For Eddie Sherlock, those stories became songs such as “All Around the Town”, “King of the Road” and “The Island”.

In Episode 4 of the Two Auld Folkers Podcast, Eddie joins Gerry Browne and Mick O’Brien for a warm, funny conversation about songwriting, Dublin life, family, confidence and the long road of building a career through original Irish folk music.

Eddie’s musical story started later than most.

He grew up surrounded by singers. His granny and father sang, while his uncle Thomas McLachlan became one of his biggest influences. Christmas gatherings meant music, party pieces and Eddie trying to stay close enough to hear the adults singing.

Yet Eddie reached 21 before guitar started to make sense.

Someone showed him how to play “Zombie” by The Cranberries using two fingers. He played the same thing for two weeks, drove the family mad and kept going.

While singing “Spancil Hill”, Eddie then realised he was in key. He went home delighted. He had finally worked out he was able to sing.

From there came songs rooted in modern Dublin life.

“All Around the Town” began after the death of a young man named Connor. Eddie started writing about violence, addiction, gang activity and families dealing with the aftermath.

Mick remembers hearing the song years ago while driving home from his radio show. The lyrics hit hard because he recognised the communities Eddie was writing about.

Years later, Eddie received a message from a man dealing with addiction who said the song had helped him through a difficult period.

Then there’s “King of the Road”.

A line sat in Eddie’s phone for around two years before lockdown gave him the space to follow the idea. He researched horse names, bloodlines, sulky racing and the language around the sport.

The song was recorded in a bedroom during lockdown. Then people started sharing. Children learned the words. Parents sent videos.

Eddie even tells the story of a child performing “King of the Road” at school before his parents were called in because someone thought the song was inappropriate.

Gerry and Mick also get Eddie talking about self-doubt.

Despite years of gigs, Eddie spent a long time unsure about his own voice. Gerry hears something different, describing Eddie’s Dublin tone as instantly recognisable.

The conversation turns to a question facing many Irish musicians. How do you move from pub gigs to bigger stages?

Eddie has spent years trying. Streaming has helped fund recording sessions and brought his music to listeners in America, Australia and further afield.

Music also brought Eddie to Australia, where a songwriting project connecting Irish and Aboriginal stories led to performances and a small tour.

The episode closes with “The Island”, inspired by the people of the Blasket Islands.

Eddie became fascinated by the islanders, their isolation and the families who eventually left home behind. One image stayed with him, a person leaving by boat and watching the island grow smaller in the distance.

There are plenty of laughs along the way, plus three original Eddie Sherlock songs.

Irish folk music. The music of the people.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:

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In this episode, Phelim looks back on those years and shares a more personal picture of the man behind one of Ireland’s most recognisable voices. He talks about Ronnie’s early time in Spain, his flamenco guitar lessons and the friendships which helped shape his future. One of the strongest moments comes when Phelim reads from a letter written by Ronnie’s friend Joe Hackett. The letter recalls a young Ronnie sitting beside a river in Seville, unsure about what he wanted to do with his life. Ronnie told Joe he was thinking about becoming a ballad singer. Joe asked him to sing. Ronnie chose Nora. Joe told him to go home and follow the idea. Ronnie left for Madrid the next day.

The conversation also explores what made The Dubliners different. Their sound was raw, their image was unmistakable and their attitude stood apart from much of the Ireland around them at the time. Phelim, Gerry and Mick talk about the band’s rise, their appearances on Top of the Pops and the huge audiences they built across Europe.

Phelim also reflects on growing up as the son of a famous musician. He speaks warmly about Ronnie’s humour, his sensitivity, his instinct for reading people and his respect for musicians trying to make a living.

Gerry and Mick have their own Ronnie Drew stories to share. Gerry remembers playing at a wedding when the bride asked if her uncle might get up for a few songs. The uncle turned out to be Ronnie Drew. Mick remembers Ronnie appearing at a gig in Sandymount and asking his band for a “dig out”. Mick suddenly found himself backing one of the men who had shaped his love of Irish folk music.

Phelim also talks about his own career in acting, including decades of theatre work and around 25 to 30 productions at the Abbey Theatre. That theatre background now sits alongside music in Remembering Ronnie, Phelim’s live show built around songs, stories and memories of his father.

There is plenty of live music in the episode too.

Phelim performs The Good Ship Kangaroo, Red Roses for Me and McAlpine’s Fusiliers.

Before the final song, he tells one of the funniest Ronnie Drew stories of the episode.

The Dubliners were touring Germany. Ronnie suggested adding McAlpine’s Fusiliers to the set. He walked out in front of a packed German audience and confidently began with the words: “’Twas in the year of ’39...” Phelim tells the rest.

A warm, funny and personal episode about Ronnie Drew, The Dubliners, Irish folk music and the family stories behind the songs.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:

Follow Phelim Drew:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phelimdrewmusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phelimdrewmusiccorner/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@phelimdrewmusic814

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In Episode 2 of Two Auld Folkers, Gerry Browne and Mick O’Brien sit down with one of Dublin’s most recognisable street performers for a conversation full of music, memories, sharp humour and a few stories that land harder than expected.

Mick grew up in a house where music was always within reach. There were guitars, banjos, mandolins, accordions and plenty of records. His influences came from all directions, from Cat Stevens and The Mamas and the Papas to The Wolfe Tones, Christy Moore and The Dubliners.

