Carlow County - Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP TM)
Carlow Showband's
The Ritz Showband
The members of the Ritz Showband, clockwise from top left: Frank Horahan, James Knight, Jimmy Byrne, Martin Lacey, Willie Keating, the late Shay Lawlor and Tommy Quinlan. Missing from the photo montage are Arthur O’Neill and Mike Russell
The following article appeared in the
Nationlist
on Friday ,February, 5th, 2021.
Written By Charlie Keegan
THE
recently-formed Ritz Showband from Graiguecullen, Carlow has scored a
runaway success with its debut single 'I don’t know why I love you
but I do', with the song gaining airplay on local radio stations
the length and breadth of the country.
But the band members’ joy at the song’s success
has been greatly tempered by the sudden death at his home on Tuesday 26
January of its lead singer Shay Lawlor. Shay had also been a talented
rhythm and bass guitarist. Seventy-two-year-old Shay from The Downs,
Pollerton, Carlow and a native of Duggan Avenue, Graiguecullen was a
fine singer and musician, whose untimely passing has left his Ritz
Showband colleagues devastated.
His death is also being deeply felt in the
wider Graiguecullen-Carlow community, where he was a well-known and
popular man.
Members of the Ritz Showband, along with other
musicians who had played with Shay down the years, formed a guard of
honour at Graiguecullen bridge on Saturday morning, when his remains
were removed from his home to St Clare’s Church, Graiguecullen, where
Shay’s funeral Mass was celebrated by Fr John Dunphy, PP,
Graiguecullen-Killeshin.
Burial took place following Mass in Sleaty new
cemetery, with Fr John reciting the final prayers at the graveside.
Shay is mourned by his wife Maria, daughter
Dionne, his grandchildren Óran and Kiegan, to whom he was greatly
devoted, and by his cherished siblings Michael (Pop), Chris, Maria,
Tina, Liz, Noelette, his extended family, kind neighbours and his
friends in the music industry. Shay was predeceased by his brother
Kieran.
The Ritz Showband single, a big hit in 1961 for
Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, has proved a major hit with radio listeners,
having topped the music charts in South East Radio, Wexford. The song
has also received a massive amount of airplay from local stations KCLR,
KFM and Midlands Radio. The story has been the same up and down the
country, with Ireland’s network of local radio stations responding to
the popularity of the song with their listenership.
The showband, its number now sadly reduced from
nine to eight following Shay’s death, is comprised of Jimmy Byrne, Tommy
Quinlan, James Knight, Willie Keating, Mike Russell, Martin Lacey,
Arthur O’Neill and Frankie Horahan.
Band member Frankie Horahan told The
Nationalist that Shay Lawlor’s death has put the success of the song
into perspective.
He said that before the devastating sadness hit
the band, the members had been greatly encouraged that Paddy Cole,
Ireland’s ‘King of the Swingers’, had been in touch to offer words of
praise for the Ritz Showband song. That represents high praise indeed,
coming from the Castleblayney man.
The Ritz Showband came about when three former
guitar players, who had retired from their working lives, advanced the
idea among themselves over a cup of tea and a chat in the Graiguecullen
Café. The band embraces musicians from Carlow, Laois and Castlecomer.
Six other musicians, who had played with
various bands in the general Carlow/Laois/Kilkenny area, and are also
retired from the workplace, came on board and the band came into being.
In adopting its name, the band provided a
sentimental throwback to the Ritz Ballroom in Charlotte Street, Carlow,
which for years was a Mecca for dancers and where many a romantic
adventure began.
The band members agreed that any money raised
by the Ritz Showband should go to St Fiacc’s House, Graiguecullen and to
other local charities. Frankie Horohan is a fundraiser for St Fiacc’s.
The band was formed in early 2020, but the
advent of the Covid-19 pandemic put their early plans on hold.
Written By Charlie Keegan
- The information contained in these pages is provided solely for the purpose of sharing with others researching their ancestors in Ireland.
- © 2001 Ireland Genealogy Projects, IGP TM By Pre-emptive Copyright - All rights reserved
Please report any links or images which do not open to mjbrennan30@gmail.com
| Last updated on 04/06/2023 22:42 |