....you ain't heard nothing yet....
a cara.....driving along the highway early this morning....my heart was warmed by an al jolson medley.....my mammy...sonny boy...and rock a bye your baby....it concluded with his...the bird with feathers of blue...is waiting for you...back in your own back yard...youll find your castles in spain..through your window pain...back in your own backyard....and as i listened....i was catapulted back in time.....on october 23 1950......al jolson died in the sir francis drake hotel in san francisco....whilst playing cards.....and i remember hearing the news...at j.b.morans corner...ironically what a spot to hear the news...for on this spot....most breaking news ....hit the street..... whilst walking home from school....i became fascinated with al jolson after ...the jolson story was shown in the county cinema in 1948....the movie was shown for a week ...and i believe i was there every night.....soon after that i began to put black polish on my face and entertain in the kitchen.....also in those early post war years....there was a need for light entertainment....roy croft developed his ....."beginners please " radio programme....which became a must listen to.....there was peadar oconnors...making and mending ....a hillarious skit on irish pull....its not what you know...but who you know...a system of graft that still thrives today....peadar....would tell us ....of a castlebar lhistener ...who'd like to know how to make a civil servant out of his child....well....fhirst ....you must send your child ....as far azway as you can...to letterkenny ....or the blasket islands will do.....he must be able to write with six pencils...or four biros will do....now he must be able to drink....tea at eleven....or milk at quarter phast eleven will do.....he mhust know a sufficient amount of irish....a cara...or mise le meas will do.....his weekly parody show was.... a gut buster....as radio eireann began to enlarge its light entertainment shows...travelling variety...vaudeville type shows moved around the country....every little hall in the county had variety shows.....and it was not long until roy croft took his ...beginners please programme on the road.....castlebar was not without talent.....there was of course ...nan monaghan..nee denning....nora flaherty....lar bourke....tom lally....kevin mcginty....larry mchale.....the harmonica trio...of jimmy murray...pete gavin...and dan ohearne....and the great paddy kelly.....when roy got to castlebar.....various locals got to appear on the show.....including myself.....the show began at 8pm....and began in its radio format....with roy letting us all know .....ladies and gentlemen....begiiners please....and who knows our beginners of tonight ....maybe our stars of tomorrow......the show....had a beginning with ...some professional acts....from the theatres of dublin...the theatre royal...the capitol....and the met......these performers put on a great show...of song and dance.....and comedy.....the an intermission.......after the intermission....local talent took to the stage....one after one ...in a prearranged order......kevin mcginty...sang his....little dutch boy...and little dutch girl.....tom lally....was announced and to a standing ovation ...took his place at the mic....and his trade marked style ....sang ...the whistling gypsy......he garnered a thunderous applause....and took a bow...with his usual....eye dancing smile.....then the harmonica boys....dazzled in the spotlight.....i stood in the wings...complete with my black polished face....and awaited my moment in the spotlight.....i arrived on centre stage...and belted out ....my mammy....and so it went.....after the show was over ....roy croft asked jimmy murray and the boys...and myself...if we would....come to swinford....and claremorris....to appear on the show....i was delighted.....the next day.....after school ....i got a piece of cardboard...and shaped it into a giant bow...then i ripped ...the linings out of an old jacket...and sewed it around the card board.....and began to rehearse my jolson......soon the boys and i got together...and we headed off to swinford.....dan ohearne got a hackney to run us down....not alone had dan set his sights on the show...but he also set his other sights on a young dublin tap dancer that was part of the show.....when we got back stage....as i was about to put on my coat of ....nugget polish....roy croft gave me a jar of ponds cold cream...and a stick of black grease paint....a little easier on the face... he remarked.....and soon the curtain was up ...and the show was on....and i was out there....with...april showers......too soon ...it was over.....but hanging out with the seasoned performers was fun...and dan....and his tap dancer...danced another tune....all too soon the troupe left mayo....and the grease paint was tucked away...but my fascination with jolson never left.....i was bitten by the bug and imagined a life in the world of spotlights...and in fact....when i was in london...i reprised my jolson act....and did a few spots in shows at old age homes ...in the '50s.....and as i reminisced i remember that oct 23 1950...when the news of al jolsons death broke.....i was saddened by his death.....and remember hearing on the news that the lights on broadway were dimmed in his honour and memory....as a salute to the worlds greatest entertainer.....i read all i could of his life ...times...and funeral...and when i was i los angeles went to visit his grave at ...hillside memorial gardens cemetery.....i still can see my old friends....at the back of the stage in the old cinema....all ready to shine in the spotlight.....my life brought me ...thankfully...to another time...my lost weekend.....when tom lally ...nora flaherty...and the lally familly and i ... would regroup in song...in kemnnys pub....

i had the pleasure of spending some time with kevin mcginty....in the '50s in cleveland ohio....tom has since left us ...but the light has never gone out on his colossus character....the county cinema is long gone.....but...the days of variety...and vaudeville...will never fade....it rings true....you can go to the east....go to the west...someday you'll come ...weary at heart....back where you started from....youll find your happiness lies...right under your eyes ...back in your own back yard.....

....the grease paint has been put away......the lights have been dimmed....but the song of ....once upon a good time...will warm hearts forever.....

....let me go down on one knee...and sing ...sonny boy....

.....tog go bog e....