Liam Weldon (15 October 1933 - 28 November 1995) was a singer and songwriter in the Irish folk tradition.

Life

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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 ...

, Liam, like many people in inner city Dublin at that time, was moved out of the developing city to

Ballyfermot Ballyfermot () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park. It is bordered by Chapelizod on the north, by Bluebell, Dublin, Bluebell on the south, by Inchicore on the east, ...

, a suburb on the outskirts of the city. Liam had a lifelong interest in the songs of the

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

and his own songs reflected a strong awareness of poverty, disadvantage and exploitation. His personal ballad style had features of other genres, but the precision of intent in his abrasive lyrics was unmistakable.

Six years working in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
from the age of sixteen tempered his social awareness, but yet his lyrics often have deep lyric sensitivity. He sang first at the Central Bar in Aungier St., Dublin, and with his wife Nellie ran gigs and clubs through the 1970s.

In Dublin, he organised the Pavees Club in Slatterys on Capel Street and sessions in the Tailor's Hall and the Brazen Head. In the early seventies, Weldon sang and played

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

in the group "1691". Named after the year of the signing of the

Treaty of Limerick The Treaty of Limerick (), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commander ...

, other members of the group included

Tommy Peoples Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition. Biography Peoples was born near St Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, i ...

Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is an acclaimed Irish traditional singer, keyboard player, and composer. She is considered one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. Throughout her career, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill has worke ...

, Peter Browne, 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 ...

, who later went on to form

The Bothy Band The Bothy Band are an Irish traditional band, originally active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a signific ...

. Liam is well known for his songs "Dark Horse on the Wind" and "The Blue Tar Road". "Blue Tar Road" is a criticism of

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

in the eviction of Traveller families at Cherry Orchard, County Dublin. "Dark Horse on the Wind", written in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the Rising, is a lament for the lost dreams of the 1916 Volunteers and a searing indictment of society in post-independence Ireland and, indeed, a prophetic warning of the political troubles which were at that point imminent on the island as a whole.

Documentary Film

In the summer of 2019, film producer Lorraine Kennedy began production of a documentary film about Liam Weldon, recruiting musician and music documentary film-maker Myles O'Reilly (Musician) to direct the project. Dark Horse on the Wind a film about the life and songs of Liam Weldon was completed in January 2022 and opened on 5 March 2022 at the

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival that has been held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History The Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer (journalist), ...

Discography

* Sixteen Ninety-One — ''Irish Folk Songs'', 1973 (Arfolk, France) * ''Dark Horse On The Wind'', 1976 (Mulligan, Ireland) (CD reissue, 1999) * ''Elixir'' - Liam Weldon, Seán Howley, Brian O’Donoghue, David Hopkins and Pol Huellou (Goasco, 1984). Liam Weldon sings two songs on this album * ''Liam Weldon with Pol Huellou'' (cassette only, Goasco, 1990) Sixteen Ninety-One ''Irish Folk Songs'' was reissued on CD by Arfolk in the 1990s under the title ''A Way For Ireland - Irish Traditional Pub Music'' (the CD also features a 1973 album, ''Irish Pub Music'', from the Castle Ceili Band)

Life

Documentary Film

Discography

References

See also