Following on the success of his single ‘Build a Wall‘, the young folk troubadour Josh Okeefe has joined forces once again with OurVinyl for another great single. Okeefe has an ability to transform and put his personal mark on any song and this Irish ballad, the likes of which The Clancy Brothers and Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners popularised, is no exception.
McAlpine’s Fusiliers tells of the Irish labourers who migrated to Britain to help rebuild London after the Blitz. The name of the song is taken from one of the most well-known construction companies of that time and a major employer of Irish workers. Whenever I hear the song it reminds me of the story of Ireland told by Ron Kavana in his epic album Irish Ways’. His song ‘In the Smoke’ told of that migration and the first Irish sessions and the players – Martin Byrnes, Bobby Casey, Julia Clifford, Jimmy Power…”Cooley, Ennis and Clancy and lovely Lucy Farr“.
“tired of mass unemployment and food being rationed, men arrived by the boatload via Rosslare and Dublin, from Connaught and Munster to rebuild infrastructure destroyed in the war…They made roads and dug tunnels and laid tarmac all day…Sat around barroom tables with flutes, pipes and fiddles, Sliabh Luachra slides met Donegal highlands songs from the thirty-two counties mixed with slip jigs and reels”.
OurVinyl shot and recorded Okeefe perched on a stump in front of a Nashville barn he once called home, not long after immigrating to America. Filmmaker Anthony Simpkins directed the captivating and outstanding performance and also our Song of the Day.
There is some dispute as to who wrote the lyrics to McAlpine’s Fusiliers although the name of Martin Henry, an Irish labourer, has been credited by some (read an interesting article about it here).
Josh Okeefe’s new single McAlpine’s Fusiliers is available now on streaming platforms.
Stream/purchase this song: https://ov.ffm.to/mcalpines-fusiliers