Previous Diary Entries

Christie’s family would like to thank everyone for their kind words, for the tributes from all around the world, and for the messages left in the book of condolences that have given them all strength at this very sad time.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Funeral arrangements for Christie:

A Memorial Service and Requiem Mass (all welcome) will be held on Thursday 27th December 2007 at 11:15am at

St. John’s Church
Castle Street
Tralee
Co Kerry
Ireland

The family have requested that rather than sending flowers, you may like to make a donation in memory of Christie to the charity Children in Crossfire of which he is the patron.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

It is with great sadness that we announce that Christie passed away on the morning of 11 December 2007.

We just want you all to know how much that Christie appreciated your love and support over the years.

He will be sadly missed by all.

Details of the funeral arrangements will be posted here shortly.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Happy Christmas to everyone who’s come out to see me and bought my records over the years. Happy Christmas and thank you very much for all your love and support

Much Love
Christie
7/12/07

Friday, December 07, 2007

Just back from holiday. We stayed in a lovely wee cottage just outside Brighton. Very nice but had lots of rain, rain and more rain. Had a good rest though and ice cream!!!

I am now back in the studio and thought it would be great to take you on a journey over the next few weeks as to how I went about writing the new songs for my album, and letting you know how recording’s getting on.

"Did I just say that? I’d better start working now !!! "

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Just finished my 18 gig tour and thought I would share the last night with you.

We had an 8am flight the next morning so decided to get back to the hotel as soon after the gig as possible to get an early night.

We left the venue at Midnight, got back to the hotel at 1.30am and had just sat down in the lobby to have a sandwich and tea, when a wedding party poured into the lobby from the bar.

When the bride’s Father saw me sitting with my guitar, he came over and asked if I would sing a song for his Daughter.

“Any song in particular?” I asked her. “Yes” said the bride, “All The Lies That You Told Me”. (Gets better), she then asks me if I would sing one for her Husband who says he would love “Lonely Boy”. Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!

The Bride’s Mum requested “If You Were To Fall And I Was To Fall In Love With You”

The Groom’s Father “Messenger Boy”

2 ¼ hours later at 4 am we headed off to bed, and then up at 6am to catch our plane.

I wouldn’t have changed a thing. They were lovely.

Well only one thing, I could have done with a bit of wedding cake.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Most nights after a gig I’m starving so I head for the nearest fish and chip shop with Fran my manager and Martin my sound man. We stop the bus at the nearest place that looks like it sells sausage and chips and normally finish eating around 2am, so having a big breakfast in the morning wouldn’t be one of my priorities. One morning I went down for breakfast in a hotel in Kerry.

There were only two other people in the restaurant and as the waitress came over to serve me she took one look at me "Oh Jesus, I know you don’t I?"

I just opened my mouth. She said "Don’t tell me now. Aren’t you the fellaa off the television?" To save her or me any embarrassment I said "Who am I then?" "Aren’t you the singer Christie Hennessy?" (I kind of felt relieved that she’d got the right fella!). "I’ll have your autograph in a minute". I found myself thanking her.

"Now," she said, "You’ll have a full Irish breakfast?". It wasn’t all that long ago I’d had a bag of chips and two sausages
so I said "No, I’ll just have tea and toast, thanks."

She said "I can’t wait to tell one of the girls outside, she loves you - she’s got one or your records I think - so you’ll have a full Irish won’t you?"
I said "No thanks, seriously."
She replied "You’ll have a breakfast tho’ won’t you?".
Feeling a bit guilty I gave in. "I’ll have egg, bacon, tea and toast please."

With a toss of her head she turned and walked away, saying loud enough for me and the other two to hear, "Tut, tut!! For God’s sake - he will, he won’t, he will, he won’t - I wish these people would make their minds up!"

After about twenty minutes she turned up with tea and toast, a pen and four bits of paper for me to sign ....

Thursday, July 12, 2007

After a great Saturday night gig in Belfast at The Royal Opera House, feeling full of enthusiasm, I headed down to Dublin and checked into my hotel. I changed two sets of guitar strings to settle them in for the next night’s gig, then went for a walk and had dinner at Ed’s Diner - beef burger, salad, chips and a strawberry milkshake - yum yum! And so to bed ...... Next morning I woke up at 8 o’clock - an hour later than normal! In a complete panic, I ironed my shirt, showered, dressed and ran down for breakfast. I rushed back to the room to pack up all my stuff, then dragged two guitars and two cases down the stairs to the hotel lobby, as the lifts were out of action. It was now ten o’clock and pick up time is normally by ten thirty - I like to be early. Half past ten came and so did eleven o’clock. By this time when my manager Fran hadn’t shown up (and she’s never late) a little bell went off in my head - there was no gig that night, it was my night off! Now here’s a problem - how do I still look "cool" with the hotel lobby filled with people, dragging this lot back up the stairs? Still, that’s show business I guess.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Highlights from the Spring Tour - My agent David Hull rang my manager Fran Cotton and asked if I would be interested in a request that he had from a closed order of 14 nuns. They wanted me to meet them for half an hours chat. Their convent was across the road from the Glor Theatre, Ennis that I was due to play in the following month.

