Tom Kimmel

Everybody!

If y’all have followed me for any length of time, you know how much I love Ireland. In fact, I'm heading back over there in 2 short weeks.  

Brief Irish history lesson:

Back in 1845, the potato crop in Ireland failed—and failed again the following year and the year after. The result was mass starvation and disease.

 At the beginning of the famine, the population of the country was 8 million people. By 1852, the population was 4 million. And BTW, the Irish don’t like calling it a famine. They prefer calling it The Great Hunger—because hard as it is to believe, food was exported to England throughout the famine.

As crazy as it sounds, at the time the prevailing mindset of the government in England was “If you help them, you hurt them.“ The idea was that these people needed to buck up and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.  And this is why over 30 million Americans are of Irish heritage. No exaggeration--30 million Americans are descended from starving and sick Irish refugees. 

OK! I have a thimbleful of news, a recommendation for some good reading, a song-of-the-month, a poem, a suggestion for helping out the folks hurt in the Texas floods, and a little wisdom from two of my favorite artists.

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Contents of This Newsletter

1. Back to Ireland in 2 short weeks (and info on future tours)

2. Info on 2026 Crete songwriting retreat

3. Song of the Month: The Waymores' Singing Like a Byrd

4. Texas Hill Country Flood Relief: How to make a small difference

5. Recommendation: Two great novels by Niall Williams

6. Poem of the Month: Roland (An Animal Tail)

7. Wisdom for our time from Guy Clark and the Buddha 

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1. Back to Ireland in 2 short weeks (and info on future tours)

I love Memphis, but I have to admit, it's going to be a treat to beat the heat for a couple of weeks!

My 2026 tour is full, but if you'd like to be contacted in the event of a cancellation, visit Inishfree Tours schedule page.

Scroll down to my June 24 (2026) tour and click the Join Waiting List button.

And I'll let you know as soon as I have my 2027 dates.

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2. Crete songwriting retreat in 2026

If you've ever thought about a Greek vacation, you can wrap it around a wonderful songwriting retreat overlooking the Mediterranean on Crete.

Dates: Sunday, June 14 - Sunday, June 21 2026

If you'd like to hear more, email our host artist Eva Hillered.

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3. Song of the Month: The Waymores' Singing Like a Byrd

Don Henry wrote this one with David Wommack. Not just my favorite song on the Waymores album, but one of my all-time favorite songs.

(Personally, I need this song RIGHT NOW!)

To listen, visit my website and scroll down. You'll see it. Play it, download it for 99¢ or stream it at Spotify, Apple et al.

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4. Support Texas Hill Country flood victims

The damage and loss and hurt in the Texas Hill Country is unimaginable. A great way to make a small difference there is to make a donation of any amount to The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

Click here and select “Kerr County Flood Relief Fund:”

(Every dollar goes directly for local support.)

Photo credit: Sergio Flores, REUTERS

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5. Recommendation: Two great novels by Niall Williams

Set in Ireland in a small town in West Clare, these books are gems I enjoyed immensely.

First read "This is Happiness"

...and if you love it, there's an equally wonderful sequel:

"Time of the Child."

Available everywhere.

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6. Poem-of-the-Month

Roland

The first rat in the no-kill trap
was a small one.
Kat said except for the tail
he was kind of cute.
Our friend Holly 
suggested we keep him
and name him Roland.

I re-located Roland to Arkansas,
and driving back across the bridge
I felt quite good about myself.
Soft and warm was my tender heart.

But the next one wasn’t half as cute,

and the one after that
all fat and hairy
and dead as a doornail 
there in the trap.
I'm ashamed to say, 
I felt no pity,

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7. Wisdom for our time

"The human condition continues as such."
—Guy Clark (1941-2016), songwriter

"Time will always reveal the truth."
The Buddha (480-400 BCE), teacher

 

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Till next month, Maximum Peace, Love, and Understanding,  

TK

PS Thanks always to the folks at Elixir Strings for keeping me playing the world's best strings for over 25 years.

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