Hi everybody,

This year seems to be flying by so quickly. I started to record my new album a few months ago in Vicar St studios in Dublin. My engineer is Conor Brady, ace guitarist who played on the soundtrack for the movie The Commitments. I am also doing some tracks in Kinvara Co Galway at Brendan O'Regan's studio. I plan to release the CD at the Longford Banjo Festival in Sept 08. I am featuring more of the fiddle and mandolin this time around and I want to do a track with my family also with my dad on fiddle, my brother Mike on accordion, my sister Ann Maria on whistle and Fiach my son on bouzouki and bodhran. Hope you will like the final outcome.

I have just returned from Bangladesh where 4 Men and a Dog did some concerts in Dhaka. We met some fantastic folk there and the culture was incredible to experience. It was a real buzz to go downtown in a rickshaw and take in all the activities of everyday life that people go through. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with smiling faces, despite the hardship and poverty of the people.

All the teachers and pupils met up on the Ards Peninsula to do a final programme for TG4 last March, my pupil Andy Reid couldn't make it as he was playing for Sunderland. What a great buy Roy Keane made as Andy was a huge factor in the team staying in the Premiership. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the famous pupils partaking in the series including Jeremy Irons, John Creedon, Marie Jones and others. They will surprise you all with their performances on the TV.

I also did a few concerts with Damien Dempsey, his new album The Rocky Road was kept off the number 1 spot in the charts by Radiohead. Well done Damo the gigs were fab. 4 Men and a Dog do some gigs in Spain and Scotland this year which should be great so hope to see ye all there... and come up and say hello.

Congrats to my friends (ex Ireland Boss) Eoin Hand and Pauline Doherty who recently wed, we all had a super day.

Take a look at the touring page for upcoming events.

Talk soon,
Gerry