Doonican started performing in his home town and featured in the first ever television broadcast from Waterford. He then joined a band which toured Ireland playing the drums. In 1951 he moved to England to join another group, The Four Ramblers who toured and performed on BBC Radio shows broadcast from factories.
He eventually went solo and had a radio show as well as performing concerts and cabaret. In 1963 he was booked to appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. As a result of this performance, he was offered his own show on BBC television, lasting for over twenty years and moving to Saturday as its popularity grew. It featured his relaxed crooner style performance sitting in a rocking chair, as well as a number of comic Irish songs, notably "Paddy McGinty's Goat", "Delaney's Donkey", and "Rafferty's Motor Car", on which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. He often wore a cardigan which became a trade mark, and was sometimes compared to American singer Perry Como though Doonican has claimed his main influence was Bing Crosby. As a variety show, there were a number of other acts featured and performers such as Dave Allen had early exposure on the show.
The Palladium performance also kick-started his recording career. Between 1964 and 1973 he was rarely out of the UK Singles Chart, his greatest successes including the singles "Walk Tall", "The Special Years", "What Would I Be", "If The Whole World Stopped Loving", and "Morning"; and the albums 13 Lucky Shades of Val Doonican, and Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently. He also sang the theme song to the film, Ring of Bright Water.
He stopped performing in 2009 and spent a lot of his free time in Spain (where he had a second home).
Doonican's daughter wrote two books entitled Wired to the Moon and Fear of Custard under the name Sarah Kavanagh. Both stories are related to the performance entertainment world.
Paddy McGinty’s Goat
Val Doonican Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fell in for a fortune, and he bought himself a goat
Say's he, "sure, of goat's milk I'm going to have me fill"
But when he brought the nanny home, he found it was a bill
All the young ladies who live in Killaloo
They're all wearing bustles like their mothers used to do
They each wear a bolster beneath the petticoat
Mrs Burke to her daughter said, "listen, Mary Jane
Who was the lad you were cuddling in the lane?
He'd long wiry whiskers a' hanging from his chin"
"'T was only Pat McGinty's goat," she answer'd with a grin
Then she went away from the village in disgrace
She came back with powder and paint upon her face
She'd rings on her fingers, and she wore a sable coat
And I'll bet your life she didn't get those from Paddy McGinty's goat
Now Norah McCarthy the knot was going to tie
She washed out her trousseau and hung it out to dry
Along came the goat and he saw the bits of white
And chewed up all her falderals, and on her wedding night
"Oh turn out the light quick!" she shouted out to Pat
For though l'm your bride, sure l'm not worth looking at
I had two of everything, I told you when I wrote
But now I've won another naught through Paddy McGinty's goat
Mickey Riley he went to the races t'other day
He won twenty dollars and shouted, "hip hooray"
He held up the note, shouting "look at what I've got"
The goat came up and grabbed at it and swallowed all the lot
"He's eaten me banknote," said Mickey, with the hump
They went for the doctor and they got a stomach pump
They pumped and they pumped for that twenty dollar note
But all they got was ninepence out of Paddy McGinty's goat
Now old Paddy's goat had a wonderous appetite
And one day for breakfast he ate some dynamite
A big box of matches he swallowed all serene
And out he went and swallowed up a quarter paraffin
He sat by the fireside, he didn't give a hang
He swallowed a spark and exploded with a bang
So if you go to heaven you can bet a dollar note
That the angel with the whiskers on is Paddy McGinty's goat
Val Doonican's song "Paddy McGinty's Goat" is a comical tune that tells the story of an Irishman, Patrick McGinty, who purchased a goat anticipating to have an endless supply of milk but, unfortunately for him, received a bill instead. The lyrics are filled with irony and satire that explain how the goat's unintentional misdeeds cause trouble and hilarity in the small village of Killaloo. The song highlights many adventures of the goat, including ruining a bride's wedding dress, gobbling up a twenty-dollar note won at the races, and eventually exploding after consuming dynamite. The goat is portrayed as being uncontrollable and repeatedly causing mayhem to the villagers.
The song also delves into the life of the ladies in the village, who are described wearing bustles beneath their petticoats, just as their mothers did. They rely on the goat's antics to explain away any of their own ill-deeds. The lyrics cite a scenario where Mary Jane, the daughter of Mrs. Burke, was caught cuddling with an unkempt, long-haired stranger. However, her response was that it was "only Pat McGinty's goat," she was much relieved to have an alibi for her unseemly rendezvous.
