Whirling like an Irish Dervish

They may have lost out to Serbia in the 2007 Eurovision song contest, but the traditional sound of Irish contestants Dervish goes from strength to strength, singer Cathy Jordan tells Zita Collinson

WHEN Irish state broadcaster RTE invited Cathy Jordan and her band, Dervish, to represent their country in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, they jumped at the opportunity.

Formed in 1989, they already had an outstanding reputation in their homeland and had played to a legion of traditional music fans across the world. In many respects, they were a sure bet.

But that night in Helsinki, it wasn't to be. They Can't Stop The Spring won just five votes from the Albanians before unlikely Serbian pop star Marija Serifovic swept to victory.

"We have no regrets about taking part in it at all," laughs Cathy. "We met wonderful people and had the best time you could imagine. It was pretty terrifying too of course. It was all perfect up until the last five minutes.

"Still, playing at something like that was always going to be a double-edged sword, and the only reason you wouldn't take part is fear. Fear is not a good reason not to do something. Instead we took it on and enjoyed every minute of it. Obviously the result didn't turn out great, but I think that's more down to the voting system than the music."

Cathy, who joined the group in 1991, grew up on a small farm in Scramogue, County Roscommon.

The youngest of seven children, music was part of her life from an early age. "I grew up on a farm and there was a huge emphasis on singing in my house," she says. "Both my father and mother sang and I had a good repertoire from the age of three.

"I was hell-bent on being a singer and always involved myself in musicals and choirs. Wherever there was music, I was in the thick of it."

Initially supporting the band's previous incarnation as a rock group, Cathy was asked to join the five other members in 1991. She left her job as a pastry chef and hasn't looked back.

As well as 10 albums and numerous awards, they've played for former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and in front of 250,000 people at the Rio Festival in Brazil.

"There have been so many fantastic experiences over the years," she says. "We went to China with Bertie Ahern on a trip to forge a business relationship between Ireland and the Chinese.

"We were part of the delegation representing culture. We played three or four concerts in Beijing and Shanghai. Driving into Tiananmen Square when it was covered with Irish flags was very moving and we even ended up playing on the Great Wall of China."

The group takes its name from the whirling dervishes, or mystics, from Turkey who practise a special form of dance in order to be transported to God. Music, says Cathy, often produces the same effect.

"Dervish have been playing together for 21 years, so at the moment we're performing lots of retrospective material," says Cathy.

"People who come to our shows can expect all sorts from high-energy tunes to slow, melancholy songs.

"We've played everywhere from Japan to Malaysia and Colombia. Later this year there's even talk of us going to Kenya. It's amazing where the music will take you.

"I never imagined at three years old that these songs would allow me to travel all around the world and back.

"There is something about traditional Irish music that audiences respond to. It's the energy and the rhythm. It gets under people's skin."

Dervish play at the New Vic on Wednesday, February 10 at 7.30pm. Call the box office on 01782 717962.