Characters of Cork: Joe is surviving life with a smile

FINDING common ground with strangers, gardening and music are three top priorities for Joe O’Leary who runs the iconic Ballydehob music venue, Levis Corner House, but his passion for shenanigans is secondary to family life, the former frontman told The Echo.

From Macroom, Joe said one of his achievements in life is “surviving with a smile” but taking over the family business and rekindling his lingering flame of musical love by reincarnating his grand aunt’s shop/bar into a West Cork music venue that carries weight and wonder, is one of his proudest.

The main singer of Indie pop band Fred for 15 years, Joe has travelled around the world singing and entertaining with his bandmates.

Then, in 2013, like many souls singed by the bright lights and busy sights, Joe and his partner Caroline O’Donnell decided to settle to a softer part of the world, eventually finding favour in West Cork.

“We are both culchies originally and we were just done with the city, even though Cork is a great city, we were ready to move on to the next chapter and we thought we would move to Coachford or Ovens, somewhere close to Cork and we ended up moving all the way down to beyond Skibbereen.”

It was after moving to Ballydehob, Joe found himself involved in the local family business.

“My grandaunt’s pub, which became my mom’s pub, was close to being on its last legs. It was the recession and we started to help out and then we got the bug and then a musician emailed me saying he heard I was running a pub and could he come and do a gig and that’s where it all started.”

As with all tight-knit communities, it didn’t take much to put Joe’s talents to work for ‘the greater good.’

“I was invited to a meeting across the road about the Ballydehob Jazz Festival in Rosie’s Bar, someone said ‘you might come along and help us out with the PR or something’ and in a few weeks I realised I was co-running it and then a year later, Caroline and myself were running the whole thing.”

Joe said he is more than happy to help out. “I think when you live in a small community and you are all trying to survive, we all rely on tourism and hospitality, like pubs and restaurants, really drive the spirit and energy around here and if you have a pub or restaurant you are kind of duty-bound to help out because you are benefitting from it.”

The Ballydehob Jazz Festival is a unique shindig with over 40 free gigs squashed into the long weekend. “Punters love coming here, it’s just brilliant, 40 to 45 free gigs, and they are good quality and the atmosphere is amazing. It’s the best free holiday ever.”

When he is not immersed in music, Joe said hanging out with his two children, Johanna, 5, and Lucas, 3 is something he really enjoys.

“They are just gas craic, they are kinda pub babies, so they learn a bit too quick for my liking, they pick up a lot of human nature, they see people, they watch people, but it’s great craic. The best thing ever.”

Joe said the best thing about his work is the constant supply of interesting characters that wander through his doors.

“You never know who is going to walk in the door and nine times out of ten it is someone ridiculously interesting. Some famous, but a lot of the great stories are from people who are not famous, it’s brilliant.”

With his vast experience of interacting with the human wonders of Cork’s world, Joe offered his insight into the making of a true character.

“A character is someone who is true to themselves, they plough their own furrow, and grand you have to play within parameters, it’s not like you can go out doing mental stuff altogether but people who do their own thing and who express themselves uniquely with the wisdom to know what makes someone special.”

Joe parted with some sage advice he would have appreciated in his younger years.

“You need to make mistakes, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just get it wrong and you will learn.”

Joe said one of his biggest flaws is maintaining a healthy work-life balance. “I think I keep learning it, the work-life balance. I need to work on my work-life balance.”

On the week of the Ballydehob Jazz Festival, which is taking place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, it’s a given, Joe will be racking up the hours for the coming week, but as a labour of love, it’s hard to know where the work stops and the fun begins.