Elvis Presley at 90: Irish fans speak on what made him The King of Rock 'n' Roll
Catherine O'Brien smiles at a statue of Elvis which she keeps on her mantelpiece. Picture Chani Anderson
Beatrice Farrelly clearly remembers the summer she lost a hero.
“I had been working in a guesthouse for the summer,” says the Donegal native. “But I was off sick that day and when I heard Elvis had died I felt a lot worse. I remember I went back to work the following day and the boss announced to everyone at the table that I was out because Elvis had died, which of course wasn’t true. I was mortified. I was only 16.”
Elvis Presley would be celebrating his nineteenth birthday this week. Though it is almost 50 years since his death in 1977, the moniker 'The King of Rock n’ Roll' still holds true for Beatrice and the millions of dedicated fans like her.
“When I was a teenager, I just loved him,” says the 65-year-old. “He was the best-looking man on this earth. His voice had some range and he had the moves. The first album I got was the Christmas album and I have loved him ever since.”
Given her location in beautiful Dungloe and his propensity to stay inside the borders of the United States, Beatrice never got to see the King in concert. But she had always promised herself a trip to Memphis.
“My mother had been and had brought me back some memorabilia so that helped light a fire,” she says. “I always wanted to go. It was the only trip in the world I wanted to take. I heard about a trip in 2007. I didn’t really know how I was going to get there but I was determined.” That was the first of five pilgrimages that Beatrice has made to Graceland.
“I left not knowing anybody and came back knowing quite a few,” she recalls. “They were from all over Ireland and we had a reunion a few months after the tour. We held it here in Donegal and they saw how lovely it is so we decided to do it again. They started coming back a few times a year and then other people heard about it and they came along too. This went on for about six years. Then someone suggested registering as an official Elvis fan club.”
After a few months of registrations, social media launches and some press, Elvis Rocking in the Hills of Donegal was launched in 2014. An officially recognised fan club, Beatrice and her fellow fans aren’t just in it for the sparkling suits and sweaty sideburns. Thus far, this Elvis fan club has raised over €38,000 for charity.
“It’s quite good for a wee club,” she says. “We raise money for local and national charities. We’re keeping his memory alive. Elvis was a very charitable person. He gave more away than he kept and we’re just carrying on that story.”
Elvis must have been in the Irish ether in 2014. In the same year Beatrice started her club, Catherine O’Brien launched the Flaming Star Elvis Fan Club in Mitchelstown, Cork.
“My dad was very strict,” she recalls. “And as you’re probably aware, Elvis did get a bit of a reputation for those swinging hips. So my dad wouldn’t let us watch him or go to his movies. Of course, we did when he wasn’t around, so we got to love Elvis.”
While those early years may have stirred the passions of impressionable young ladies, for many, including Catherine, Elvis really came into his own in those latter years.
“I think he was at his best in the seventies,” she says.
“His voice was like a powerhouse. There is a spiritual element to it and I really love the Gospel side of his music. A lot of people are not aware of the Grammy awards that he won for his Gospel. It was something else.”
When she later met her husband, she found a kindred Elvis spirit.
“Our eldest daughter is called Lisa Marie after Elvis’s daughter and our youngest son is called Joseph Aaron. And he named his little guy Aaron. So the whole family is into Elvis.”
As well as organising trips to landmark sites such as Tupelo, Memphis and Nashville, Catherine manages an Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA) named Tim Ryan. Tim is considered one of the top ETAs in Ireland and has been a winner and/or finalist in several Elvis Tribute Artist competitions in the UK & Spain.
“He’s done very well for himself,” says Catherine. “I organised a trip a few years ago with him and some fans and he ended up being backed by a drummer that played with Elvis. It was brilliant.”
“There are some great ETAs out there,” says Dingle’s number one Elvis fan, Margaret Holderied. “They put on great shows but there was only one Elvis.” Margaret, who grew up in London, bought her first Elvis record on a 78.
“I was about 13 when he first came out and it was the voice that got me,” says the 79-year-old. “It was just fantastic. The first record I bought was Love Me Tender. Even my Dad liked him. I remember him listening to that record and being very impressed.”
This impression is again carried through the generations. Every year, Margaret and her daughter take a trip to one of the hundreds of Elvis tribute events held across the globe.
“We started off with a trip to Blackpool a few years ago,” she says.
“While there, we came across an excellent ETA named Emilio Santoro. He was only about 14 at the time and we happened to be sitting at the same table as his parents. He was a lovely young man. So we have followed him to a few places around the world. We went to Niagara Falls a few years ago and we were in Turkey last year. We've been to Germany where Elvis served in the military. This year we’re going to Vegas. It’s a nice thing to do. Just the two of us, two women together. You have entertainment in the evening in a safe environment with people that you know and who are all into the same thing.”
Like any true Elvis fan, Margaret has made the all-important pilgrimage to Memphis.
“I couldn’t go during the summer because I ran a B&B for almost 40years,” she says. “We went a few years ago during Christmas and it was great. We booked a tour and we got this wonderful guide who showed us every paving stone the man had ever walked on. He took a bit of a shine to us and one night as we were driving back to the hotel we stopped off outside this block of apartments. He got out and told us to wait for a few minutes. Then he came down and brought us up to this big apartment and introduced us to Donna Presley, Elvis’s first cousin. She was so charming and it really topped off a wonderful trip.”
For Margaret, that journey to Graceland confirmed everything she had always thought of the King.
“Apart from the music, which was unique, he was such a nice person,” she says. “There would be people you’d like as an actor or singer but they weren’t always nice people. I think Elvis was always himself. He loved his mother. He was a nice guy, a big star, and a huge talent.”
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