West mourns 'Gentleman of Country Music'

There will be music in Heaven tonight now that our beloved and much-missed KP is with the celestial choirs above.

All fans of Country and Irish music were deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Kevin Prendergast, a true gentleman who was very popular in the West of Ireland as well as the emigrant peoples of the UK and the USA. He died suddenly and people were shocked by his untimely death in his 83rd year in Brickens in southeast Mayo.

This writer remembers hearing him and meeting him in Bonniconlon where he often played in The River Inn owned by John Judge and later his son Declan, and also in the Village Tavern owned by Padraig Gallagher, not forgetting the Hideout in Foxford.

I recall meeting him in the Village Tavern and he sang so well. He was a wonderful performer and could sing a lively tune, as well as poignant ballads with deep emotion. We remember so many ballads, such as There’s Always a Fire in the Kitchen and The Winding Road to Kiltimagh, as well as My Daddy Died in Birmingham and The Ballad of James Connolly, to mention but a few. He also recorded Christmas Time Again in Connemara, written by Tubbercurry solicitor Eddie Masterson.

Kevin left his home in Carramack, near Logboy, when still a young man like many others, and he formed a bond with fellow emigrants through his music, appearing in many lounges and halls in Ireland and England, as well as the US where he was also very popular.

He was a true gentleman and also a very devout person who loved to sing Our Lady of Knock whenever he got the chance at various religious ceremonies.

There were not many songs that he could not handle and he could sing with happiness or sadness depending on the song he recorded. He made fine recordings and they were always played on the local radio and on national radio too. Midwest Radio and the online radio Irishcountrymusicradio.com featured his songs regularly and the people requested his numbers in their thousands. His song, My Old Home in Mayo, composed by Michael Commins, was the first to be played on the day Midwest Radio went on the air in late July 1989 – they were the finest of times when the people of the West took great pride in its own regional radio and its ambassador Kevin Prendergast.

Wherever Country and Irish fans meet they will remember Kevin the Country Gentleman from his beloved Mayo.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.