If you hadn’t heard, and hadn’t seen my previous thread a couple of weeks ago, Frankie Gavin has esophageal cancer, and his son has started a GoFundMe to help offset the costs of what is going to be a difficult (but hopefully life-saving) surgery. At this point, they are less than halfway to their goal and could really use some more help raising the funds. https://gofund.me/ea065dbe
Thank you, Reverend,
Donation made, hope it works out for him.
+1
Thanks, Julian & Reverend. Let’s do this for Frankie, anyone who wants to chip in.
I’m very sorry and sad that Mr Gavin is facing this grim prognosis.
It’s enormously lucky he is well known and has a loyal fan base willing to put their hands in their pockets.
But it’s sad for all the thousands and millions of other cancer sufferers (incl. Oesophageal) that may be in the same predicament but are unable to harness the power of the fame factory.
Well said and so true Mr. Y. House, but I chipped in anyway.
Thanks for the notification and I will donate! The ‘fame factory’ comment was unwarranted and unnecessary. I have both facilitated and participated in go fund me campaigns that raised thousands of dollars for deserving individuals and groups who, like Frankie Gavin, were beloved for some reason, famous or not.
Fame? It must be weird to be a “famous” Irish trad musician. A celebrity, perhaps, among fans of the music, totally anonymous to the rest of the world. Imagine walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant…never knowing whether one person out of the crowd will recognize you and make a fuss.
And also not likely wealthy enough to afford high-end specialty medical care not covered by insurance.
Like anyone would be, Frankie’s probably somewhat embarrassed by the outpouring of support, and also massively grateful for it.
Sláinte agus saol fada, Mr. Gavin.
“high-end specialty medical care ” should be available to everyone and free of charge in an ideal world either through a good “insurance ” or other “national health” arrangement.
I hope that’s the point Yhaal was wanting to make.
Unfortunately, not all treatments are free and available to everyone and it is inevitable that some of us will always be advantaged or disadvantaged to a certain extent depending on our own financial arrangements, who we know, and, yes, who is aware of us.
It was a similar situation during Covid as regards funding. The better known musicians with larger followings were always likely to be more succesful with funding schemes, online gigs, and such.
It’s certainly not Frankie’s fault that we live in an unfair world but friends and fans have every right to support him during such difficult times as they see fit.
“‘high-end specialty medical care’ should be available to everyone and free of charge in an ideal world either through a good ‘insurance’ or other ‘national health’ arrangement.”
Agreed.
But, as a species, our priorities are seriously skewed. We have the means to feed and provide great health care to everyone, but wealth is concentrated among the lucky few. According to Oxfam, the richest 1% have 82% of the wealth: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-42745853
And that’s from 2018, outdated. The richest got insanely richer during the pandemic.
Frankie Gavin ’s hardly in the Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan financial league - I’ve chipped in as a small appreciation of the enjoyment De Dannan’s music has given me over the last 40 or more years.
I’ll admit to ignorance, but do you have to pay for life saving operations in Ireland?
Ireland has its own public health care system but, as you will realise I’m sure, not all treatments are available everywhere. Scotland differs from England, for example.
I think his son is hoping to arrange treatment in the UK. The docs in Galway say it’s more than they can tackle.
The aim is to fund Frankie to have treatment in England at a hospital which has a high success rate for this type of illness. As an Irish citizen, he would not be treated through the UK NHS, and I suppose any operation and rehabilitation would have to be privately funded, hence the appeal.
Don’t forget that Sean Maguire had a tracheotomy caused by throat cancer, and continued playing for a further 20 years.
My wife was a speech and language therapist in the NHS, and in her later working years worked on the rehabilitation of throat cancer patients, helping them to make intelligible speech again. One patient, whose profession absolutely required him to be able to speak and be understood, is still around nearly 30 years later.
Frankie will have a tough time ahead of him, but this is surviveable, and I pray he gets through it to be able to make music and enjoy his family and friends for years to come.
