Christy Moore to Unveil Christie Hennessy Sculpture this Saturday

 

Singer Christy Moore will join other celebrities, and members of the Hennessy and Ross families and members of Tralee Town Council in The Square, Tralee this Saturday (at 11 am)   for the unveiling of a life-size bronze sculpture of the Tralee’s famous son, the singer/songwriter Christie Hennessy (1945-2007).  Over the past few days stone masons and Town Council operatives have been putting the final touches to the Portland stone plinth where the memorial will sit and late last evening (Oct 28) the bronze masterpiece was finally fitted into position.  It will remain covered until the unveiling ceremony on Saturday morning.

 

Murty Quirke of Tralee Town Council and Colin Price of CPS

 

The bronze sculpture, executed by Nicholas Dimbleby, was commissioned by Tralee Town Council following an international sculptural competition in 2008 to honour the famous singer. The Portland stone base was sculpted by CPS Masonry in Devon.  The Mayor of Tralee Cllr. Terry O’Brien says,  “it is a fitting tribute to a gifted son of Tralee who loved his town and brought it international acclaim.” The new sculpture is sited in The Square, where Christie spent his youth working as a messenger boy, collecting and delivering parcels on his bicycle.  ’Messenger Boy’ would later become the theme of one of his many award-winning songs, also recorded by Christy Moore and the title of a television documentary on his life.

  

Christie was born Edward Christopher Ross in Tralee in November 1945, the youngest of nine children.  He left school at 11½ years and emigrated to England at the age of 15. Music was part of Christie’s life from his earliest years in Tralee and settling in London he would work on building sites by day and play in the rhythm & blues clubs by night and in later years in folk clubs, taking the name Christie Hennessy.  There he was discovered by the BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel.  Over a distinguished music career spanning 35 years he performed for thousands across the country and beyond, recorded 8 albums which won top-chart spots including a Number 1 album for seven consecutive weeks, and many multi-platinum discs.

 

Christie was 23 when he wrote his first song. He released his first album "Christie Hennessy" (also known as "The Green Album") in 1972, at the tender age of 47 "The Rehearsal" 1992 (triple platinum) from which came the anthem of hope “Roll Back The Clouds”, "A Year In The Life" 1993 (quadruple platinum), "Lord of Your Eyes" 1994 (triple platinum), "The Box" 1996 (triple platinum), "This Is As Far As I Go" 1999 (double platinum), "The Definitive Christie Hennessy" 2003, "Stories For Sale" 2005, and "The Platinum Collection" in 2007.  

 

Christie wrote hit songs for many stars, including “Don’t Forget Your Shovel” for Christy Moore, “All The Lies That You Told Me” for Frances Black, and “Oh Jealous Heart” for Clannad’s Maire Brennan – giving them all their first number one hits. He also composed the theme tune and incidental music for the BBC TV series "Get Well Soon" penned by Ray Galton ("Steptoe & Son") and John Antrobus. A Musical/Feature film he wrote about his native Ireland ("Two Stops to Paradise") is presently being produced by Scott Franklin who recently won an Oscar for “The Wrestler”.

 

An album of duets entitled “The Two of Us”  - a series of duets featuring Christie with other famous Irish singers, including Christy Moore, Luka Bloom, Ronan Keating, Paul Brady, Moya Brennan, Frances Black and Christie’s daughter Hermione was released posthumously in May 2008, knocking Madonna from the Number 1 slot in the charts.  

 

Universal Music is launching a second posthumous album entitled  ‘A Friend of Mine’ on October 30th to coincide with the unveiling ceremony in Tralee. Christie’s family have collaborated to create this latest album of his work, including Christie’s wife Gill, daughters Amber and Hermione and son Tim. It features selected tracks recorded by Christie in the months prior to his death in December 2007 with tasteful and sympathetic production  by Tim Ross.

 

The unveiling ceremony takes place in The Square at 11 am on Saturday (Oct 31st) and is open to the general public.

 

 

Colin Price of CPS preparing Portland stone plinth.

 

Lifting sculpture into position on Wednesday night

Colin Price and Ben Martin of CPS make the final adjustments.