Sitting in the relaxed, sunny environment of Jack Harrison's kitchen overlooking the seashore in Maree, Co. Galway, sipping calming green tea from a china cup, (he took them out specially for me!) there's no sign or sound of the dragons, wolves or spiritual beings that inhabit his musical world. These are the creatures of Jack's everyday world because he works as a heritage consultant and as such is engrossed in ancient folklore, and mystical times. "I'd be kind of immersed in the middle ages, Irish history, archaeology and folklore," he explains. Jack is responsible for the exhibitions at heritage sites such as Newgrange, Coole Park and Glenveigh National Park. His work combines creativity with solid, factual, academic knowledge of the past and a canny intuition for what might attract visitors to the heritage sites and exhibitions he designs.
Like a lot of part time musicians, Jack didn't set out to make an album, he didn't even consciously mean to become a 'songwriter'. It was a natural progression and a natural extension of his work and his interests. "I've been writing poetry and stories for years" he explains, "and over the years I would have written down stories as a kind of journal. Then it just came to me, I've been playing music all my life, I should be putting these subjects, these themes in a musical context."
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