With a Fenian fiddle in one ear and an Orange drum in the other, Sands was reared in the foothills of Mourne Mountains.
From the book to the stage ↗A life in music.
In his own words.
From a musical childhood in County Down
to encounters that shaped a lifetime.
His family was immersed in folk music – his father played fiddle, his mother accordion. Their kitchen was a place where Protestant and Catholic farmers alike would gather to sing at the end of a day’s harvesting. The Songman is the story of Sands’ remarkable journey, the turbulent days of the civil rights movement, encounters with The Bothy Band, Pete Seeger, Ian Paisley, and a ‘defining moment’ during the Good Friday Agreement talks.