Rockaway Blue is a novel by Larry Kirwan. When terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001, Lieutenant Brian Murphy rescued seven people from the World Trade Center. Even as steel girders buckled and groaned, Brian rushed back up the stairs of the North Tower in search of those in need. He died a hero, one of more than four hundred police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who perished that fateful day.
Three years later, Vietnam veteran and retired NYPD detective-sergeant Jimmy Murphy is on a mission to find the truth behind his son's death. Why was Brian in the tower that morning? Had he anticipated the attack? Suspecting a cover-up of a deeper truth, Jimmy must confront his family, friends, and old colleagues in the police department to discover what happened to Brian and who his eldest son really was.
Rockaway Blue is now available at Amazon, B&N, all digital platforms and, of course, at your favorite book store.

Since there will be no live readings for some time, here’s a reading/performance from Rockaway Blue with two new original songs and a Black 47 favorite. Filmed at the Noble Maritime Collection located at Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NY it captures some of the drama, power and poignancy of the book and its characters.

Stronger and Better is a song for NOW. It’s a tribute to our heroes, the frontline workers, a lament for those who died needlessly, and a note to those who failed to act. “We will come through this stronger and better.”
LINK to Video

We're going to Ireland Oct. 10-16 2021. We 'll focus on Galway City and Inis Mór, the largest Aran Island. Galway is 2020 European Capital of Culture, full of street performers, bookstores, cafes & a vibrant night life throbbing to the beat of Irish traditional music.

We'll pass through The Burren in Co. Clare & into Co. Kerry & the Dingle Peninsula to Slea Head past beehive stone huts, megalithic ruins, settings from Star Wars & Ryan's Daughter. We'll stay in Dingle Town with fishing boats jigging in the harbor and the mighty craic and traditional music in its many pubs. Outward bound we'll stop for lunch in Killarney.

Then off to historic Wexford, Vikings settled there, King Henry II did penance in Selskar Abbey, Cromwell sacked it, you'll find ghosts aplenty on its narrow cobbled streets. I'll perform at the Arts Centre, and we'll party afterwards in legendary Mary's Bar with my family and friends.

We'll visit Dublin - hometown of Oscar Wilde, Phil Lynott, Luke Kelly. Savor the history of the 1916 Uprising, Kilmainham Jail, The Guinness Storehouse, and the pubs, clubs, parks, and cultural centers. See the real Ireland, meet the real people and make new friends forever.

For INFO speak to Joe or Sue 866-486-8772 or write jwasserbach@hammondtours.com

For a flyer: https://www.hammondtours.com/product/larry-kirwan/

James Connolly, international socialist and leader of the Irish Citizen Army, disappeared from his headquarters at Liberty Hall, Dublin, on January 19, 1916. When he returned four days later his only comment was, “I have been through hell.” He had been held captive by the clandestine Irish Republican Brotherhood – a group that he had little in common with and often derided. In April 1916 he enthusiastically joined them in an unsuccessful – and some would say – suicidal attempt to overthrow British rule in Ireland...MORE

From Medieval Wexford to Midtown Manhattan Larry Kirwan tells the story of Irish music to a backdrop of war, social upheaval and revolution. From Viking invader to Sean O' Riada, Oliver Cromwell to Rory Gallagher, James Connolly to Van Morrison in a clash of uilleann pipes, armalites and electric guitars. The story moves with the Diaspora to The Pogues London, Dropkick Murphys Boston and Black 47 s New York City. Pulsing, passionate, occasionally tragic - through the eyes of an insider. 347 pages. LARRY KIRWAN S JOURNEY THROUGH IRISH MUSIC IS A MEMOIR, A LOVE STORY, A HISTORY OF MODERN IRELAND AND THUS UNIQUE. A VIVID, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN ADVENTURE... Thomas Keneally, Author of Schindler s List
$20. Pre-order now at SHOP, ships mid-March.

