Mick Flannery just released a touching album of songs recorded by his late Mum
This is a beautiful tribute.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter and Blarney man Mick Flannery took to social media this week to announce a new album to his followers. But there was something extra special and poignant about this latest release: Mick isn’t the main artist on the track, but his mother, Elaine.
“In 2007 my late mother released an album of some of her favourite songs,” said the singer on Instagram.
“Sadly the title “Keepsake” became poignant a lot sooner than we would have hoped.”
In 2014, Elaine Flannery died of cervical cancer, just 17 days after her 59th birthday. The disease had gone undetected under the CervicalCheck Programme.
“I loved my mother very much, as did all my family, her family, and her friends,” recalled Mick.
“She was a kind, sensitive and thoughtful woman who ought to be playing with her grandchildren, but instead she, among many other Irish women, was terribly let down, and suffered unnecessarily”
The album is an eclectic mix of musical styles, drawing inspiration from the likes of Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Julie Miller, and Peggy Seeger. Songs include The Springhill Mine Disaster, All My Tears, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Near Or Far- a song from her son’s first album White Lies.
Mick Flannery also appears throughout the album, delivering harmonies, piano and vocal duets.
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Elaine Flannery’s album Keepsake is available from Mick’s Bandcamp page here. All proceeds from the album will go to Marymount Hospice.
