In the sweepstakes of love, the Irish have traditionally received
a bum rap.
While Italians and Spaniards are thought of as great romantics
and hip retailers sell "Texas is for lovers" T-shirts, those lads
and lassies from the great green island are considered nothing
more than nasty drinkers.
It's a stereotype that Irish tenors Ronan Tynan, Anthony Kearns
and Finbar Wright were trying to break Tuesday night in front
of 2,600 fans at the Jubilee Auditorium.
In a span of two hours, the not-so-wee leprechauns of love repaired
Ireland's unfairly damaged reputation by singing heartfelt ditties
about their fondness for the town of Tralee or red-haired girls
named Mary.
Older women appreciatively murmured "ahhs" and "oh my God!" as
the tenors, accompanied by the lilting strings of an orchestra,
introduced each of their songs.
"In the Irish music tradition, there's more songs about women
than any other subject," said Wright, with a twinkle in his eye.
Of the three, Wright played the James Bond character -- suave
of voice, handsome, witty and confident enough to sing like a
girl or attempt a non-Irish tune, Chris Isaak's South of the Border
(Down Mexico Way).
Kearns was his offbeat cousin, daring to wear his jacket unbuttoned
and singing carefree tunes about kissing strange girls or sombre,
deathbed pronouncements (Love Thee Dearest).
Tynan was the rotund and balding figure -- sort of like Mr. Rumpole
on Are You Being Served? minus the crotchiness. Tynan was actually
the card of the three, jovially singing about a "very generous"
Red-Haired Mary and cracking up as the tenors performed a comical
song about 50 years of marriage.
He also had one of the most annoying habits -- continually fiddling
with the button on his jacket, as if it contained the volume to
his voice.
Of course, all lovers have bad habits, which we eventually
learn to ignore.
Fortunately, the trio's vocals were majestic enough to let the
audience overlook Tynan's fixation and seriously consider taking
a romantic *Caribbean getaway with
the Irish singers.
*This cruise was cancelled due to lack of
bookings - Webmaster 26/10/03