When I arrived at the theatre around half past three and while Martin the soundman was setting up, I took a walk around the theatre, ending up on the stage looking out at the empty seats. The only feeling better than that is having all the seats full. In my imagination I am watching a standing ovation and taking a bow. What a night!

After checking out my dressing room I was called for a sound check. Martin and I race through this in about five minutes, something that with any other sound man takes hours to do. This meant I could have dinner, a long rest and some time to myself before the concert.

But not tonight, Fran reminded me that today was the day I was due to meet the nuns. Panic set in as to what I could talk to an enclosed order of 14 nuns about. I wondered if they would ask me to say the rosary with them.

So I knocked on their door and I was greeted by laughter, clapping and lots and lots of excitement. I felt like a star. I was taken to a room which had one chair against a wall where Fran sat, one chair in the middle of the floor facing 14 chairs where I sat looking at them and they sat looking at me.

The questions came from all sides of the room, like, how do you write a song? Where’s your daughter now? How many children do you have? How many songs do you sing at a gig? I was just so relieved they didn’t ask me to recite the rosary backwards!

Then Sister Bernadette, the Head Sister, said "we were hoping for a song or two". Sadly I had left my guitar in the theatre, but Fran said she would run over to get it and be back in five minutes. Half an hour later we were still talking and laughing when I was bombarded with lots of requests for songs. "If You Were To Fall, Messenger Boy, I Am A Star, A Price For Love", which they sang along to in the choruses. It was without a doubt another great highlight of the tour. I received my standing ovation early. They hugged me. They kissed me. They laughed and they cried. And, all this after my wife said you are only allowed to shake their hands. So I am very pleased to say she was wrong! They were all lovely and I had a great time.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

I had so many amazing experiences on my last tour. The first that springs to mind however was in a little village called Drumconrath. It started the night before we were due to play there when we couldn’t find it on the map. From the agent to the hotel manager no-one could tell us where this place was. When we left to head there the next morning, I went to sleep while my manager Fran and my soundman Martin were still trying to fathom out where it could be. When I awoke after a few hours, they said they were sure they were heading in the right direction, but it was on a wing and a prayer. They told me "not to worry, you will be playing tonight". So lo and behold half an hour further up the road we arrived.

From what I can remember there were a few small houses on the right hand side of the main street, a Chinese fish and chip shop on the left (and guess who ran the Chinese fish and chip shop .... a lovely Chinese guy who had a hundred pictures of the local football team playing and partying pinned to the wall!!), a church and the hall that I was about to perform in.

But I forgot to tell you the most important thing. We knew we really had arrived when we spotted a welcome banner and brightly coloured balloons at the entrance to the village car park. This banner said "Welcome Christie Hennessy to Drumconrath" !! Now I’ve had some amazing moments in my career, playing to ten thousand people at The Point, winning an IRMA award etc etc, but this has to be one of the biggest highlights.

As we drove into the car park, two ladies came over to greet us. They looked very worried. We were early, very early. "The committee aren’t ready!" they said, "and we haven’t had a chance to change our frocks!". They showed us into a very big and cold empty hall. There was a high stage at one end, and a basketball net at the other (maybe that’s there cause if you get bored during the concert, you can have a quick game! The good news is though, nobody used it.)

The committee arrrived and though the hall was chilly, they were so incredibly warm and lovely, they could have heated the Gaiety Theatre three times over. But that was just the beginning. The green room had been turned into a banqueting suite so we ate and sang for the next hour. It was an amazing day. You could write a book on it I tell you. After some encouragement from Father Finian, one of the committee ladies sang me a song which was lovely. I had a request to sing "I Am A Star", which I happily did and then it was time for the photographs, and then we ate again!

And then a television arrived. It was brand new. A very quietly spoken man with an assistant who didn’t talk at all fitted it and showed me how to use the zapper. I felt VERY important. While all this was going on I watched the chairs being laid out through the window overlooking the main hall. I did wonder where the people were going to come from for this concert to fill all these seats, especially seeing as we couldn’t even find the village on the map! Half an hour before I went on however, every seat in the hall was full. There were no spare seats to be had.

During the afternoon I had been instructed by the committee how to leave the green room, head down the stairs, through the tea room, through the hallway, between the two ropes, up some stairs before making sure I stood behind a big box out of the audience’s sight. Once I was introduced I should walk on stage and start my show. Which I did .... to thunderous applause before walking off two and a half hours later to a standing ovation. It was an amazing day and a truly amazing night.

Although I love touring some days it’s hard to remember exactly where you are. This was one experience I’ll never forget. And by the way girls, you didn’t need to change, but when you did, you all looked even lovelier!

Sunday, May 27, 2007