Strings of Fire - Keeping Johnny Fean’s Flame Alive

 

Strings of Fire

Keeping Johnny Fean’s Flame Alive

By Kieran Beville

Johnny Fean

The sound of a guitar riff curls out from an open doorway at the Shannon Springs Hotel. It’s not just any tune — it’s Dearg Doom, the anthem that put Horslips on the Celtic rock map and rewired Irish music forever. The crowd inside the bar knows every note. Some are old enough to remember Fean’s dazzling runs on stage in the ’70s; others are younger musicians, born decades after The Táin first spun on a turntable. But in that moment, they’re united by something deeper than nostalgia. They’re keeping the flame of Johnny Fean alive.

Fean, who passed away in April 2023 was never just the guitarist from Horslips. To Irish rock fans, he was a conjurer — a player who made the electric guitar speak the language of reels and jigs. His picking hand carried centuries of Irish melody into the modern age, bridging the trad sessions of Ennis pubs with the wild, electric swagger of Thin Lizzy. When he died, tributes poured in from across Ireland and far beyond: from former bandmates to rockers who’d tried to emulate his signature lilt. But it was Shannon, the town he called home for more than thirty years that decided to honour him in the most enduring way possible — with music.

A Stage for a Legend

In November 2024, the people of Shannon unveiled the Johnny Fean Stage at the Shannon Springs Hotel — a modest, lovingly built performance space now destined to become a pilgrimage site for musicians and fans alike.

The idea of a festival in Fean’s honour was conceived and the project quickly found champions. John Gavin, co-owner of the Shannon Springs, offered his support and space; Ray Fean, Johnny’s brother and drummer lent his blessing and Maggie, Johnny’s widow, provided personal items and stories to inspire the stage’s design. What emerged wasn’t just a venue — it was a shrine to a musical philosophy.

The unveiling ceremony on 16 November 2024 began with quiet grace. Family and friends gathered from two to three in the afternoon for speeches, music, and a few tears. Later that night, the mood lifted into pure celebration. Local bands jammed beneath while raffle prizes — including a mammoth Horslips box set and signed memorabilia — raised funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, Clare.

Around the walls there were photos from Horslips’ heyday mingled with posters from gigs. It wasn’t a museum, though. The stage is alive, designed to host ongoing performances that carry Fean’s spirit forward. It’s not about building a monument but a movement with a heartbeat.

The Birth of a Festival

The tribute of 2024 has gathered momentum to become the Johnny Fean Rhythm & Blues Festival, set for 17–19 October 2025 in Shannon. Fittingly, it’s built around the styles Johnny loved most: blues, rock, trad, and the fertile ground between them.

Hosted across two main venues — the Shannon Springs Hotel and The Crossroads in Ballycasey — the festival is envisioned as both a celebration and a homecoming. Its lineup reads like a who’s-who of Irish rhythm and blues: Johnny Fean’s Blues Train, XIII Doors, Neff/Fean, The Pat McManus Band, The Kirbys, Mike Minihan, The Gail Fean Band, The O’Malleys, and others.

For three days, Shannon will pulse with live music from early afternoon to the small hours, spreading across pub stages, marquees, and open-air sessions. The organisers say the goal isn’t commercial flash, but authenticity — a word that sums up Fean himself.

The Music Never Stopped

To understand why Johnny Fean matters so deeply, you have to listen. Cue up The Táin or Book of Invasions and hear how his guitar dances around Charles O’Connor’s fiddle and Jim Lockhart’s keyboards. It’s not imitation or fusion; it’s invention. Fean’s phrasing carried the ghost of the uilleann pipes. His solos swung between fierce and fragile, capable of turning a trad air into something that could rattle arena walls.

Born in Limerick in 1951, Fean cut his teeth in the showband era before co-founding Horslips in 1970. The band’s audacious decision to mix traditional Irish tunes with rock guitars was, at the time, nothing short of revolutionary. Long before “Celtic rock” was a label, Fean and company had forged it — sometimes literally, on stages where the crowd didn’t know whether to dance a jig or air-guitar.

