“These songs are my love songs to the island of Ireland. I have been inspired by her poetry and melody, history and mythology.”

There is a very specific sense of love for John Spillane, most people who read this will know what I mean. I don’t use the ‘L’ word lightly, but there is no avoiding it here. When he plays The Duncairn it’s like we’re welcoming somebody home. Audience, staff, volunteers, everyone has missed him.

Indeed, the musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, poet, and storyteller has had a long and prized working relationship with The Duncairn’s Creative Director, Ray Giffen, and more recently with Rev. Bill Shaw, Director of The Duncairn’s parent charity, The 174 Trust.

“I’ve had a very good working relationship with Ray Giffen since well before the Duncairn as I’ve played gigs for him at the An Droichead Arts Centre on the Ormeau Road and in the Black Box Belfast as well” he points out to me in an email exchange. “I was one of the first people to play in The Duncairn and was delighted to meet Bill and Úna [Brady, The Duncairn’s Corporate Services Manager] and the rest of the team. I love the positivity of the 174 Trust and its emphasis on community.

“I had a great first meeting with Bill who pointed out to me that I had used the word ‘kind’ twice in my songs and how much he loved the concept of ‘kindness,’” he continues. “The songs were Will We Be Brilliant or What? which contains the line: “will we be kind?” And also, Magic Nights In The Lobby Bar which has the lines: “We were children and our mothers were young, and fathers were tall and kind.” I was very struck by how much the song lyrics had meant to him. I remember my first visit to the Duncairn when Barry Kerr was artist in residence and his paintings were everywhere and they gave the centre a marvellous air of creativity and excitement. I had a fabulous night in the Duncairn in December 2018 when I brought my band up from Cork and my friend Pauline Scanlon from Galway as well as writer Conall Creedon from Cork who wowed everyone with his story about the coffin in the kitchen. This was the Belfast launch of Conal’s new novel Begotten Not Made and also the launch of Laurence McKeown’s book of poetry called Threads. It was just a brilliant night.”

But that was then, and we’re all working in a very different space now. Like so many, Mr, Spillane has been dealing with the lows, and unexpected highs of this pandemic, developing his own routines and taking advantage of unforeseen opportunities . “I love to walk with my two dogs Harry and Lisa up a big hill every day,” he tells me. “I’d like to get my hands on some sweet pea seeds alright so my little garden can be the pride of the terrace… I went into a bit of a dive when all this started as most of my work and my income was taken away, but then I levelled off and I’ve enjoyed some aspects of the lock down. My writing is going very well, slowly but surely, I’m writing songs at a fairly steady rate. I think I needed a break as I was run ragged from tearing round the country gigging and trying to keep up with the rat race.”

Unsurprisingly, music and collaboration are key in his day-to-day, in various forms. “[I have] quite a few projects… I’m busy writing songs and fulfilling rewards and commissions from my recent Fundit.ie campaign. I have five songs to compose and deliver in the next while and it’s no mean feat,” he explains. “Also, I’m writing a series of songs about Cork in 1920, Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSweeney and the Burning of Cork. The biggest project however is the forthcoming release of my new album 100 Snow White Horses.”

“These songs are my love songs to the island of Ireland. I have been inspired by her poetry and melody, history and mythology. Travelling as a bard from town to town, singing songs and meeting people and talking to everyone, I have discovered an Ireland of deeper and deeper levels. These lead down underground, through ruined castles and fairy forts, through Irish music, slow airs and ancient ornaments, through Bardic schools, through the Irish language, through layers where history turns into mythology, and where poetry and melody turn into truth. Every field tells a story and every river is flowing and alive.”

100 Snow White Horses is a collection created with long-time friends, the producer John Reynolds and singer Pauline Scanlon. “Myself, Pauline and John have come together to paint our masterpiece,” he explains, “and we are calling the project John Spillane’s Lapwing Nation.”

Alas we need to be patient before we have the opportunity to see the results of their work. “We are playing it by ear, but are hoping to base the release around a series of live performances. We do not know when we will be able to do this… We would love to play some gigs together to promote the album, when the time is right and when it is safe to do so, and after that who knows what the future will hold?”

Thanks very much, John, Passage West, County Cork, May 2020.

Images by Stanislav Nikolov