clancy Brothers fan, at age 14, but Murray, now 21, has certainly made up for lost time.
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day and in honor of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Clancy Brothers in March 1956, Murray has produced his own book on his favorite Irish musicians: "The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem and Robbie O’Connell: The Men Behind the Sweaters."
He will share his writing experience, discuss the Clancy Brothers, read an excerpt from his book and have copies of it for sale on Thursday during a program in the meeting room of the Somerset Public Library at 7 p.m.
A senior at Bridgewater State College, Murray has worked as a page at the library for the past six years.
His mother is 100 percent Irish and his father is half Irish and half English, and they are big fans of Irish music.
"I’ve been listening to the Clancy Brothers all my life," Murray said.
He said their music grew on him for a long time, and in the last seven years, he’s probably seen them perform about 25 times. He and his family even saw the Clancy Brothers at the Milwaukee Irish Fest.
His book, which he started writing in August 2003, has more than 300 photos of the musicians. He said his mother suggested he write it after he had been collecting photos and other memorabilia of the Clancy Brothers for years.
"My Mom said, ‘With all this stuff, you should write a book,’ " he said.
It helps that he loves to write. Murray said he’s already about 200 pages into another book, a Mafia-oriented work of fiction.
Murray said when the original Clancy Brothers, Liam, Pat and Tom, and their friend Tommy Makem were in New York in 1961, the Clancys’ mother sent them fishermen’s knit sweaters to keep them warm. The sweaters became their trademark from then on. After a smashingly successful appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1961, Murray said, Columbia Records signed them.
"In the early ’60s they were the most famous Irishmen in the world," he said.
Murray said Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, the only two surviving members of the original group, have allowed him to advertise his book on their Web sites.
"They were floored by the pictures," he said.
The brothers have children and a nephew, Robbie O’Connell, and Makem has children who are musicians.
"Hopefully my book will inspire people my age to get into this kind of music," said Murray. "I’m glad to be the one to write the book about them. It’s the first full-fledged book about all the brothers."
Murray said the Clancy Brothers’ fan base is made up mostly of people of his grandparents’ and parents’ generation, but he’s always loved their music.
"Hopefully it will live on," he said. He said he likes all kinds of music, except rap, but particularly Irish music. He also likes Harry Belafonte. Among his Irish favorites besides the Clancys are the Chieftains and Gaelic Storm.
He said he interviewed Eddie Dillon, a musician who played with the Clancy Brothers, O’Connell and Aoife Clancy, daughter of Bobby Clancy of the Clancy Brothers, for the book.
Murray plays the bodhran, a Celtic drum, the violin and the piano. He is majoring in theater arts and minoring in English at Bridgewater. His book is available at www.clancybrothersbook.com and at the Irish Specialty Shop in Fall River.
The Somerset Public Library, at 1464 County St., is handicapped accessible. Anyone requiring handicapped accommodations is asked to call the library before the event at 508-646-2829.