This outfit proved very popular in and around Manchester, and were instrumental in bringing Irish music and song to such varied venues as the Band on the Wall and Tameside Theatre. So successful was the first performance at the former that the bookers set up a short Irish season. Curragh started it, and a little know band, the Pogues, rounded off the short series. In 1985 the band split up, Caroline went to work for the BBC as a sound engineer, Eamonn to establish a career in radio and television as a presenter and producer, Angela and Paul to be founder members of top Irish rockers, Toss the Feathers. During these early days a young lad called Mick McGoldrick guested with the Curragh, aged about one, since those days he became BBC Trad oboy of the year and has played on many fine albums, including those of folk darling Kate Rusby.
Martin and Sean, by this time were writing and performing much of thier own material and they cotinued to play on and off for a few years in various guises. Perhaps their most notable gig as a duo the Peak Cavern gig in Castleton in 1987. One thousand people were seated in the main cavern in this concert to raise money for Derbyshire cave rescue. Also on the bill was wilderness photographer, John Beatty with his amazing Touch the Earth audio visual show.
By early 1988 Sean and Martin had teamed up with ace guitar man Kevin Hill, who was a mainstay of the Norman Beaker blues band and a regular guest with Jack Bruce. At this stage they ran an informal folk club at the Peels Arms pub in Padfield with landlord Denis Murray and his wife Viv (unfortunately Denis died in July 2001 and the pub has now changed hands). It was these nights that convinced them that they should get on the road again and by chance a young fiddle player, Paul Newland, had booked into the Peels for the night. Within a week they had played their first gig and within the month they played the Buxton Opera House as Banshee to an audience of over 1,200 people !
Things moved fast and so did the band playing accross the country. Kevin Hill left after several months and was replaced by the old rascal, Mick Coleman. Mick had the number one hit Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats and Dogs. Mick played with Banshee through the various changes over the next ten years. The bands best venture into the recording studio resulted in "Down in the Dungeon" released to great acclaim in 1994.They also appeared on television and radio many times, as Ben Maguire famously said on a poster for his Bradford venue, "as seen on the Richard Whiteley show..more than once!". Paul left due to work commitments, but Banshee carried on with some great players including Shane, Colin and Paul Farrell, on banjo, fiddle and fiddle and Kevin Madden, world champion fiddle player, affectionately known as the pieman. The Farrels and the Pieman are all World Champions in their own right and it has to be said, that when any of them played with the band, the music rose to a different level. k here to add your text.
