From top: Whelan’s, Wexfor Street, Dublin 2; Joe Nicholson (right) with Townes Van Zandt and friend in Whelan’s in the 1990s; tweet last week
The great and the good of the Irish music industry packed Mount Jerome Chapel in Dublin last Saturday at the funeral of Joe Nicholson.
Joe was synonymous with Whelan’s bar, having worked as the gatekeeper of the Wexford St music venue for many years.
Previously, he had worked as a tour manager and a driver for innumerable visiting artists, including Bob Dylan, Al Green and Elvis Costello. A warm-hearted larger-than-life character with an encyclopaedic knowledge of rock’n’roll, Joe was unmistakable at the door usually in his trademark black fedora.
The musical tributes at the funeral service came from Leslie Dowdall, who sang the moving ‘Spirit In The Night’; Mundy, who delivered a fitting version of ‘If I Needed You’ written by one of Joe’s musical heroes Townes Van Zandt; and a rousing rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Forever Young’ by Paddy Casey, Declan O’Rourke, Mundy, Alice Jago, Leslie Dowdall and Colm Mac Con Iomaire. Mundy also recited a poem ‘Goodbye Big Joe’ he wrote to honour his old friend’s memory.
RIP
Whelan’s