RISE UP is now available at all gigs. Larry Kirwan has compiled 15 tracks of remastered favorites and rarities recorded over Black 47's controversial career. From their first recording of Patriot Game two months after forming to their final shot with US OF A 2014 Black 47 show why many have hailed them as America's primary political band. 78 minutes of white hot rebellion, resistance & redemption!
For a list of tracks and pick up a copy — shop

LAST CALL is Black 47’s final album. It is available on all digital platforms. (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) You can also buy the CD or download the 13 tracks — here.
You can find the lyrics, chord charts, a summary of the songs, pictures of the players and guests, and much more at the Black 47 Archive.

★★★★ On "Last Call," Black 47 serves a 200 proof cocktail made with a shot of funk and two fingers of Irish malarkey thrown in for good measure. Larry Kirwan saves the best for last, using roots, rock, and reggae to bring the final curtain down on the most influential Irish American band in history.”
— Mike Farragher/Irish Voice

Hear The Night The Showbands Died from 'Last Call'

Hear Johnny Comes a'Courtin from 'Last Call'

After a sold-out show on New Year's Eve make sure you get your tickets early to one of Black 47's last shows in their old stomping grounds at Connolly's. Tickets now on sale for Feb. 8th at the pub or HERE.
Book early - book often!

As you know by now Black 47 will disband in November 2014 exactly 25 years after our first gig.
What a long, strange and amazing trip - from the bars of the Bronx to Leno, Letterman and O'Brien. From Paddy Reilly's Pub to Farm Aid with Neil Young and Johnny Cash.
But none of it would have been possible without you - our friends and fans who stuck with us through thick and thin. You know well that Black 47 has always been more than a band. We've fought to get political prisoners out of jail, keep immigrant churches open and be a voice for the voiceless - Irish and otherwise.
read more...
We could have run down the clock on this coming year of gigs and farewells, but instead we decided to record a new album, Last Call. It's celebratory, full of passion, and audiences are already singing along. It's got a whole new cast of Black 47 characters, including Salsa O'Keefe, Shotsie Murphy, Legsy Malone, Culchie Prince, Dublin Brasser, Filipino Sister, along with a ballad for Brendan Behan and a song for the lost Irish sent as slaves to Jamaica by Oliver Cromwell.
As you can imagine, this will be a meaningful album for us and we'd love for you to play a part in the making of it! We've teamed up with PledgeMusic to make this happen. You can pre-order a copy of LAST CALL and be well ahead of the general public. There are many more items and experiences that you can pledge for, including an opportunity to sing with us on Shanty Irish Baby, get a signed copy of the original lyrics, have Geoff Blythe record your phone message, make a home for Freddie' famous Black Trombone, take drums or bass lessons from Thomas Hamlin or Joseph "Bearclaw" Burcaw, or have Larry Kirwan help you with your song, play or novel.
Everyone who gets involved will have their name permanently engraved on a Last Call Comrades Page at black47.com You'll also get access to a special 'pledger only' part of the Black 47 PledgeMusic site where we'll share music, pictures and videos from the recording with you. We begin tracking on November 5th and hope to release the album in late January 2014.
Whatever way you care to get involved will be deeply appreciated - just as we've valued your support down all the crazy days since 1989. Thanks so much and take care of yourselves, okay? See you at a gig over the next year. All the best.
Larry Kirwan
BLACK 47

Almeria Campbell in "Hard Times" photo by Steven Simring By the end of the evening, the audience is up, cheering and stamping. In “Hard Times,” Mr. Kirwan has not only delivered a knockout entertainment, he’s done a public service, reacquainting us with the Foster songbook and the striving, teeming America for which it was written. New York Times
Hard Times will reopen at the cell, 338 W. 23rd St., NYC from Jan. 9th to Feb. 16th. Tickets at $18 can be purchased here where dates and times of performance can also be found (mostly Thursdays through Sundays)

Hard Times had already sold out by word of mouth before a glowing New York Times review brought waiting-list crowds to the cell last year. This riveting new American musical that touched the hearts of public and critics alike will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Stephen Foster’s death on Jan. 13th, 2014.

Hard Times (written by Larry Kirwan of Black 47, directed by Kira Simring and produced by the cell) takes place six months before Foster’s death on July 13, 1863, days after the Battle of Gettysburg, when New York City exploded in the Civil War Draft Riots. The teeming immigrant Irish population was outraged that enlistment could be avoided by payment of $300. Down in the notorious Five Points neighborhood where up until then Irish and African-Americans lived in harmony and often “amalgamated,” Nelly Blythe runs an integrated dancehall/saloon.

