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In the U.S., clubs like Paddy Reilly's and Sin-e, also in New York, have & helped break in many of these new acts, giving them a supportive place to develop an audience. At Sin-e (which means "that's it"), Sinead O'Connor has been seen helping clean up. Black 47, which combines traditional Irish instruments such as the uilleann pipe (a bellows-blown bagpipe) with reggae beats and straight-ahead rock, spent several years being heckled at pubs in the Bronx and Queens before settling in at Reilly's. The band's seasoning is apparent on their debut album; with assurance and maturity, the album covers such topics as interracial sex and James Connolly, a revolutionary union leader in Ireland executed by the British in 1916.
It's the proletariat passion of Black 47's songs that make the group stand out. "So hold on to your rifles, boys, don't give up your dream/ Of a Republic for the workin' class, economic liberty," Kirwan sings on the cut James Connolly. There's morbid humor too, as on the semiautobiographical song Maria's Wedding, about a drunk, frustrated suitor who crashes an ex- girlfriend's nuptials, promising the bride he'll quit his band and "even go out and get a job for you."
Band leader Kirwan was born in Wexford, Ireland, and immigrated to the States in the '70s; he began to form Black 47 in 1989. He writes all the group's songs, mixing in events from his life, including those early rejections from New York clubs. Says Kirwan: "By playing in those Irish places where we had to play for people who didn't care about us one way or another, or hated us, we couldn't help but get better."
Straight Outta Ireland features Irish bands that are still on that road to recognition. One of the brightest artists on the album is Katell Keineg, a vocalist with a clear, pure voice. Another act with strong potential is the Chanting House, with their neotraditional flute and fiddle sound. These are the groups that will help link Ireland's musical past with its future. "We write the songs using the rhythms of jigs and reels, but at the same time they are unmistakably rock songs," says Chanting House lead singer Susan McKeown. "Traditional music is dear to me, but it's up to the new generation to see how it's carried down."
With Black 47 leading the way, those traditions are in good hands.