An Obstacle Confusion

The Dubliners were travelling through a wine-growing region in southern Germany, and had stopped at a restaurant with a wonderful view over the vine-covered hills and valleys. They stood outside, gazing at the breathtaking, sun-dappled panorama, an occasional medieval castle peeking through the mist-shrouded trees, and basked in the beauty of the idyllic scene. Barney eventually broke the reverential silence. ‘Jaysus,’ he said, ‘there’s a fair few hangovers growin’ up there.’

Formed in 1962 in O’Donoghue’s pub in Dublin, the Dubliners are arguably the most popular Irish folk band in the world. Barney McKenna, one of the founder members of the the band, was also famous for another reason: ‘Banjo Barney from Donnycarney’ was capable of bringing any conversation to a sudden stop by uttering something so completely unexpected as to reduce everyone present to bemused silence.
An Obstacle Confusion: The Wonderful World of Barney McKenna is a collection of the best ‘Barneyisms’, compiled by the late Jim McCann, a former member of the Dubliners. The book is lavishly illustrated by Wendy Shea, a long-time friend of Barney. These wonderful flights of fancy are must-reads for Dubliners fans, young and old.