Overall, the song uses humor and irony to paint a picture of how the village relied on the goat's mishaps to cover minor social indiscretions, while also highlighting the goat's mischievous behavior and insatiable appetite.
Line by Line Meaning
Now Patrick McGinty, an Irishman of note
Let me tell you the story of Patrick McGinty, a distinguished Irishman
Fell in for a fortune, and he bought himself a goat
He became wealthy and purchased a goat
Say's he, 'sure, of goat's milk I'm going to have me fill'
He thought he would have a lot of goat's milk to consume
But when he brought the nanny home, he found it was a bill
To his surprise, the goat was actually just a burden and not a milk-giving nanny
All the young ladies who live in Killaloo
The girls of Killaloo village
They're all wearing bustles like their mothers used to do
They all dress like their mothers with bustles underneath their petticoats
They each wear a bolster beneath the petticoat
They wear padding underneath to enhance their body shape
And leave the rest to providence and Paddy McGinty's goat
And trust fate and Paddy McGinty's goat for everything else
Mrs Burke to her daughter said, 'listen, Mary Jane
Mrs. Burke spoke to her daughter, Mary Jane
Who was the lad you were cuddling in the lane?
She asked her who she was hugging in the lane
He'd long wiry whiskers a' hanging from his chin'
He had long, wiry beards hanging from his chin
'T was only Pat McGinty's goat,' she answer'd with a grin
Mary Jane replied grinning, explaining that it was only Paddy McGinty's goat
Then she went away from the village in disgrace
Mary Jane left the village in shame
She came back with powder and paint upon her face
But later returned with makeup on her face
She'd rings on her fingers, and she wore a sable coat
She had rings on her fingers and wore a luxurious sable coat
And I'll bet your life she didn't get those from Paddy McGinty's goat
And it's safe to say that she didn't get those from Paddy McGinty's goat
Now Norah McCarthy the knot was going to tie
Norah McCarthy was going to get married
She washed out her trousseau and hung it out to dry
She washed her bridal trousseau and let it dry outside
Along came the goat and he saw the bits of white
The goat came and saw the white fabric of the trousseau
And chewed up all her falderals, and on her wedding night
And ended up chewing up all her important things, including on her wedding night
'Oh turn out the light quick!' she shouted out to Pat
Norah asked Pat to turn off the light quickly
For though I'm your bride, sure I'm not worth looking at
She was ashamed that she was not worth looking at
I had two of everything, I told you when I wrote
She reminded Pat that she had two of everything before
But now I've won another naught through Paddy McGinty's goat
But she had nothing now due to Paddy McGinty's goat
Mickey Riley he went to the races t'other day
Mickey Riley attended a race the other day
He won twenty dollars and shouted, 'hip hooray'
He won twenty dollars and yelled 'hip hooray!'
He held up the note, shouting 'look at what I've got'
He boasted of his fortune while holding up the note
The goat came up and grabbed at it and swallowed all the lot
The goat snatched the note and swallowed it all
'He's eaten me banknote,' said Mickey, with the hump
Mickey was angry that the goat swallowed the note
They went for the doctor and they got a stomach pump
They called a doctor and used a stomach pump to retrieve the note
They pumped and they pumped for that twenty dollar note
They tried their best to get the twenty dollars back using the pump
But all they got was ninepence out of Paddy McGinty's goat
But unfortunately, all they got back was ninepence
Now old Paddy's goat had a wondrous appetite
Paddy's goat had an interesting food habit
And one day for breakfast he ate some dynamite
One day, he even ate some dynamite
A big box of matches he swallowed all serene
He even swallowed a big box of matches without any fuss
And out he went and swallowed up a quarter paraffin
He went out and swallowed a quarter of paraffin
He sat by the fireside, he didn't give a hang
He sat by the fire even though it was dangerous
He swallowed a spark and exploded with a bang
He eventually exploded into pieces after ingesting a spark
So if you go to heaven, you can bet a dollar note
If you go to heaven one day, you can guarantee that
That the angel with the whiskers on is Paddy McGinty's goat
The angel you see with whiskers on would be Paddy McGinty's goat
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BERT LEE, R P WESTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind