Mick Hanly (born 3 July 1949) is an
Irish singer and composer from
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
.
In the 1970s, he formed several folk music duos, first with
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, then with
Andy Irvine and, more recently, with
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...
. From 1982 until 1985, he was a member of
Moving Hearts
Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Moving Hearts'' AllMu ...
.
Hanly is known for composing "
Past the Point of Rescue", which was first covered by
Mary Black
Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland.
Background
Mary Black was born into a m ...
(1988) and also by American artist
Hal Ketchum
Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album '' Past the Point of ...
(1991).
Early life
Hanly grew up in Limerick City and his musical interests were mainly
rock 'n roll in the fifties and the sixties. He taught himself to play guitar and his live debut in 1958 was in accompanying himself perform "
Livin' Doll" at a primary school concert. After leaving school in 1970, he joined
E.S.B. (Electricity Supply Board) in Galway City. After discovering folk music through
Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...
and also the playing of Clare
uilleann piper
Willie Clancy, he performed
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...
and
Paul Simon material in the Golden Key, a folk music venue.
Mick's brother,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, worked as a broadcaster
RTÉ radio
RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide.
Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in ...
's ''
Morning Ireland'', and they sometimes performed together.
Career
He met
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill in early 1972 and formed a duo called Monroe. They toured Brittany often, meeting with other local and visiting Irish musicians. During this time, Brittany was enjoying a major folk revival, with artists like
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specificall ...
,
Tri Yann
Tri Yann () is a French band from Nantes who play folk rock music drawing on traditional Breton folk ballads.
The band was founded in 1969 by Jean Chocun, Jean-Paul Corbineau and Jean-Louis Jossic – all of whom remained members – hence the ...
, and
Sonerien Du just emerging onto the scene.
In 1974, Hanly and Ó Domhnaill recorded a single, "The Hills of Greenmore", and toured with the group
Planxty
Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guit ...
as their supporting act. After enlisting the help of some of the members of Planxty—
Liam O'Flynn
Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lu ...
,
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...
, and
Matt Molloy—Hanly and Ó Domhnaill signed a deal with
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
and recorded the album, ''
Celtic Folkweave''.
Monroe split in 1975 when Ó Domhnaill joined the
Bothy Band, and Hanly returned to Brittany and the life of an itinerant Irish folk troubadour. He returned to Ireland in 1977 to record two albums for the Mulligan label, ''
A Kiss In the Morning Early'' and ''
As I Went Over Blackwater'' with Lunny, Irvine, Molloy,
Paddy Glackin,
Noel Hill, piper Peter Brown and
Declan Sinnott. After the release of his debut solo album, Hanly regularly embarked on Irish and European tours with Irvine, after the demise of the Planxty,
[''Biography'' – Chapter 5.](_blank)
Page at Andy Irvine's website. Retrieved 30 July 2013 including at 'The 4th Irish Folk Festival' in Germany (30 April 1977)
[Sleeve notes from ''The 4th Irish Folk Festival on the Road'', InterCord INT 180.038, 1977.] and the following year, when they were joined on stage by Liam O'Flynn at 'The 5th Irish Folk Festival' (28 April 1978).
[Sleeve notes from ''The 5th Irish Folk Festival'', InterCord INT 180.046, 1978.]
From 1982 until 1985, he was a member of
Moving Hearts
Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Moving Hearts'' AllMu ...
.
Hanly is known for composing "
Past the Point of Rescue", which was first covered by
Mary Black
Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland.
Background
Mary Black was born into a m ...
(1988) and also by American artist
Hal Ketchum
Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album '' Past the Point of ...
(1991).
Selected discography
* ''
Celtic Folkweave'' (Polydor, 1974)
* ''A Kiss in the Morning Early'' (Mulligan, 1976)
* ''As I Went Over Blackwater'' (Mulligan, 1980) – with
Andy Irvine
* ''Still Not Cured'' (WEA, 1987)
* ''All I Remember'' (1989)
* ''Warts & All'' (Round Tower, 1991)
* ''Happy Like This'' (Round Tower, 1994)
* ''Live at the Meeting Place'' (Doghouse, 1998)
* ''Wooden Horses'' (Doghouse, 2000)
* ''Wish Me Well'' (Doghouse, 2004)
* ''Mick Hanly & Friends Live'' (Doghouse, 2011)
* ''Homeland'' (Celtic Collections, 2016)
Bibliography
*
References
External Links
Interview with Mick Hanly in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanly, Mick
1949 births
Irish songwriters
Musicians from Limerick (city)
Moving Hearts members
Living people