We used all the names from the ’68 team: Tony Doran and John Quigley and those lads. This year we are recreating ‘DANCING AT THE CROSSROADS’. What was the fifth one… [that they managed it without a recording or distribution deal]. Wade: At crossroads in Wexford people were building bonfires. We were very aware that if Wexford lost, the whole thing was dead on its arse. By the time of the All-Ireland final we had started to pick up interest around the country outside of the Wexford fever. My dad was alive then and him and one of my nephews who was only about 10, they were our distribution. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie. They gave us a small little civic reception in the town hall. My dad used to set off every day with a trolley-load of cassettes. The latest Irish and international breaking news, reports and coverage, A platform helping fund the type of in-depth journalism that the public wants to see, "When at last the cup was lifted, they said we brought it back for you", This is YOUR comments community. They were painting cars in purple and gold. We said we’d try to write a song about it and we came up with Dancing at the Crossroads. Though it was only released on cassette, the song swept the country and went to number one, knocking the Spice Girls’ hit Wannabe from the top of the charts. It was a small little affair with Griffin, Larry O’Gorman who was the only town player in the team, and a couple of others, Tom Dempsey and maybe Garry Laffan. ", "Like a time travel back to my family summer vacations in East Durham in the '60s and '70s. Dancing at the Crossroads (2016), the PBS documentary, explored the phenomenon in Irish-American history known as the Irish Catskills. Four, it was the first Wexford band ever to have a number one. Please continue making those podcasts about the towns in the Catskills where Irish people enjoyed themselves during the 1940s, 1950s and the 1960s. The cops eventually had to close down the whole of Gorey because there was 25,000 people on the street. We were playing the Purple and Gold and I remember looking out and everyone was going mad. Ireland had a really disproportionate number of people who liked cassettes and who were still using them, up until quite recently. Ralph Macchio is Lightning Boy. Bell: The night of the All-Ireland final, myself and Brendan had tickets but we couldn’t go because we were booked to play on the roof of a pub in Gorey. Wade: A lot of people would say that the song was a way of uniting everyone. The crossroads dance was a type of social event popular in Ireland up to the mid-20th century, in which people would congregate at the large cleared space of a crossroads to dance . It was just a spontaneous thing. Be Part of The Team – Access exclusive podcasts, interviews, discussion and analysis with a monthly or annual membership. Daft.ie, Dancing at the Crossroads: the hurling song that summed up a summer and toppled the Spice Girls Comments, Create an email alert based on the current article, Create your own sports news feed by selecting what interests you most, Choose 3 or more sports that you want to see. IN 1996 WEXFORD’S hurlers bridged a 28-year gap and won the All-Ireland Championship, bringing Liam MacCarthy back home with them for the first time since 1968. Brendan Wade: About a year beforehand I started working with Paul. Bell: I said to Brendan that we needed another song to offset the kind of yee-haw aspect of it. They beat Offaly and then we couldn’t press the things fast enough. I remember the very first pub we went into in County Wexford. Featured artists include Paddy …, Dancing at the Crossroads podcast is an offshoot of the PBS documentary by the same name. TheJournal.ie | Bell: Whatever the music did do, it obviously didn’t affect the hurling, but it galvanised the whole thing and gave the people of Wexford a really amazing atmosphere down there. We hadn’t done anything like that before. Meaney: On the Sunday they played Galway, it had jumped into number 17 in the charts. Wire service provided by Associated Press. This was way before the ’96 team was on the trail of winning the All-Ireland. Listening in an app makes it easier to keep track of what you’ve already heard, listen without using your data plan and many other conveniences. That’s one thing we’re very, very aware of. That became The Purple and Gold. Thank you very much for helping keep our tradition alive. My dad used to set off every day with a trolley-load of cassettes. , Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user, Notify me of followup comments via e-mail, TheJournal.ie supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. Bell: Dominic Kiernan was the Mayor of Wexford and he was a friend of Brendan’s. Meaney: I identified five separate things that we achieved with that. Bell: Dominic Kiernan was the Mayor of Wexford and he was a friend of Brendan’s. I think the team were in the Grand in Malahide or somewhere like that and, typical GAA, a winning All-Ireland team didn’t even have music at their dinner, not even a covers band.