Ballymote man makes 35,000km trip from Australia for concert
Mike McGettrick and his wife Janice pictured with Leonard Cohen in New York. The couple are flying in from Australia especially for Saturday night's concert
Wednesday July 28 2010
Ballymote born and Canberra based Leonard Cohen fanatic, Mike McGettrick could hardly believe his eyes when he read that the poet and songwriter who has provided the soundtrack to his life was going to perform two concerts in his native county.
And he decided immediately that no matter what the cost, what the inconvenience, he was going to be present for what he is sure will be 'a magical occasion'.
And so, last Saturday, Mike and his wife, Janice, set out from their Canberra home on a 35,000 kilometre round round trip to Sligo, which took them through Sydney, onto Beijing, a visit to the Great Wall of China, and Tiananmen Square, on to Frankfurt and finally to Dublin, an overnight stop and onto Sligo today (Wednesday).
And although he rates a chance meeting with Cohen in Sydney two years ago as one of the ' greatest moments of my life', Mike believes that experience will be surpassed by the Lissadell concert this Saturday night.
"As soon as we discovered Leonard Cohen would be performing in Sligo we decided there and then we had to be there. When you've been a fan of somebody all your life, as I have been of Leonard Cohen, just to see him perform anywhere in the world would be a pleasure. But to see him in your own county in such a beautiful setting is the stuff of dreams. It's something I could never have imagined happening, and now that it is, I just have to be part of it," Mike told THE SLIGO CHAMPION.
He has vivid memories of the day in January 2008 when he and Janice literally bumped into their hero in a Sydney hotel.
"I'd been attending a conference in the hotel some time earlier and had left my mobile phone charger there, so we called back to collect it. I walked into the lobby and Leonard was sitting there with a group of people.
"I was mesmerised at first, a bit starstruck, but my wife just told me I'd never get a chance like this again, so go and talk to the guy. So I walked over, introduced myself, and we exchanged a big hug and he posed for pictures. It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Mike recalls.
But the Ballymote man reckons a new candidate for the accolade will present itself this week-end.
"Lissadell is so much the perfect setting for a Leonard Cohen performance. I have no doubt it will be magical. We have gone to a bit of bother and expense to get here, but we know it will be so worthwhile," he predicts.
Having left his native Ballymote nearly 40 years ago, Mike will be availing of the opportunity to catch up with family during his visit, spending some time with his brother, Joe, in Ballisodare, before setting off on the return journey next Monday.
"We should be back home in Canberra by next Wednesday, fairly shattered I'd say, but we will have memories to last a lifetime," he says.
- JIM GRAY
