‘The Blessington Tram’ - performed by Mick Keeley ('Songs from the Shelf' Project)

“The Blessington Tram” Performer: Mick Keeley Words: Peter C Grattan Air: ‘The Old Orange Flute’ Mick Keeley is a stalwart of An Góilín Traditional Singers Club in Dublin. For some time, Mick had been keeping an eye out for locally written songs, recitations and other pieces relating to the Tallaght area. Another piece that had caught his attention was ‘On Tallaght Hill’ by Nora Tynan, which we spent some time exploring as a group. But ‘The Blessington Tram’ particularly captured Mick’s interest, and he decided to use the Songs from the Shelf project as an opportunity to find an air to carry the words. When Mick first brought the text to the group, it sparked plenty of conversation and reminiscence about the tram itself, the route it travelled and the places along the way. Mick had heard stories about it from his own grandmother, while Bróna also remembered her grandmother talking about it. It was lovely to see the piece opening up these shared memories and connections with the local past. Mick eventually paired the words with the air of ‘The Old Orange Flute’, and he does a great job of bringing the song to life. No doubt it’ll get an airing some Friday night soon at An Góilín — if it hasn’t already! 'Songs from the Shelf' was a participatory project devised and facilitated by Aileen Lambert with support from South Dublin Libraries in September/October 2026.