Johnny Patterson (racing Driver)
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John Francis Patterson (1840–1889) was an Irish singer, songwriter and circus entertainer. He is now best known for composing the song "The Garden Where the Praties Grow".


Early life

He was born in Kilbarron, Feakle,
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
. Both his parents had died by the time he was three years old and so he was raised by an uncle in
Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...
. At the age of 14 he enlisted in the
63rd Regiment of Foot The 63rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 96th Regiment of Foot to form the Manchester Regiment in 1881. History Formation and service in the Seven Years' War The for ...
which was based in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
at the time. He learned to play various instruments especially piccolo and drums. When a circus came to Limerick he got a part-time job in its band and so bought himself out of the army.


Circus career

He was soon given a long-term contract by the circus and billed as The Irish Singing Clown. He worked for other circuses in Ireland before crossing to England. Between 1865 and 1867, he was a drummer performing in a circus run by
Pablo Fanque Pablo Fanque (born William Darby; 30 March 1810 – 4 May 1871) was a British Equestrianism, equestrian performer and Circus, circus proprietor, becoming the first recorded Black circus owner in Britain. His circus was popular in Victorian Brit ...
, the black English circus proprietor, and John Swallows. He remained with Fanque through 1869, performing in Scotland, Ireland, and England. It was Fanque who effectively launched his career.
John Nee John Nee (born 1959; ), more commonly known by his stage name Little John Nee, is an Irish storyteller, writer, performer and musician based in Galway on Ireland's West Coast. Nee was born in Glasgow in 1959. He returned to Letterkenny, in Co ...
, an Irish actor who portrayed Patterson in a 2010 stage production about his life said: In
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
he met and married a circus bareback rider, Selena Hickey. Around this time he composed the song "The Garden Where the Praties Grow".


United States and after

His fame grew until he was offered a contract in America in 1876 separating from his wife and family. In the United States he became one of the most famous and highest paid entertainers at the time. He composed several more songs including "The Hat my Father Wore", "Bridget Donoghue", "Shake Hands with your Uncle Dan", "Goodbye Johnny Dear" and "The Stone outside Dan Murphy's Door". Aged 45, he was a wealthy man and so returned to Ireland buying a house in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
where he was reunited with his wife and family, but Hickey died in 1886. He continued performing and created a circus of his own with an Australian called Joe Keeley. In April 1888 he married Bridget Murray at
Castlepollard Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar. Name The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or fortified m ...
,
County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
.


Death and legacy

His political opinions expressed in a song (he wanted Protestants and Catholics to live together peacefully) caused a fight at one performance. Patterson was hit on the head by an iron bar and was kicked. He died from his injuries at
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 ...
on 31 May 1889 at the age of 49. Johnny Patterson's songs have been recorded by numerous artists over the years, including his great-grandson
Duncan Patterson Duncan Patterson (born 5 June 1975) is an English musician, best known for his work as a member of Anathema (1991–1998) and Antimatter (1998–2005). Career Patterson was a driving force behind Anathema's success during their earlier year ...
, and several plays have been produced about his life. He was a character in Stewart Parker's play ''Heavenly Bodies'' along with the figure of
Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...
representing two different sides of the Irish theatre. The Barabbas Theatre Company produced ''Johnny Patterson: The Singing Irish Clown'' in 2010 and ''Johnny Patterson the Musical'' was written about his life and relationship with Bridget Donoghue by Declan Mangan and Mick Jones in 2009. Johnny Patterson also had the honour of being painted by the famous Irish artist
Jack Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist. Born into a family of impoverished Anglo-Irish landholders, his father was the painter John Butler Yeats, and his brother was the poet W. B. Yeats. Jack B. was ...
in the 1928 painting ''The Singing Clown''. In 1985 a local committee, chaired by Sean Seosamh O Conchubhair (Tralee), erected a memorial in Tralee's New Cemetery to commemorate his interment there. The plaque was unveiled by
Dick Spring Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), L ...
and Johnny Patterson's granddaughter, Maura (nee Patterson) McArdle.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Johnny Irish male songwriters Irish male singers 1840 births 1889 deaths Musicians from County Clare 19th-century Irish classical composers 19th-century Irish male singers People from Feakle