Red Sails in the Sunset, the famous song penned by Irishman Jimmy Kennedy in 1935 has been recorded by dozens of artists in its 89-year history including Bing Crosby, Vera Lynn, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Earl Grant, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Frank Patterson, Engelbert Humperdinck and most recently by Van Morrison. 

That's an impressive list of musicians, and to top it off even The Beatles covered Red Sails in the Sunset.

Kennedy came from County Tyrone but lived for some time in Portstewart, County Derry and there he is said to have watched a ship with red sails called Kitty of Coleraine, itself named after an old song by Edward Lysaght, composed in the 18th century. There was also a steamship with the same name that made journeys from Coleraine upstream on the River Bann to Toome on the edge of Lough Neagh but this was not a vessel with sails. Interestingly, Bing Crosby also performed Kitty of Coleraine on film in 1949's Top O' the Morning.

The lyrics go:

Red sails in the sunset way out on the sea

Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me

He sailed at the dawning, all day I've been blue

Red sails in the sunset, I'm trusting in you

Swift wings you must borrow, make straight for the shore

We marry tomorrow and he goes sailing no more

Red sails in the sunset way out on the sea

Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me

Swift wings you must borrow, make straight for the shore

We marry tomorrow and he goes sailing no more

Red sails in the sunset way out on the sea

Oh, carry my loved one home safely to me

But Kennedy didn't just write this one well-known song, he also penned The Isle of Capri covered by Gracie Fields, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, Fats Domino and Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney; South of the Border first recorded by Gene Autry and later covered by Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Patsy Cline, Mel Tormé, The Shadows, Dean Martin, Fats Domino, Herb Alpert, Bing Crosby (lol), Chuck Berry, Willie Nelson and Chris Isaak; Istanbul (Not Constantinople) covered by Frankie Vaughan, Bing Crosby (as if you had to ask), Bette Midler and perhaps most famously by They Might Be Giants; Teddy Bears' Picnic covered by, you guessed it, Bing Crosby again and so many others; and that Hokey Cokey (widely disputed), please don't!

Of course there are many that I haven't mentioned, including Harbour Lights, first recorded by Frances Langford and later covered by Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Engelbert Humperdinck, Willie Nelson and Vera Lynn. What, no Bing Crosby for this one? Of course, Bing Crosby recorded Harbour Lights in 1950 reaching #10 on Billboard.

Jimmy Kennedy certainly has an impressive catalogue. Here, in this post are some images inspired by his songs.

There are some red sails from Ireland and Scotland, the Isle of Capri and lovely Harbour Lights from County Down.

Many of us will know the Swan Hellenic name but few will know that it has been given a rebirth, in 2020, with three new ships and varied itineraries that cover the globe.

The opportunity to learn, explore and in some cases contribute to knowledge is an important factor for many when choosing a holiday. Swan Hellenic have a long legacy of discovery tours, with their first cruise in 1954 organised for the Hellenic Travellers’ Club, which had been founded by Lord Byron in 1906. Head of Classics at London University, Francis Kinchin-Smith led the cruise and invited three guest lecturers for the 14-day cruise around the sites of ancient Greece.

SH Vega has just completed her inaugural circumnavigation of Ireland, stopping at Bantry, Dingle, Galway, Portrush and the Causeway Coast before heading to Skye in Scotland and down to Dublin allowing more people to see and experience Ireland's sights.

When I first see her from the Samuel Beckett Bridge looking down towards Dublin Port, she is moored at Cruise Berth 18 right beside the Thomas Clarke Bridge, more commonly known as the East Link and the Point / 3 Arena.