Mick Hanly (born 3 July 1949) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

singer and composer from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. In the 1970s, he formed several folk music duos, first with

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovativ ...

, then with Andy Irvine and, more recently, with

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

. From 1982 until 1985, he was a member of

Moving Hearts Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Moving Hearts'' AllMusic ...

. Hanly is known for composing "

Past the Point of Rescue ''Past the Point of Rescue'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Hal Ketchum. His first major-label album, it was released in 1991 on Curb Records and has been certified gold by the RIAA. The album produced four singles f ...

", which was first covered by

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

(1988) and also by American artist

Hal Ketchum Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album ''Past the Point of ...

(1991).

Early life

Hanly grew up in Limerick City and his musical interests were mainly

rock 'n roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

in the fifties and the sixties. He taught himself to play guitar and his live debut in 1958 was in accompanying himself perform " Livin' Doll" at a primary school concert. After leaving school in 1970, he joined E.S.B. (Electricity Supply Board) in Galway City. After discovering folk music through

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

and also the playing of Clare

uilleann pipe The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

r Willie Clancy, he performed

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

material in the Golden Key, a folk music venue. Mick's brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, worked as a broadcaster

RTÉ radio RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...

's ''

Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and alternate items are normall ...

'', and they sometimes performed together.

Career

He met

in early 1972 and formed a duo called Monroe. They toured Brittany often, meeting with other local and visiting Irish musicians. During this time, Brittany was enjoying a major folk revival, with artists like Alan Stivell,

Tri Yann Tri Yann () is a French band from Nantes who play folk rock music drawing on traditional Breton folk ballads. The band was founded in 1969 by Jean Chocun, Jean-Paul Corbineau and Jean-Louis Jossic – all of whom remained members – hence th ...

, and

Sonerien Du Sonerien Du is a group of Breton music adapted for the dances in Fest Noz. The group was born in 1972, in Alan Stivell's trail, harpist of the Celtic Revival. Driving force of the Breton culture, the group crossed periods of concerts and'' festo ...

just emerging onto the scene. In 1974, Hanly and Ó Domhnaill recorded a single, "The Hills of Greenmore", and toured with the group

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

as their supporting act. After enlisting the help of some of the members of Planxty—

Liam O'Flynn Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lun ...

, and

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

—Hanly and Ó Domhnaill signed a deal with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and recorded the album, '' Celtic Folkweave''. Monroe split in 1975 when Ó Domhnaill joined the

Bothy Band A bothy band is a musical group which comes from the farming culture of nineteenth century Scotland. At that time agriculture was relatively labour-intensive. As a result, large farms often had a small community associated with them, the farm toun ...

, and Hanly returned to Brittany and the life of an itinerant Irish folk troubadour. He returned to Ireland in 1977 to record two albums for the Mulligan label, '' A Kiss In the Morning Early'' and '' As I Went Over Blackwater'' with Lunny, Irvine, Molloy,

Paddy Glackin Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players. Biography Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...

, Noel Hill, piper Peter Brown and

Declan Sinnott Declan Sinnott (born 29 July 1950) is an Irish musician and record producer. Originally from Wexford town, where his father was an optician and jeweller on Main Street, he came to Dublin in the late 1960s. Around 1970 he was a member of the poe ...

. After the release of his debut solo album, Hanly regularly embarked on Irish and European tours with Irvine, after the demise of the Planxty,''Biography'' – Chapter 5.
Page at Andy Irvine's website. Retrieved 30 July 2013 including at 'The 4th Irish Folk Festival' in Germany (30 April 1977)Sleeve notes from ''The 4th Irish Folk Festival on the Road'', InterCord INT 180.038, 1977. and the following year, when they were joined on stage by Liam O'Flynn at 'The 5th Irish Folk Festival' (28 April 1978).Sleeve notes from ''The 5th Irish Folk Festival'', InterCord INT 180.046, 1978. From 1982 until 1985, he was a member of

. Hanly is known for composing "

", which was first covered by

(1988) and also by American artist

(1991).

Selected discography

* '' Celtic Folkweave'' (Polydor, 1974) * ''A Kiss in the Morning Early'' (Mulligan, 1976) * ''As I Went Over Blackwater'' (Mulligan, 1980) – with Andy Irvine * ''Still Not Cured'' (WEA, 1987) * ''All I Remember'' (1989) * ''Warts & All'' (Round Tower, 1991) * ''Happy Like This'' (Round Tower, 1994) * ''Live at the Meeting Place'' (Doghouse, 1998) * ''Wooden Horses'' (Doghouse, 2000) * ''Wish Me Well'' (Doghouse, 2004) * ''Mick Hanly & Friends Live'' (Doghouse, 2011) * ''Homeland'' (Celtic Collections, 2016)

Bibliography

References

External Links

Interview with Mick Hanly in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanly, Mick 1949 births Irish songwriters Musicians from Limerick (city) Moving Hearts members Living people