The Coming Storm, Chapter Two

We now return to our story, written by Mairtin de Cogain for the Cork Evening Echo. Today's chapter: Patrick Gets Beaten Up By a Movie Star.

It wasn’t long after that Pat was asked to manage the new O’Brien’s pub in Santa Monica. By that time he had already being moving up the ladder in an investment bank but jumped at the chance. Here Gaelic Storm got a regular gig playing Sunday night in the back of the bar. Living and working in Santa Monica he met with a fair few of the film stars.

“I got to become good friends with Russell Crowe until we had a falling out and he beat the sugar out of me in the parking lot behind the bar, I escaped with my life.”

St. Patrick’s day is the biggest day of the year for any Irish bar and most Irish bands. A few nights before the 1996 big gig in O’Brien’s their guitarist quit and a buddy Steve Twigger of Coventry, England stepped in. This was the making of the band. Their first performance was such a hit that the crowd refused to let them off the stage for the next act. Within one year they, Gaelic Storm, were catapulted out of their formative pub haunts by an appearance in the blockbuster film Titanic. Cast as the "party band" in the steerage scene, they landed the part while playing at O’Brien’s. They were flown down to Baja California in Mexico to the film set.

Sunday: Chapter Three. Will Pat's banking career pan out?