Episode 6
Michael O’Shea
by Michael O’Shea
Episode 6 - Preview
Michael O’Shea: (AllChival Records, 2019), (Dome Records, 1982) and (AllChival - Limited Clear Vinyl, 2019).
Photograph by Paul McDermott.
Episode Notes
Episode six of To Here Knows When - Great Irish Albums Revisited focuses on Michael O’Shea’s self-titled 1982 album.
In episode five of the podcast Dave Long mentioned my Michael O’Shea documentary No Journeys End (produced for RTÉ Lyric FM in 2019) so I’ve decided to revisit it for episode six. It’s the story of Irish musician Michael O’Shea, who played an instrument made from a door that he called “Mo Chara” (my friend). His 1982 album, is regarded as a landmark cult classic. In Seasons They Change: the Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk, Jeanette Leech’s exhaustive exploration of the underbelly of the folk genre, the author describes Michael’s record as, “an exceptional album by an outsider folk artist… as if Brian Eno had performed at Les Cousins” (Leech: 2010). Author Mark Prendergast in Irish Rock: Roots, Personalities, Directions describes Michael’s “Mo Chara” as producing, “soft resonating patterns which had a traditional Irish folk music rhythm but streamed through with numerous East European and Indian timbres” (Prendergast: 1987).
Michael O’Shea: passing out with the Royal Irish Fusiliers in Enniskillen (date unknown); in Dacca (Dhaka) Bangladesh, Summer 1972 and London, 29 July 1981 (Michael describes the photograph as: “Taken on the day Prince Charles and Di got married. This is my Country Squire image, you can show it to your friends!!”). Photographs © O’Shea Family Collection.
Michael’s album was reissued by AllChival Records in 2019. In their year end review Boomkat awarded the album its “Reissue of the year 2019”, Wire magazine also included the album in their “2019 reissues of the year” review and in July 2020 it was voted by staff of Tower Records, Dublin as the second greatest Irish Album of all time. It really is that good.
Michael’s “Mo Chara” was inspired by the Hammered Dulcimer, but Michael added amplification and effects lending it a strong sense of otherworldliness. Its sound is steeped in Celtic undertones but also resonant with the cultures Michael had absorbed on his travels in the East. This is a portrait of a musician who went AWOL from the British Army, spent time as a relief worker in Bangladesh, supported Ravi Shankar at the Royal Festival Hall and played with some of the biggest names in jazz including Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry and Archie Shepp.
First broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM, 25 August 2019
Presented and Produced by Paul McDermott
Producer for RTÉ Lyric FM — Eoin O Kelly
Funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland through the TV Licence Fee
Boomkat — Reissue of the Year 2019, Tower Records — Staff Picks, No 2 “Best Irish Albums”, Mojo — “Buried Treasure” (October 2020) and The Sunday Times Culture — No Journeys End — Pick of the Day (26 April 2020).
For Further Reading/Listening:
There is a wealth of extra information about the life of Michael O’Shea, the creation of his “Mo Chara”, his music and his album on the No Journeys End page on this website, including a link to an 18,000 word comprehensive longread Oral History featuring extra interviews, background information, photographs, ephemera and cultural and historical context.