I still just want to be heard, says Paddy Casey, who is looking forward to performing at Joy In The Park

Thu, 18 Jul, 2024 - 16:31

Ronan Leonard

Paddy Casey, who celebrated the 25th anniversary of his beloved debut album, Amen (So Be It), a few weeks ago, is delighted to be coming to Cork this weekend for Joy In The Park. A phone call is all it took to sign him up.

“I was talking to Linda on the phone, she explained what the day is for, and I immediately said, ‘Yeah, stick me down’. As well as the cause, I know that Ger Wolfe’s playing, and I love his songs, so that’s gonna be brilliant. And Polly Barrett, I’ve heard her a few times, she’s great as well, there are loads of other people playing as well, it’s going to be a great day.”

Paddy feels a kinship with those who are struggling with their mental health. “I’ve been there myself, you know. I’ve never been the most confident of people, and I’ve been down the dark roads we all know about. I think a part of everything I write is a little attempt to break down those walls.

“And if I ever go down there again, to help to find my way out, and if anyone else can get something like that out of my songs, that’s great. I think that’s a lot of what I write about, to be that honest, I admire that in a person who’s also been there, those who try and help others out of it.”

While Paddy doesn’t express these issues explicitly in all his songs, there has been a clear pattern of songs throughout his career, such as ‘Whatever Gets You Through’ and ‘Ancient Sorrow’, dating from his debut album right up to his most recent, Turn This Ship Around.

“I have a new song, called ‘The Goodbye Song’, and to be honest I think it has one of the best lines I’ve ever written, which is “You made me feel welcome like I wasn’t insane”, that is basically what people have always kind of done for me, because I do feel that if it wasn’t for people listening,

“I don’t know where I’d be. I don’t mean the attention — I never craved attention — being listened to is something else.”

Not craving attention also feeds in to how he views the music industry. “I don’t play music because I have to make a living. It’s not the reason I started, I’ve loved doing what I was doing from day one. I love every song I ever played, and I enjoyed most days as a busker; some days were a little bit depressing where I kind of felt a little bit of an outsider, because some people look at you as a beggar or whatever, definitely a lot more in the old days than now.

“These days there’s a lot more kudos that goes with it; honestly, I think it’s tougher for them now; there’s so much competition and they are all great singers.”

The setting of Joy In The Park also stands out for Paddy. “I think it’s nice to have an open-air gig, because it’s inclusive, for people who might be homeless or under 18 or with a big group, some bars just don’t let people in if they are a certain way; unfortunately that’s just the way it is. So in that sense, I think it’s a great thing.”