‘I’m in Love with a Galway Hooker’ is the debut single by Tuam musician and singer
Frank Holliman.
Frank joined his first band when he was 16 and has been involved in music and theatre for nearly four decades. A self-taught guitarist and bass player, Frank is a lover of all types of music, but this is his first step into the world of song-writing. The idea for the lively song came about while he was watching the Saw Doctor’s documentary “From Cape Cod to Clare Island” on TV one night.

“I was watching Davy and Leo sailing in Galway Bay in a small hooker and thought what a lovely experience that must be and the idea just developed from there”, – Frank explains.

While the exact origin of the Galway Hooker is elusive, there is no doubt that these majestic boats are intrinsically linked with the West of Ireland. A familiar feature of the western coastline in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Hooker almost became extinct in the mid 1970s but has been saved by a renewed interest and passion for these unique vessels.

The upbeat trad track tells the story of one man’s bond with his own Galway Hooker called Mary Jane which he enjoys sailing along the western coastline. Both songs on the two-track CD were recorded in Sun Street Recording Studios in Tuam — a stalwart for original recordings by numerous bands and singers from North Galway.
The cheerful song also features the talents of well-known accordion player Gary Quinn from Tuam, fiddle player Kevin Farrell from Limerick and Gerry Trayers from Tuam band Stonelakes on guitar.