Protest singer Kahn is in tune with ‘the working man’

Si Kahn says his music career began as a hobby. He is also a union activist.

“My music is a hobby that got out of hand,” says singer/songwriter and union activist, Si Kahn, of his career. He has toured with Pete Seeger and Andy Irvine and his songs have been performed by many other artists, including Planxty, Dolores Keane, Eleanor Shanley and the Fureys. Kahn will play a fundraising concert, with Anne Feeney, at Cork’s Firkin Crane on July 31 as part of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival. The festival, which takes place in Shandon from July 29 to August 1, celebrates the life of Mary Harris. A Cork woman born in 1837, Harris became known as ‘the most dangerous woman in America’ for championing the rights of workers and for fighting against injustice.

Kahn says Mother Jones “has always been a personal hero of mine.” He says he is “ecstatic” about playing in Cork at the festival. Among the musicals he has written is one called Mother Jones in Heaven. His most famous song is ‘Aragon Mill.’