Just What Saw Doctors Ordered?

Ireland's Folk-Rock Favorites Trail-Blaze The East Coast and Midwest

Exclusive By Peter Kelly

It's not every day that Ireland's President, with an American college education inspires the country's prominent folk-rock band to stopover in the midwest on their latest US tour.

But for The Saw Doctors, honoring America's Celtic heritage and their President's former stomping ground was "a must-do in the mid west."

The band, from outside Galway, once described by John F Kennedy as "the next parish across from Boston" wrapped up their 80th American tour last week by playing to packed audiences in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Canada.

And the 5-strong Celtic balladeers are still experiencing the buzz of a St Patrick's Day extravaganza in Philadelphia.

They chalked up venues from up and down the eastern seaboard and over to Toronto, Chicago, Cleveland, Indiana and Wisconsin since the US bathed in green on March 17th.

Their gruelling schedule saw their tour bus criss-cross 11 states and 14 venues, often packing up after each show and overnighting to the next location hundreds of miles away.

For lead singer Leo Moran, including the midwest was a must-do for their 2013 experience. "We have a great following here and now that our good friend and former lecturer Michael D. is Ireland's president, we wanted to include his adopted part of America too."

President Higgins completed a Masters in Sociology at Indiana University in 1967, going on to become a professor in Illinois and then University College Galway.

He was Ireland's first Minister for Arts and Culture, creating the Gaelic language TV station TG4 and is described by actor Martin Sheen as "a dear friend."

The band have penned their hit 'Michael D. Rockin' in the Dail' as a tribute.

The Saw Doctors are renowned for out-selling U2 by remaining #1 for 9 weeks in Ireland's charts with their second single 'I Useta Lover'.

They celebrated a more recent Irish #1 hit in the Apple download chart with a cover of Petula Clark's 1965 hit 'Downtown'.

The veteran British singer performed a cameo on their video, filmed on the streets of Galway.

But it's not just Americana tribute hits that their repertoire is famous for. As any American with Irish roots will quickly point out.

"Most of our songs strike a chord with our Irish and American audiences, particularly expats and 2nd/3rd generation," admits Moran.

He reveals that the band's greatest hits include their nostalgic ballads 'N17', 'Tommy K' and 'Bless Me Father,' which are "sung back to us with great passion by the American crowds on this tour, who are great music lovers. They always want to get involved in the show."

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley joined them onstage at their Silver Springs show on March 1st.

The Saw Doctors had played at his Maryland Governor's 2007 Inauguration Ball, where he accompanied them in a rendition of their seminal 'Green and Red of Mayo' ballad.

The folksy-come-rock outfit are well used to US audiences, and are distinct for their young and lively cult following.

The band's 2008 documentary 'From Clare Island to Cape Cod' was eagerly awaited by their legions of followers throughout the US, marking their appearances at festivals from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, calling at all points in between.

Touring Ireland, Britain, Australia and across Europe has made them road-hardy, and they have netted a Lifetime Achievement Award at Ireland's prestigious Meteor Awards.

They have decided to remain at home for the rest of 2013, taking a well earned break from playing back to back cities and states on consecutive days throughout March.

Long hours spent criss-crossing Interstate 80 are worth it "just for the energy and passionate connection from the audiences that's fed back to us," says Moran.

"We've had a great response touring America, from the east coast and over to Chicago. We never know what the crowd in each venue will be like, so we've been thrilled.

"We've been very lucky, in settings from large theaters to intimate historic buildings around the US.

"It keeps us coming back, over and over again," he adds. "We're coming back, and aiming for the magic 100 tours of America!"

And their energy levels now that they've completed the final leg of their latest US tour? "Our epic escapade continues, this tour was unforgettable," laughs Moran.

Clearly they were under orders from their commander-in-chief back in Ireland's White House to bring the house down in each state they visited. And they duly obliged.