Stephen Foster, ashamed of his role in the creation of minstrelsy and blackface, and haunted by memories of his wife (for whom he wrote Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair), seeks refuge in Nelly’s to compose one of his last songs. As violence escalates in the streets, Foster becomes entangled in the simmering tensions that arise between Owen Duignan, a charismatic young Irish entertainer, Thomas Jefferson, Nelly’s black handyman, and Michael Jenkins, a nativist Bowery Boy with little love for outsiders but an obsession with Nelly, a freeborn black woman.

In this watershed American moment, we witness the forging of Tap from the exhilarating interplay of African-American and Irish dance, learn why Foster chose to end his days in the squalor of the Five Points, and experience the birth of modern New York City. We also rediscover the genius of Stephen Foster, as the multi-talented cast ebulliently sweeps the dust off his wonderful songs and in so doing allows us a glimpse of the tumultuous glory of America at a crossroads in her history.

THEATER REVIEW

Back to a Simple Time, When Things Were About to Become Difficult
‘Hard Times: An American Musical’ at the Cell Theater
“Gangs of New York” may have helped to revive the memory of Five Points, the notorious 19th-century slum in Lower Manhattan, but no one probably considered it the stuff of song and dance — until Larry Kirwan, the novelist, playwright and, not incidentally, leader of the rock band Black 47. Now at the Cell Theater as part of the 1st Irish Theater Festival, Mr. Kirwan’s rousing “Hard Times: An American Musical” examines the clashes among nativists, Irish immigrants and free blacks, ingeniously using the life and works of Stephen Foster, America’s first great songwriter, to tell the tale.

It’s the summer of 1863, and Foster (Jed Peterson) is holed up in his favorite Five Points saloon, trying to eke out another song as he slides deeper into his cups. Just outside, the Draft Riots are starting, and the very character of the Points — a neighborhood where poor whites and blacks live together easily enough — is under siege, with ethnic frictions about to explode, presaging the difficult future that awaits the city after the Civil War ends.

The crowd in the bar includes Nelly Blyth (Almeria Campbell), the black woman who owns it; Owen Duignan (John Charles McLaughlin), the young Irishman who fronts her house band; Thomas Jefferson (Stephane Duret), Nelly’s black handyman; and Michael Jenkins (Philip Callen), a nativist New Yorker who hopes to court Nelly. In flashback, we also meet Foster’s wife, Jane (Erin West), for whom he wrote “Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair.” Tensions are eased by Foster’s songs, though the music is also used to comment on the building drama.

Placing Foster’s songs in an ideal setting to understand their impact, Mr. Kirwan has reinvigorated them, with members of the full-throated cast singing a fiery “Camptown Races”; a tender “Oh, Susanna”; a soulful “Old Folks at Home”; a stirring “Hard Times Come Again No More”. (No slouch with a lyric himself, Mr. Kirwan has added the tart stanza or two to Foster classics and contributed a couple of songs as well.)

While clearly respectful of Foster’s legacy, Mr. Kirwan does make one leap, intimating that he was gay, a conclusion no biographer has reached. Still, for the purposes of this story, the speculation fits, informing Foster’s drinking, his long separation from his wife and child, and the melancholy that laced many of his later songs.

Under Kira Simring’s sure-handed direction, “Hard Times” bursts with vitality: the Cell, an intimate space, becomes the saloon, burlap draped along the walls, a tattered flag hanging. The choreography, by Joe Barros, morphs Irish step-dancing into something close to tap. And the show’s band of five men, led by Andrew Smithson, feel like characters themselves, joining in the revelry when the pace quickens.