Though Horslips officially disbanded in 1980, Fean remained musically active for decades. He gigged in Shannon and Limerick pubs, played with The Zen Alligators, and later reunited with his Horslips bandmates for concerts that drew generations of fans. He was never a celebrity in the self-congratulatory sense; fame rolled off him like water. 

What mattered was the music — the craft, the connection.

When news of his death broke, tributes flooded social media. Horslips released a statement calling him “a one-off, a master, and a friend.” Musicians from across genres echoed the sentiment. In Ennis, a spontaneous session formed that same evening — reels and riffs intertwined in his memory. It’s that spontaneous joy that the Shannon festival now aims to capture.

Friday Night: The Spark

The opening night of the 2025 festival, Friday 17 October, is all about ignition. At 9:30 p.m., Johnny Fean’s Blues Train takes the stage at Shannon Springs — a band formed in his honour, channelling the grit and soul of the blues Johnny adored. The late-night slot belongs to XIII Doors, known for their high-energy sets that blend grunge textures with Celtic soul. It’s an apt pairing: one band rooted in reverence, the other pushing boundaries. Between them, they mirror Fean’s ethos — respect the tradition, but don’t get trapped by it.

Saturday: The Groove Deepens

Saturday 18 October belongs to virtuosity. Neff/Fean, featuring musicians connected to the Fean family, deliver a set that traces Johnny’s stylistic DNA — blues, R&B, trad, even a nod to Hendrix. Later, at 11 p.m., the legendary Pat McManus Band closes the night. McManus, himself a veteran of the Irish blues scene, has often cited Fean as a key influence. “He showed us you could be proud of where you’re from and still play rock guitar with fire,” McManus said recently. “He gave us permission.”

The crowd at Shannon Springs will likely be a mix of old Horslips faithful and newcomers discovering the lineage for the first time — a living classroom in Irish blues.

Sunday: Roots and Reflections

By Sunday 19 October, the festival spreads its wings to The Crossroads in Ballycasey where a folk and blues marquee keeps the afternoon alive with sessions. Acts like Bunch of Folkers, The Kirbys, Mike Minihan, Jigs Forge, and Mikey Wall & Guests fill the day with acoustic grit and storytelling warmth. Later in the evening, the indoor stage hosts Eoin O’Keefe, Shirley O’Callaghan, The Gail Fean Band, and a second set from XIII Doors before The O’Malleys bring down the curtain.

The variety is no accident. The festival’s organisers wanted the weekend to reflect Fean’s own range — not just rock, but rhythm, not just blues, but balladry. “Johnny could slip from a trad tune to a Chicago blues lick without blinking,” says O’Rourke. “We wanted the lineup to feel the same way: seamless, surprising, alive.”

The Shannon Spirit

For the people of Shannon, the festival is more than a cultural event — it’s a source of civic pride. This is a town often defined by its airport and industry, yet its creative heartbeat runs deep. Musicians who cut their teeth in Shannon pubs speak of a community that values authenticity over pretence. The Johnny Fean Stage, and now the festival give that community a new focal point.

At the Shannon Springs, the bar walls now carry a quiet glow. Under the stage lights, the name “Johnny Fean” shines in electric blue, a beacon for touring acts and locals alike. You can almost imagine him there, tuning his guitar, smiling that understated smile.
Legacy in Motion

In the wider landscape of Irish rock history, Fean’s contribution can’t be overstated. Before Horslips, Irish folk and rock rarely spoke to each other; afterward, they were practically inseparable. Without Fean, there might never have been The Pogues’ electric jigs or The Corrs’ pop fiddle fusion.

A Song That Never Ends

As the festival approaches, Shannon hums with anticipation. Posters are already appearing in pub windows. Local bands rehearse late into the night. Visitors from across Ireland are booking rooms at the Shannon Springs, planning reunions, bringing instruments. It feels less like an event and more like a homecoming. Because for Johnny Fean the music never really stopped. It just found new hands, new voices and a new stage with his name on it.