Veteran singer Moore still a crowd favourite at Cork's Marquee

The songs, stories, and legacy behind the name of Christy Moore have long transcended the man himself, becoming part of the national consciousness and shaping generational perspectives.

At 80 years of age, and in the 19th year of his residency at Cork’s Live at the Marquee festival — an unbroken 20 denied to him only by a pandemic — Moore gave a sold-out Saturday crowd a sharp reminder of his powers.

About 5,000 people powered through the late-evening humidity to file into the big tent on Monahan Rd, on Cork’s docklands, many of them multi-generational cohorts, making their annual pilgrimage to see Moore together.

In one sense, it was business as usual: Moore taking to an undecorated stage for 8pm; making sure the bars are closed beforehand; no supports or opening act.

Moore’s songbook, of course, is loaded with all-time favourites, and some of the hits were given their due airings.

Ride On, Spancil Hill, and The Voyage sparked arena-wide singalongs; an impromptu Johnny Jump Up got its due response from a Leeside crowd; and Joxer Goes to Stuttgart was a back-of-the-net closer.

In a very special moment, My Little Honda 50 was dedicated to six-year-old Ruby, her parents, Dom and Christine, and her grandad Liam — all friends of this parish, also — with Moore remarking, 

“You make an 80-year-old man feel really great.”

Don O’Leary, of Cork Life Centre, also got a shout-out, before a round of The Big Marquee; while local veterans Hank Wedel, John Spillane, and Jimmy McCarthy all received name-checks.

When Moore showed the audience the anger and hurt behind the anti-fascist and pro-worker campaigning that’s been the spine of his artistic integrity, it was a welcome realisation that the former Planxty man isn’t content to settle for a sing-song at the end of the night.

North and South, Ordinary Man, and Viva la Quinte Brigada joined Palestine, which pulled no punches on the colonial plight of the people of Gaza; while an updated Delirium Tremens wasn’t shy of aiming at former taoiseach Leo Varadkar.