Then came Luke Kelly.

Mick talks about the hold Luke’s voice had on him, the connection he feels when singing his songs and why he still visits Luke’s grave. When he sings The Old Triangle, something changes. People stop. They listen.

That connection with people sits at the heart of this episode.

Mick remembers supporting Declan O’Rourke at Vicar Street and watching a man in the front row break down during Love’s Last Time. He tells the story behind the viral Luas video with Edward, a spontaneous performance of You’ve Got a Friend in Me that spread around the world.

Then there is Archie.

Archie was one of the regulars who stopped to see Mick on Henry Street. When Mick told him he was close to giving up busking because he could not afford the equipment he needed, Archie arrived with an amp, microphone, stand, cables and a guitar.

A few days later, Mick was back doing what he loved.

When Archie died, his son came looking for him. One of Archie’s final wishes was for Mick to sing at his funeral. Mick went to the church, told their story and sang Galileo.

It is one of several moments in the episode that shows what busking has meant to Mick over the years.

Henry Street gave him a stage, but more importantly, it gave him people.

He has seen marriage proposals, old friends, tourists, shop workers and regulars who return for the same songs. He has also seen addiction, homelessness, violence, theft and grief at close range.

Mick talks about all of it without dressing it up.

There is plenty of warmth too. He recalls the people who stop for a chat, the strangers who recognise him abroad and the listeners who ask him to video call family members so they can say hello.

The conversation moves into the wider state of Irish music, from streaming income and the difficulty of making a living to the old connection between folk music and drink.

Mick also tells a great story about singing The Contender on Henry Street and looking up to see Jimmy McCarthy standing in front of him. The songwriter’s verdict stayed with him.

That was the way the song should be sung.

For all the years on the street, Mick still has one big dream.

He wants to headline the Olympia Theatre.

Episode 2 also features live performances of The Contender, I Remember You Singing This Song and The Parting Glass.

Funny in places, moving in others, and full of stories you would never get from a standard interview, this is Mick The Busker in his own words.

A singer shaped by Dublin, Luke Kelly, Henry Street and the people who stopped long enough to listen.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:

Follow Mick Mc Loughlin:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickmcloughlinmusic

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YouTube: http://youtube.com/@mickthebusker2025/

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It is a fitting way to start the series. Four musicians, a room full of stories, a few songs and plenty of slagging along the way.

Darren and Brian take Gerry and Mick back to life before The High Kings, and both have stories worth hearing.

Darren spent four years on Broadway performing the music of Billy Joel in the hit show Movin’ Out. He remembers landing the role after hundreds of performers had auditioned and the intense work which followed.

Brian's early career contains another great "what if?" moment. At 19, he received a call from Louis Walsh asking him to join a new Irish boyband. The band was Boyzone. Brian said no. Then Darren reveals Louis had approached him too. He also said no. Two future High Kings had independently turned down Boyzone before they even knew each other.

The conversation moves through Riverdance, Broadway, musical theatre and Brian's memories of growing up around his father, Sean Dunphy, who represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967.

Darren and Brian then take us inside the formation of The High Kings. They remember the huge production behind the original show, the world-class musicians who joined them on stage and a project initially aimed at audiences across America and Canada.

When the economic crash changed the scale of the production, the four members made a decision which helped shape the future of the band. They picked up the instruments themselves, worked hard on their harmonies and started building new arrangements around classic Irish songs.

Those songs became an introduction to Irish folk music for a new generation.

The lads also talk about life on tour. The High Kings have played more than 150 shows a year, with long stretches spent crossing America. A day off often means a travel day, and some journeys between shows stretch to 16 hours.

There are great gigs, tough gigs and one Cleveland venue which left Darren and Brian wondering what they had signed themselves up for.

Brian explains why Grace holds such a personal connection for him and remembers singing the song with his father. Darren talks about finding their own approach to Ride On and The Town I Loved So Well. The pair also share what The Parting Glass means to them and why audiences keep asking for the song night after night.

One story about The Town I Loved So Well starts with an elderly gentleman crying in the front row of Birmingham City Hall and ends somewhere Darren certainly wasn't expecting. Mick then reveals an extraordinary piece of history linking Luke Kelly, the same song and the very same venue.

Gerry has stories of his own, from Tinker’s Fancy and the Dublin ballad scene to working with Brendan O’Carroll during the early days which eventually led to Mrs Brown’s Boys.

There is live music too. Darren, Brian, Gerry and Mick perform Grace and Ride On before The High Kings finish the episode with Leaving of Liverpool.

Four musicians talking about the songs they love, the gigs they remember and the stories collected over a lifetime in music.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YG7fzRwcCaE

Follow The High Kings:

Website: https://www.thehighkings.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehighkings/

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Irish Folk Music, The Music Of The People.

#TwoAuldFolkers #TheHighKings #IrishFolkMusic #GracoStudios

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Hosted by Mick O'Brien and Gerry Browne, this podcast celebrates everything we love about traditional Irish music—from the songs we all know and love to the stories you've probably never heard. Every week we'll be joined by legendary musicians for honest chats, plenty of craic, and live performances of their favourite songs.

Have a listen to this trailer, then hit Subscribe and pull up a chair for the sessions ahead. The stories are only just beginning.

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Produced By Graco Studios:

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.