Mayo impressario was a child prodigy

By Tom Gillespie

STEPHEN Garvey was undoubtedly the uncrowned king of Castlebar. He was one of the most colourful personalities of the western Europe dance world, a maestro with a genuine appreciation of music: impresario, producer, director and composer.

Son of Chassie and Mary Garvey, Castle Street, Castlebar, Stephen was born in September 1902, into the home of an esteemed and talented family. He was no more than 10 years old when he made up his mind about music.

Despite the fact there was a tradition in the Garvey family, spanning several generations, of a love for music, Stephen’s grandmother wanted him to find fame and fortune in the business world. But Stephen gave swift replies to the many entreaties and in no uncertain terms always replied in the same words: “But, Granny I want to be a musician.”

Granny succumbed to the obstinate Stephen by taking it upon herself to finance his first music lesson.

At the age of 10 Stephen came into prominence as a musician and when he was 12 he played in his first band, which consisted of himself, the piano and the piano stool. A child prodigy if there ever was one.

He received his first fee for this unique musical combination: seven shillings and six pence.

Throughout the years of a busy life in the musical world, that tiny fee began to grow until he was earning £200 a week.

His fame as a dance band leader spread far and wide at home and abroad.

Stephen’s interest in the music field broadened and he began producing Gilbert and Sullivan operas and musical shows. Stephen’s first production was a pantomime, Little Red Riding Hood, and he followed this with Babes in the Wood and The Enchanted Forest.

He was a perfectionist in everything he did and the casts of the various shows where put through rigorous rehearsals. Everything had to be right on the night.

The Mikado, Gondoliers and The Pirates of Penzance were all produced by Stephen to the highest professional standards.

Through his shows he raised funds for restoration work on the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Roary, Castlebar, and the foreign missions.

In all of this work he had the unstinting support of his brother, Jimmy, another outstanding musician and producer.

Judged by any standards, Stephen was a musical genius, a nobble son of Castlebar who brought immense joy and happiness to thousands of people over the years.

On Thursday, October 5, 1978, Castlebar Urban Council unveiled a plaque on the house in Castle Street - most recently Ladbrokes - where Stephen Garvey was born in 1902. It was during the week of the Castlebar International Song Contest and many of the artists involved attended the unveiling ceremony.

I recall being accompanied by RTÉs Val Joyce as the residents of Castle Street came out to celebrate and remember their distinguished neighbour.

Later, a local Stephen Garvey Memorial Committee was formed to raise funds to have his remains reinterred from the USA to his native Castlebar.

After a 40-year musical career in Ireland, Stephen retired to America in 1956 to join his sister, Sister Mercedes, in Heuston, Texas.

Local historian the late Brian Hoban had researched the life and times of Stephen Garvey.

His teacher Dean Jackson was the organist at the Church of the Holy Rosary and later in life Stephen became church organist and choirmaster at the Castlebar church.

Stephen had the distinction of leading the first dance-orchestra on Radio Éireann after which he set up The Stephen Garvey Orchestra in 1926.

Brian discovered that the orchestra quickly became an institution and played all over Ireland and the United Kingdom in venues ranging from The Emerald Ballroom in Lecanvey to the Mansion House in Dublin, making Stephen the dance band leader of his time.

He played the piano with his back to the audience but observed them through a mirror on his piano while his brother Jimmy played the bass.

Members of the orchestra often changed and during the 1950s included Val Doonican who played drums before going on to become an international star in his own right.

As a composer, Stephen penned a hymn to Our Lady of Knock and a musical, Mayo Mary, which unfortunately was never published.

In January 1962 Stephen passed away in Texas at the age of 60 and it was fitting that his remains were returned to his native Castlebar on August 18, 1996, where they were laid to rest in the local cemetery.

After playing drums with Stephen on a tour of Ireland, Waterford native Val Doonican moved to the UK in 1951 to join the Four Ramblers, who toured and performed on BBC Radio shows broadcast from factories. Doonican met dancer Lynnette Rae when both she and the Ramblers supported Anthony Newly on tour. They married in 1962. Recognising his talent and potential as a solo act, Newley persuaded him to leave the singing group and go solo.

He was auditioned for radio as a solo act, and appeared on the radio show Variety Bandbox. Soon after his solo career started, he had his own radio show as well as performing in concerts and cabaret.

After seeing him in cabaret in London in 1963, impresario Val Parnell booked him to appear on Sunday Night at the Palladium. As a result of his performance, Bill Cotton, then assistant head of light entertainment at BBC Television, offered Doonican his own regular show, which lasted for over 20 years. At their peak the shows attracted audiences of some 19 million viewers.

The shows featured his relaxed crooner style, sitting in a rocking chair wearing cardigans or jumpers, sometimes performing comedic Irish songs including Paddy McGinty’s Goat, Delaney's Donkey, and O'Rafferty's Motor Car, as well as easy listening and country material on which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar.