Newry will remember Mickey Doran: A genuine giant of music scene

Mickey, who was the lead guitarist in the Hilton Showband, passed away peacefully and surrounded by love.

With his band, they played to packed houses across Ireland, the UK and the USA during the height of their popularity.

And he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tom Jones and Hank Marvin.

A piece about the Hilton, which featured in the Newry Reporter in 1999, said that Mickey, with his huge 6’ 4’’ frame, “dominated the stage; a giant not only physically but musically also, a gifted guitarist who was at the vanguard of the unforgettable showband era”.

It added: “Mickey is the personification of the band, a delight to listen to, bursting with stories and anecdotes about the Hilton’s many tours, both at home, and in America and Canada.

"And his own story is like a concise history of popular music.

"The son of the late Peter and Hanna Doran, Mickey was the eldest in a family of seven boys and two girls. He was born and reared in Green Island, near the Aughnamoira Road, just off what used to be the main road to Warrenpoint from Newry.

"Mickey’s first guitar hero was legendary US instrumentalist, Chet Atkins.

“As Mickey was growing up, however, the household resounded to the sweet sounds of the mandolin played by his dad.

“His love of the instrument undoubtedly influenced Mickey as he has retained a fondness for the mandolin,” the article added.

“Guitars, however, are his first love. A Fender Jazzmaster was his first Fender, supplied to him by Eber Clarke. Incredibly, it was the first Fender to be brought into Ireland.

"In 1959, three Fenders were imported to Britain from the States. One went to Hank Marvin of The Shadows, another to the John Barry 7 and the third to Mickey.

"After leaving the Abbey Grammar School, where he passed his Senior Certificate exam, Mickey began work in the dental surgery of Mr Sheath on Newry’s Hill Street, where he trained as a dental technician.

"Around this time, the budding musician acquired his first guitar; a Spanish model Mickey practised on it for hours on end, perfecting his own style, by listening to numerous records and, of course, to the radio.

“Given his exceptional ability, it may seem difficult to believe but he cannot read music. Blessed with that rare gift - an ear for music - Mickey can play riffs and tunes, just by listening to a record.

"He did not have long to wait before he was invited to join his first band. It was 1961 and a Country and Western outfit, called The Clippertones, popular throughout counties Down and Armagh, were eager to employ Mickey.”

Malachy O’Neill – “the Hilton’s very own Brian Epstein” – was forming the Hilton. He assembled Newry’s top musicians – Ricky McVeigh; Jimmy McGivern, guitar and vocals; Tommy Tohill, bass; Luke Burke, trumpet and musical arranger, as well as drummer Hugh Kimmons.

"With Dan Donnelly, saxophone, and Eleanor Toner, later to become Mrs Pat Jennings, on vocals, Malachy felt he still needed to bolster this exceptional line up with another guitarist,” the Reporter piece continued.

Mickey was asked to join the band and the rest is history. The band went on the road as professional musicians for the first time in Easter 1962.

“One of their very first gigs was at Bundoran’s renowned Astoria ballroom, where they were to play many times throughout the following years.

"Over the next two decades, the Hilton not only played at all the top venues in the country but their deserved reputation as one of the top showbands ensured that they were continually invited to tour England, Scotland and Wales.

"Their status as one of the top bands in the land also ensured that they scaled the dizzy heights of playing in America.

"Recalling the Hilton’s first trip to the ‘Big Apple’ in 1967, Mickey said that he would never forget the thrill of landing at JFK Airport.

"All of the band were treated like huge stars and the band were invited to perform at all of the city’s most prestigious venues, including the world famous Tower Ballroom. More tours were to follow, with trips to Canada adding to the group’s huge fan base.

“Mickey has met a galaxy of stars in his career. Never boastful, he doesn’t need to be, it resulted in meetings with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits who, along with Hank Marvin, are two of Mickey’s favourites.

"He has also played with Tom Jones, Roy Orbinson, Van Morrison, and Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich. And during the hundreds of thousands of miles clocked up by the Hilton, Mickey also met footballers Pele, George Best and Franz Beckenbaur.”

One of the most memorable concerts in which Mickey played, took place in the late 1990s at the Showband Show in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.

"I will never forget playing the Guitar Boogie Shuffle before a crowd of 3,000 cheering fans,” said Mickey.

"It was a dream fulfilled as I had always wanted to play in that big a venue. That was just unbelievable.”

The report concludes that Mickey’s love of his craft was self-evident: “Without even trying, he has conveyed it to audiences no matter where the Hilton has played. In an industry where bands and fashions rarely last more than a few months, never mind decades, Mickey and his colleagues have carved out a niche for themselves in Irish music.

"Asked what he would most like inscribed on his tombstone, he instantly replied, with a glint in his eyes: “Thank you and goodnight – but I still haven’t finished.”

A funeral notice said Mickey was predeceased by ‘his precious son, Jonathan, and his brothers, Peter, John and Gerry – R.I.P.’

It added that his death is "deeply regretted by his heartbroken children, Michael, Nicola, Catherine and Gavin, grandchildren, Rowan, Nina, Erin, Clara, Sophie, Michael, Jonathan and Niall, daughters-in-law Samantha and Seanin, and siblings Theresa, Alice, Paddy, Danny and Brendan, all his family and all of his friends."

Mickey's Requiem Mass was due to take place in St Catherine’s Dominican Chapel today (Tuesday), followed by burial in St Mary’s Graveyard, Newry.