Time to do the Irish jig

GET down to The Barnyard Theatre at Gateway on Monday, 21 December for a festive, family shindig with Durban’s legendary Irish band, The Blarney Brothers. With The Blarney Brothers you can be sure of a great big, foot-stomping, sing-along party which provides a fun night out for whole family.
Perhaps it is just because they simply play for the audience, making music they know everyone will love. But this is certainly helped along with a liberal flavouring of genuine Irish Blarney and humour, because The Blarney Brothers are as Irish as shamrock and poteen.

Their music is a mixture of Irish ballads, foot-tapping pub songs, popular new music and the occasional Irish jig. Audiences can expect to hear a mix of favourites such as Running Bear, Drunken Sailor, Wild Rover, Jerusalem, I Am Your Music Man, The Leaving Of Liverpool, Simple Simon, Whiskey In The Jar, Danny Boy, Knees Up Mother Brown and Ireland’s Call.
It is a tribute to their popularity that 33 years after their first performance at the Astra Hotel in Durban, they are still one of South Africa’s top five acts. In fact, their history goes back even further as they served their musical apprenticeship playing in the Irish showbands for ten years before arriving on South African soil.

The Blarney Brothers established their enduring and endearing name by playing at The Barn at The Athlone Hotel, Durban every Wednesday and Friday for 13 years, so it seems like a fitting tribute to have them performing for the first time at The Barnyard.

The band’s Paul and Damien McIlroy and Tony Fisher are all fine vocalists and very musically-talented. Paul is the leader of the group, also playing the keyboards, banjo and guitar; Tony plays the fiddle, bass guitar, mandolin, penny whistle and flute; while Damien is on lead guitar and vocals. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are R120.