Allens returning to homeplace for special Mount Temple concert

By David Flynn

Although they've played their home village, Mount Temple, many times over the decades, brothers Tom (TR Dallas) and Tony Allen (of Foster and Allen fame) are making a rare appearance playing together, with many special guests, in Corpus Christi church as a fundraiser in aid of the local parish.

Tony and TR’s musician nephew, Padraig Allen on a visit from New York with his group McLean Avenue will join in, alongside Tony’s wife, singer Trionagh Allen, at the concert on Tuesday, April 22.

Also featuring on the night will be well-known singers and musicians, Simon Casey, Lisa Tyrell, Tony Stevens, Brendan Doyle and Friends, Mick Mulhern, Michael Doyle, county Down musicians Country Harmony, and the Mount Temple Church Choir.

The masters of cermonies at the concert will be Fr Joe McGrath and Lisa Tyrell.

TR Dallas and Tony Allen, two music stars who have fanbases all over the world, recently chatted to the Westmeath Independent about their love for and pride in their home village of Mount Temple, and how they always come home!

“I would have played Mount Temple when I was with the Marylanders group in the late 1960s, and that was in the old school,” said Tony

“My mother would send us off to sing in the choir for the nuns,” added TR.

There was music on both sides of Tony and TR’s family, and their father, Patrick, was an accomplished fiddle player.

“When we were older, we played in parties and house dances,” said TR. “There was a great carnival in Mount Temple then.”

“It’s exactly there where Noel Carty, who had managed Jim Tóibín and the Firehouse, first listened to Brendan Shine and signed him up,” said Tony.

Tony remembers the houses around Mount Temple in the late 1950s and into the 60s being packed with locals listening to the visiting musicians.

“My brother Mick was the oldest and he played accordion and Uilleann pipes and my father played the fiddle, and then Sean McCormack and Willie Reynolds, both from Walderstown, played the pipes, and Tommy Farrell, from Glasson, played accordion,” said TR.

“Another great musician, Joe Irwin, and my brother Mick, were married to two sisters and when Mick would come back from England there would be a hooley in the barn.”

TR also remembers in the 1960s when two Allen sisters, Mary and Beasey got married, the wedding was held in their home in Mount Temple.

“We had the breakfast in the house and in the barn, the corn had been dry and all cleaned up, and then there was music and a hooley in there,” said Tony.

He recalls that their mother, Rose was a Doyle, also of Mount Temple and that musician Brendan Doyle who will be playing in the charity concert on April 22 is their cousin.

“Brendan’s father, John-Joe, is a cousin of TR and myself,” said Tony. “Every house in Ireland had someone who played music, and we were completely self-taught and knew nothing about keys, and had to learn it all by ear. But today, young musicians are at a serious and unbelievable level.”

“We really have to credit Comhaltas for encouraging people to play music and then in latter years we had Dun na Si and a lot of young people play music and they have great knowledge and nearly know how the instrument is built,” said TR.

Tony agrees that there is great dedication to music nowadays, but said that young musicians are starting in a good place, with good instruments.

“It was tough enough in the past and lads were trying to learn on bad fiddles, and it affected your ear and your tuning,” said the Foster and Allen musician.

“When we started, we had it easy enough to learn because we weren’t watching Sky television, phones weren’t ringing. There were no phones. We could work things out on the guitar, but now they can Google charts from all over the world.”

“And no television either, but we had Celli House on the radio on Saturday night,” said TR. “Yeah, the lads have charts now and don’t have to stay all day working on them.”

“The radio was very important, and when Larry (Cunningham) brought out ‘Lovely Leitrim’ you were going to hear it on the radio ten times a week,” said Tony. “The sponsored programmes on the radio were great.”

“The first album I got was Charlie Pride’s, and I had the pleasure of working with him a few times, and I’m working with his brother, Steve Pride in Tuam tonight,” added TR. “We listened to great ones growing up like George Jones and Hank Williams after my sister Ann brought home a record player, and you’d listen to a song 1,000 times.”

TR and Tony Allen are looking forward to the Mount Temple concert on Tuesday next.

“The Mount Temple community are one of the best organisations in the Midlands to get things done. The hall is looking fabulous, and the village itself and parish, and you could take Baylin in that too,” said TR.

“The people there are great supporters, and there is a lot of newcomers there, who are newcomers no longer, because they all get involved in things. They have the facilities there for special needs and all that, and there is great business there.”

TR said the money raised will go towards the Community Hall, which used to be the old school, built in 1888.

“We don’t have a problem coming back to Mount Temple, because we’re in there every day anyways, coming and going,” said Tony.

“You don’t mind doing a concert there because you know the money will be well spent. It’ll be great to see all our buddies on stage on the night.”