It began when my friend John Fleming, journalist and playwright, encouraged a collaboration with Gothenburg-based musician Eamonn Dowd. I hadn’t seen Eamonn, whose work myself and other members of Horslips admired, since the 1980s. But, when we shot the breeze again, a few songs materialised. One was a lengthy ramble through the history of those Irish families who fled the country following battles at Aughrim and Limerick.

I’d long been fascinated by how so many of the “the Wild Geese” developed vineyards whose reputation for excellence endures. I’d hoped we’d record The Merchants of Bordeaux with Horslips but the band turned its gaze towards Amercia instead.

When Tomasz Knapinski in O’Briens in Rathgar heard of the project, he called the company’s chief buyer Lynne Coyle and before you could say “Vous êtes les bienvenus” there was an offer to unveil the song in the splendid La Citédu Vin. Hearing Eamonn Dowd perform The Merchants of Bordeaux, and a few other tracks from his new album Songs from the Fever Ship, before a hushed audience was a profoundly moving experience.

Château Lynch-Bages threw a lavish reception and, as stories were shared, audience and artists alike had a wonderful time. With the stars coming out over the Gironde Estuary, curator John Fleming raised a glass and we toasted those Irish ghosts from centuries ago.

Eamon Carr
Harold’s Xpress Magazine