Arts-Entertainment
Somewhere on the road from Granada to Valencia last week, Gabriel Donohue made the most of a long bus ride by conducting a full-scale interview with himself, no question left unasked.
Donohue will bring his extraordinary vocal, piano and guitar talents to the Dulcie Theater stage on November 15th at 7:30 pm accompanied by fiddler and vocalist Vonnie Quinn, the final Shane Center Presents offering of 2025.
GD : How long have you been playing music professionally?
GD: Since I tried being a glass blower in Galway Crystal upon leaving school after turning 17. The apprenticeship didn’t last long, when I was told I’d make less for a week’s work than I could make playing music on a Tuesday night at the Ocean Wave club in Galway City, Ireland. I did learn how to blow glass, but I knew working in front of a hot furnace wasn’t going to be as much fun as playing guitar and piano with my musical friends.
GD : How did you find yourself in America?
GD: I had an opportunity to join the house band of Rosie O’Grady’s bar in Times Square, New York. It helped me find my footing in North America, and I sought out the legends of Irish music: Andy McGann and Johnny Cronin, two great fiddlers. I’d leave work on Times Square and often spend from midnight until sunrise playing tunes on Second Avenue. It was a great apprenticeship in the music of my homeland as distilled in New York City by the Ceili Kings.
GD: How did you wind up playing with the Chieftains?
GD: I used to get invited to play on Caribbean cruises with the Clancy Brothers and the Chieftains tour manager was along and knew I played Spanish guitar. He asked if I could learn a Flamenco piece that was key to their live shows supporting the Santiago Album—an album tracing the music of Celtic Spain in the new world. They had never used a guitar before, as their main source of accompaniment was from the Irish harp. They liked the way my guitar filled out the sound. I wound up doing tours in Spain, Norway, Denmark, the UK, and bi-yearly tours of the USA. I even got to play in Antarctica on a ship with them on the millennium. The guests were America’s top CEOs from multinational corporations. The guest singers were Art Garfunkel, Diana Krall and Dan Akroyd. Guest speakers were F.W. DeClerk of South Africa, Bobby Kennedy Jr., journalist/author Simon Winchester and Ernest Shackleton's grandson.
GD: How long have you played with Vonnie Quinn?
GD: I did my first show with Vonnie about eight years ago and found her to be a very talented fiddler and singer. She also plays harp and dances, though I’ve never seen her do either. She started out playing medieval banquets in County Clare and has played music nonstop for years despite a very busy journalism career.
We’ve played festivals together from Monterrey, Mexico to Dunedin, Florida and have logged many hours playing around New York, including gala performances for the America Ireland Fund and New York University's Ireland House.
GD: What is your connection to Montana?
GD: I’ve always been intrigued with Montana, growing up in Ireland. A town called Allihies in County Cork immigrated en masse to Butte, when their copper mine was emptied of all its deposits. Butte is now home to lots of Harringtons, Sullivans and Dwyers. We read about Butte in the Irish language in a book called Rotha Mór an Tsaol (The Big Wheel of Life). I was delighted to be asked to guest with my friend Joanie Madden and Cherish the Ladies at the An Rí Rá festival in Butte. The Irish connection to Montana is strong.
The Shane Center Presents Series is generously sponsored by: Walter and Regina Wunsch/SPECTEC TIC, Colin & Seabring Davis, and Home2Suites. The programs are produced in association with John and Joanne Lowell of Mighty Fine Time Live Events. Tickets are available at The Shane Center box office, by calling (406) 222-1420, or at www.theshanecenter.org. The Shane is located at 415 E. Lewis St. in Livingston