I’m now going to go and make a donation in thanks for the enjoyment his music has given me for over 50 years.
Yeah, I’ve donated, too, and mention it only hoping it encourages others to do likewise.
Imagine if half the 140,000 members of thesession.org gave just $2.
I’d been playing this music for nearly a decade when De Dannan’s Mist Covered Mountain album came out, and Frankie’s fiddle playing, particularly on the Cottage in the Grove and Cameronian sets, cemented my obsession. Such joy and lift. Let’s give some of that back to him.
Irish musicians harnessing the fame factor. Was that bit a joke? I hope it was just a lapse in judgement.
I appreciate everyone who contributes cash for Frankie; no matter the amount as long as it achieves the goal.
Here’s Irish trad “fame” for you. The Go Fund Me effort has so far raised just under $42,000 (not quite half the goal). From a total of just 582 donations.
582.
Think of all the lives around the world Frankie has touched with his music.
Even if you can’t donate, spread the word so others may.
Thanks for all the support! It’s great if people can help spread the word (and the link) on social media, etc.
As far as “fame” goes in Irish traditional music, Frankie might be close to the top, after having recorded and performed with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Earl Scruggs, as well as De Dannan, of course. (Seems like Mick or Keith could just kick that GoFundMe up to the top…)
The largest contribution so far was from Tommy and Louise McCarthy, who have been very involved in Frankie’s success in the U.S. in the last several years. I will be donating again, since it seems that the fundraising has stagnated a bit…
Thanks for posting this, Reverend. The amount Julian is requesting is quite modest considering the high cost of healthcare. No matter what national health system or private health insurance you have, there are also always many costs not covered - travel and lodging expenses, plus copays for visits, meds and procedures. Yes, even Ireland has some pretty costly copays for some meds.
Many small donations can make a big difference. The cost of a few sets of strings, a few cups of coffee, or a takeaway meal can help out. I figure that the modest donation I previously made to this fund works to about $1.11 per year for the 45 years I’ve been listening to him, or probably about $0.000000001 for each time I’ve listened to his various albums since then.
With many music-related fundraisers, your donation gets you a signed CD. That’s nice, but with this one, with a little luck, we all get a living, breathing, tune-playing fierce traditional Frankie Gavin for years to come! It’s a bargain at any price!
Donated. Here’s hoping all goes well for Frankie.
Anyone who plays Trad understands Frankie’s significance. I have been inspired and followed him since the mid 70s. He is as complex and fascinating as the music he champions. Please donate to help this remarkable man in his personal crisis.
Respectfully, I present Pete Seeger singing ‘One Frankie Gavin’
(To the tune Guantánamo)
You know there’s two Seamus Egans
Yes there are two Seamus Egans
And there are two of Sean Ryans
And even twoooo Paddy O’Briens
And there are three Paddy Keeeeellys
Yes there are three Paddy Keeeeellys
But there is one Frankie Gavin
There’s only one Frankie Gavin
One Frankie Gaaa…vin
Yes there is one Frankie Gaaa…vin
Oi, PB - wasn’t it was me who came up with “one Frankie Gavin” to “Guantanamera” as a bit of fun in a discussion here some years back ? Well done for filling it out.
There are a few Frankie / De Danann clips from 1985 and 1987 posted on Youtube just a few weeks back.
https://youtu.be/9HxD2_ppHLA
Looks like good news from the Gavin family. There was an update on the crowdfunding site to say that Frankie is back home, and that the prognosis seems to be that he won’t need to the more expensive later-stage treatment, so they have scaled back the target to what they have already raised. What was nicest was that Frankie put up a video of him playing the fiddle for the first time in months. You might be able to see it via this link. He’s looking thinner but seems in good form.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/frankie-gavin-my-father-has-esophageal-cancer-s3/update/30820783/gallery/1?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-165669708273-b0398738f96411ec&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b
If you can’t see the video via the link, you may need to go via the gofundme site.