By the end of the evening, the audience is up, cheering and stamping. In “Hard Times,” Mr. Kirwan has not only delivered a knockout entertainment, he’s done a public service, reacquainting us with the Foster songbook and the striving, teeming America for which it was written. — By DANIEL M. GOLD

Hard Times bursts with life, thanks to Kira Simring’s inventive staging and the superb singing and dancing performed to the accompaniment of a first rate, five-piece band. The tension is immediately established when young Irish singer/dancer Owen (a terrific John Charles McLaughlin) performs a bitterly angry rendition of “Camptown Races” in blackface. By the near-climactic, rousing rendition of “Hard Times Come Again No More,” you may find yourself believing they won’t. New York Post

The small cast infuses their roles with intensity and detail as well as musical muscle. Director Kira Simring makes intriguing use of the small Cell Theatre space. Choreographer Joe Barros delivers robust dancing based on Irish and African-American traditions, and music director Andrew Smithson gives vibrancy and power to the score, which combines Foster’s classic Americana with Kirwan’s modern sensibilities. Backstage

Hard Time’s music—original songs by Foster updated by Black 47 member Kirwan—is gorgeous. Particularly striking is McLaughlin's somber version of "Gentle Annie," a genuinely heartfelt song that Foster based on a traditional Irish melody. Also charming is "Hard Times Come Again No More," a soaring, at times-a cappella rendition from the entire cast. Village Voice

Musicals can be irritating, their manufactured emotion unbearably phony. Larry Kirwan’s “Hard Times,” however, is not just the best of the genre I’ve seen, but truly affecting. The rest of the audience was also demonstrably moved at one of the extra performances laid on during the show’s largely sold-out run as part of the 1st Irish Theater Festival. This is the story of the hard birth of the modern U.S., told mostly through the songs of Stephen Foster. Irish Echo

Just as Tony Kushner was able to bring into focus his understanding of the hard times facing America near the close of the twentieth century with his “Angels in America” Larry Kirwan has been able to successfully bring into focus the issues that face twenty-first century America and threaten to damage the very core of its credo. “Hard Times” is a remarkable and memorable moment of brilliant theatre. Theatre Reviews Limited

True to the melting pot that was Five Points, Kirwan takes the colors in Foster’s melodies and paints broad strokes of Cajun, gospel, bare knuckled piano boogie woogie, jump blues, and of course, Irish jigging and reeling. Irish Voice

Hard Times is an ebullient, stirring and relevant American musical. “Old Folks at Home” is a revelation. As the song moves toward its heartfelt conclusion, it becomes downright moving. NY Irish Arts

Black 47 will play its 25th and last St. Patrick's Day Show in New York City on March 17th at BB Kings. Tickets now on sale at the club and here.

SiriusXM will also broadcast our last St. Patrick's Day show live from BB's.
In honor of the event we are playing a new song, Saint Patrick's Day from Last Call.
"I'll love you forever on St. Patrick's Day."

Black 47 will appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on St. Patrick's Day.

Black 47 will play two songs on Big Morning Buzz Live! with Nick Lachey on St. Patrick's Day.

Download New Year's Eve in Olde Tymes Square MP3 (3.7M)
from the 'Last Call' recording sessions.
also available on SoundCloud

New Year’s Eve in Olde Tymes Square

It was always that way at the end of the year
We’d end up down in olde Tymes Square
Holdin’ each other while the pints flowed free
That was the way it always would be
But things fell apart one weird September
Before I knew it was the 31st of December
With my arms wrapped around your memory
That old crystal ball came crashin’ down on me

But you will never be forgot
Or ever left behind
And so I raise my glass to you
For the sake of Auld Lang Syne

And even though you’re far away
You’re always close to mind
Your memory still haunts me, dear
For the sake of Auld lang Syne

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear
For Auld Lang Syne
We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For the sake of Auld Lang Syne

Remember the night with the frost in your hair
And the sparks in your eyes when you told me you cared
And the cop on the horse laughed when he said
“Motel time, kids, why don’t yez save it for bed?”
But time and a river stopped dead in September
And I’m back in Connolly’s the 31st of December
Dancing with shadows and might have beens
With that old crystal ball crashin’ down on me

But you will never be forgot
Or ever left behind
And so I raise my glass to you
For the sake of Auld Lang Syne

And even though you’re far away
You’re always close to mind
Your memory still haunts me, dear
For the sake of Auld lang Syne

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear
For Auld Lang Syne
We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For the sake of Auld Lang Syne...
								

