The Plains Of Ireland - Packie & Bonnie, 1979

Packie Manus Byrne from Donegal and Californian harpist Bonnie Shaljean play an air. Singer, musician and storyteller Packie Manus Byrne is well known on the English folk scene. Born and raised Corkermore near the village of Bruckless in County Donegal, his parents were both singers and grew up listening to traditional music and stories. After finishing school he worked on the family farm before leaving for England, where he worked a variety of jobs while also performing in dance bands. The outbreak of the Second World War saw him return to Donegal, but when it ended, he crossed the Irish Sea again, and for the next twenty years travelled between Ireland and England for work, and continued to sing and perform in public. Packie’s return to traditional music and song happened while in hospital while being treated for TB. He won singing competitions at All Ireland level in the 1950s and early ’60s, and performed on Radio Éireann. In the 1960s he became a professional folk singer, tourin