Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was an Irish

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer-songwriter. Although Hennessy was unable to read or write due to severe

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

, he still wrote his own songs such as "Roll Back the Clouds" and "All the Lies That You Told Me".

Early life

Hennessy was born in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. His first guitar was made, especially for him, from a tea chest when he was six years old by his friend Jerry Quirke. He left school at the age of eleven and a half. His first job was as a messenger boy, and it was then that he discovered that it was important to be able to read. He was unable to read or write due to severe

, but still enjoyed his library of books. He later worked on building sites in London.

Career

In 1972 he released his first record, ''The Green Album'', on Westwood, a small label. With scant publicity or promotion, the album made little impact and only 500 copies of the record were pressed. Hennessy returned to labouring on building sites in the UK and did not release another album for twenty years. When he did, his 1992 release ''The Rehearsal'' outsold U2 in Ireland, eventually attaining triple platinum status. His following albums, ''A Year in the Life'' and ''Box'' also sold extremely well in Ireland. A renowned songwriter as well as performer, Hennessy wrote several songs that became hits for other singers including ''Don't Forget your Shovel'', made famous by

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

, and ''All the Lies that You Told Me'', recorded by

Frances Black Frances Patricia Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's traditional and contemporary Irish music band, The Black Family. Black was e ...

. He also composed the theme tune and incidental music for the BBC TV series "Get Well Soon" written by Ray Galton (of Steptoe & Son fame) and composed and wrote a musical/feature film about his native Ireland, ''Two Stops to Paradise'' Hennessy returned to the studio in 2007, one final time to record an album with both

Luka Bloom Luka Bloom (born Kevin Barry Moore; 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore. Early life Kevin Barry Moore was born on 23 May 1955 in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. His p ...

and Christy Moore sharing vocals on one of the tracks.Irish singer Hennessy dies at 62
–

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

– 11 December 2007 In 2005, Christy Moore's rendition of Hennessy's "Don't Forget Your Shovel" was referenced in a UK Number One single "The JCB Song" by

Nizlopi Nizlopi were a British folk and alternative duo formed in Leamington Spa, England, by Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and backing vocals. History Formation The duo grew up in ...

: "And the engine rattles my bum like berserk. While we're singin, 'Don't forget your shovel if you want to go to work!'" It was further referenced in the video for the same song; as the line is sung, the characters in the JCB pass a shop called "Christie's Shovels".

Death

Hennessy died on 11 December 2007 in a London hospice, aged 62. He was reported to have died from

pleural The pleural cavity, or pleural space (or sometimes intrapleural space), is the potential space between the pulmonary pleurae, pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous fluid, serous pleural fluid is maintained ...

mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer, which has been attributed to his younger years spent working on building sites in London where he was exposed to

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

dust. Just before he died he had been touring in Ireland but had to cancel due to the illness. His ashes were buried in Old Rath Cemetery, Tralee. A commemorative statue of Christie was erected in Central Plaza, just off the town square in Tralee in November 2009.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

1945 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from mesothelioma Irish folk singers Musicians from County Kerry People from Tralee 20th-century Irish male singers

External links

Messenger Boy - Christie Hennessy{{cite web , title=Messenger Boy - Christie Hennessy , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVo2LaBSuiM , website=YouTube , date=5 January 2011 , publisher=MindTheGapFilms , access-date=28 May 2024 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music