There are no fights, differences over musical policy, or general skulduggery, we remain as good friends as when we first played together. We just have a simple wish to finish up at the top our game after 25 years of relentless touring and, as always, on our own terms. The last gig we played at the South Buffalo Irish Festival was as good as any we've ever performed. Our goal now is to play another full year plus and dedicate all of those gigs to you who've supported us through thick and thin. Rather than just running out the clock we will be recording "Last Call," an album of new songs in November and as usual will be working out the material onstage. We would like to say goodbye to you all personally and will make every effort to come play in your city, town, college, pub, club, performing arts center and should you wish to alert your local promoter you can download booking particulars here (PDF 1.92MB).
Black 47 has always been more than a band, we've spoken out for the nationalist population in the North of Ireland, against the war but for the troops in Iraq, for our gay brothers & sisters, immigrants, legal and undocumented, as well as for the voiceless of 1845-47; but in the end it all comes down to the music, the songs, and the desire to give audiences the time of their lives and send them home smiling and, perhaps, with a question on their lips. We look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming gigs. Thanks for the support and the memories - lets make many more over the next year.

In thousands of gigs with Black 47 and eight years of hosting Celtic Crush I've kept an ear out for great talent and top shelf songs. I wanted to create an album that would open a gateway into the world of Celtic Rock. Here it is! CELTIC INVASION contains songs by The Waterboys, Peatbog Faeries, Runrig, Black 47, Hothouse Flowers, Pat McGuire, Barleyjuice, John Spillane, Shilelagh Law, Celtic Cross, Blaggards, and Garrahan's Ghost. Turn up the volume, open your ears, you have a treat in store. Get your copy now!

All aboard. This is our last cruise. Should be a doozy. We're takin' no prisoners and if we sail off the end of the earth, so be it.

Black 47 played Shea Stadium more times than The Beatles. On Friday, Aug. 1st they expect to go one up at Citifield. Come to Irish Night and see The Mets/Black 47 send The Giants on the "road to ruin." Get your limited edition Irish Night t-shirt when you order at: mlb.mlb.com

We're looking forward to playing on the Smithwick's Sessions Pub Rock Tour every Thursday in September in Hoboken, NJ. (no cover)

Gimlets, Jägermeister, Long Island Iced Tea? Pick your poison, but do it with us one last time at Connolly's. If P2's there we'll all get naked. If Nico shows up we'll all have to sign waivers.

Irish Network- New Orleans (IN-NOLA) Famine Commemoration Gala | 7:00-11:00 (patron party at 6:00)

Sorry but i'm not not allowed to print what might happen at this gig!! But it is all ages.

Upstate Live
Hearing Aide: Black 47's 'Last Call'
By Steve Malinski

It's music, gig alerts, videos and more. Get it now for your Android device. It's a free download and it's programmed with love by our own Fred Parcells.

Bankers and Gangsters is vintage Black 47 - uproarious, tuneful, challenging, current and above all, entertaining.

"Bankers and Gangsters is a timely echo of the populist anger being felt around the country towards big bailouts for everyone but the everyman" Staten Island Advance

"With the excellent Bankers and Gangsters, Black 47 remind us that substance and a sense of fun are by no means mutually exclusive" All Music Guide

In this big, passionate, colourful novel set in 1980-82, the Bronx is burning, Bobby Sands is dying, John Lennon is being stalked, the Reagan Revolution has begun and AIDS is about to be identified. But life goes on in the immigrant bars of Bainbridge Avenue as Sean arrives from Ireland looking for his girlfriend, Mary, and finds a lot more than he bargained for.

"This is a Bronx tale full of raucous life and unvarnished reality. It captures a time when the Bronx had become a synonym for urban decay and conflict, and a new generation of Irish immigrants struggled to get a toehold on America.
There are no ethnic niceties in these pages, no phony-baloney version of multicultural harmony. This is the urban American of the 80s in all its raw squalor and splendor. Every page sparkles with memorable characters and lyrical accuracy." - Peter Quinn (Banished Children of Eve)