Pete St John Explained

Website:http://www.petestjohn.com/
Birth Date:31 January 1932
Death Date:12 March 2022
Genre:folk
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland

Peter Mooney (31 January 1932 – 12 March 2022), known professionally as Pete St John, was an Irish folk singer-songwriter. Born in Dublin, Ireland,[1] he was best known for composing "The Fields of Athenry".[2] [3]

Life and career

St John was born in Inchicore, Dublin in 1932.[4] Educated at Synge Street CBS and trained as an electrician, he emigrated to Canada before returning to Ireland in the 1970s.[5]

He wrote "The Fields of Athenry" in 1979, and it has been recorded by several artists, charting in the Irish Singles Chart on a number of occasions.[6] A recording by Paddy Reilly, which was released in 1982, remained in the Irish charts for 72 weeks.[7]

St John also composed a number of other modern ballads, such as "The Rare Ould Times" and "The Ferryman", which have been recorded by several artists, including The Dubliners, James Last, Paddy Reilly, and Mary Black.[8] [9] A version of "The Rare Ould Times", as sung by Danny Doyle, spent 11 weeks in the Irish Singles Chart, reaching No. 1 in 1978.[10] St John's songs, including "The Rare Ould Times" and "The Ferryman", sometimes express regret for the loss of old certainties (for example the loss of Nelson's Pillar and the Metropole Ballroom, two symbols of old Dublin, as progress makes a "city of my town").[11] [12]

St John won several awards, including the Irish Music Rights Organisation "Irish Songwriter of the Year".[1] [8] He died in Dublin on 12 March 2022, at the age of 90.[8] [13] After his funeral Paddy Reilly and Glen Hansard performed 'Fields of Athenry' at Beaumont House in Dublin as a tribute.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Songwriter Pete St John Honoured . 22 December 2009 . . imro.ie . 11 January 2018 .
  2. Web site: Pete St John: Fields of Athenry songwriter dies aged 90 . bbc.com . BBC News . 13 March 2022 . 14 March 2022 .
  3. Web site: Fame & fortune: Pete St John . The Times . thetimes.co.uk . 1 May 2011 . 11 January 2018 . Gabrielle . Monaghan .
  4. Web site: Pete St. John – The Man Who Wrote The Fields Of Athenry . irelandsown.ie . Seán . Creedon . December 2020 .
  5. Web site: 'Fields of Athenry' composer Pete St John dies aged 90 . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 13 March 2022 . 14 March 2022 .
  6. Web site: Irish Charts - Search - Fields of Athenry . irishcharts.ie . . 12 March 2022 .
  7. Web site: Facts and Figures — Longest in the Charts. The Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. 2008-09-21. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20081227214552/http://www.irishcharts.ie/facts/longest_in_chart.htm. 27 December 2008. dmy-all.
  8. Web site: Crowley . Sinéad . 2022-03-12 . Fields of Athenry songwriter Pete St John dies aged 90 . rte.ie . en.
  9. Web site: Works . Pete St John Official Site . petestjohn.com . 11 January 2018 .
  10. Web site: Singles Charts – Placement Search – Rare Ould Times . Irish Music Rights Organisation . irishcharts.ie . 11 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165255/http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=1&placement%5Btitle%5D=Rare+Ould+Times . 11 January 2018 . dead .
  11. Web site: Urban Re-wiring – Dublin's Silicon Docks . . Architecture Ireland (Journal) . 4 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110302/http://architectureireland.ie/re-wiring-the-city . 11 January 2018 . Cormac . Murray .
  12. News: The Ferryman – lament for passing of Dublin tradition . Irish Music Daily . 14 March 2022 .
  13. Web site: Pete St John, songwriter who was loved in Ireland for Fields of Athenry and Dublin in the Rare Auld Times – obituary. telegraph.co.uk . The Telegraph . 15 March 2022 .
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tnPIpVFMzg Paddy Reilly and Glen Hansard, Fields Of Athenry

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