Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine (Signed Double Vinyl)

LESS THAN 20 COPIES OF THIS PRESSING REMAIN

Circa 2000, while "sitting upstairs on a bus", Declan O'Rourke opened a book he had just bought, his interest recently sparked by learning that his grandfather had been born in the workhouse some eighty-five years prior. On the opening page of that book, all in a cataclysmic moment, the young artist read the harrowing account of the ua Buacalla family (that would inspire him to write the song 'Poor Boy's Shoes'), and at once opened and walked through the doorway to another world, and the deeply controversial part of Irish history rarely explored by his predecessors; the Great Irish Famine.
Almost seventeen years later, after an exhaustive amount of research O'Rourke completed a major artistic milestone and a labour of love with a hand-picked team of internationally renowned, legendary musicians, many of them friends to finally put this project to wax, ultimately releasing his 'Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine’, to great critical acclaim in October 2017. A decade and a half in the making, the epic song cycle combines the best of traditional Irish musicians and the heart of modern songwriting entwined to present a series of extraordinary, but true tales from the most dynamic period in Ireland's tortured history.

The suitably haunting Sleeve features an incredibly executed photograph, a work of art in itself, in which members of the Chronicles band re-enact a scene from one of the tales contained within, in a highly evocative Caravaggio-esque Chiaroscuro style image. Within the rich gatefold of the sleeve the collector will find a panoramic image of featured members of the band at work (in a period alehouse). The double sleeve also houses and protects two beautifully printed inner sleeves (adorned with lyrics, catalogue information, and an array of 8 highly stylised mugshots of the band in nineteenth-century dress), containing 2 x weighted black vinyl discs that sport disc labels in 4 different colours.

Highly collectible, and running very low in numbers, this LP will be even more precious when it goes out of print. While great effort was undertaken to provide high-quality photos, this item must be held to fully appreciate the depth and contrast of the imagery and excellent print quality the cover contains.

Tracklisting

Side A

1. Clogman's Glen
2. Along The Western Seaboard
3. Buried In The Deep

Side B
4. Poor Boy's Shoes
5. Indian Meal
6. Mary Kate
7. Laissez Faire

Side C
8. Rattle My Bones
9. The Villain Curry Shaw
10. Johnny And The Lantern

Side D
11. The Connaught Orphan
12. The Great Saint Lawrence River
13. Go Domhain i do Chuimhne

- Winner of Best Original Folk Track (Along The Western Seaboard) - 2018 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. - Nominated for Best Male Singer, 2018 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. - Nominated for Best Original Song (The Great St. Lawrence River) - BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, 2018 - Voted Irish album of the year 2017 - Irish Mail on Sunday “Chronicles... will surely come to be seen as his defining album.”
- Nominated for Album of the Year, Critics Choice, 2017 – fRoots magazine U.K.
- Voted No.1 Folk / Trad release of 2017 – London Celtic Punks webzine.… “An amazing album.”
- Voted Album of the Year 2017 by Marty Whelan on RTE Lyric fm… “Truly special.”
- ★★★★ – Songlines Magazine UK… “Delivered with consummate grace. Beautifully played. Exquisitely detailed.”
- Reviewed over 13 consecutive days in ‘The Woodstock Whisperer’ online publication, NY… “Remarkable.”
- Voted one of Irish Beats ‘Best Irish Albums of 2017’… “A masterpiece.”
- “A work of art from start to finish. This will be around forever.” Lynette Fay – Folk Club, BBC Radio Ulster.
- “Epic” – Cara (Aer Lingus inflight magazine).