Phil Coulter’s Christmas: We’ll have a huge tree, millions of lights

Where will you be spending Christmas Day this year?

Since we’ll be on the road with our national tour right up until a few days before Christmas and starting again a few days after, Geraldine and I will be looking forward to a quiet time at home in Bray. Our daughter Dominique, the only one of our six kids who is living in Ireland, will spend it with us – along with her partner Derek and our first grandson, Theo. A lovely family time.

How do you like to decorate?

I’m a sucker for Christmas and Geraldine is very artistic so the house will be beautiful, with a huge tree and millions of lights. There will be candles everywhere – but no balloons.

What is your favourite Christmas song?

In the Bleak Midwinter. It’s such a glorious song, with music by Gustav Holst and words by Christina Rossetti. The first person I heard performing it was my good pal Ralph McTell. He doesn’t mind that I robbed it from him and now sing it in our show.

What Christmas song would you happily never hear again, and why?

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. It’s such tacky song and a ham-handed effort to cash in on the commercial aspect of the holiday.

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Is religion an important aspect of Christmas for you?

Absolutely. As a kid growing up in Derry a special part of Christmas was the whole family – two brothers, two sisters and mum and dad – heading out in the dark to walk to 6am Mass. For me, it was the real start to a special day.

Best Christmas memory?

Some years ago I was doing my one-man-show through December in the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York. Our six kids flew in from the four corners of the world to join us for the holidays. It was a lovely family reunion in one of the best cities in the world to spend Christmas. Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral, ice skating in Central Park – warm memories.

Who’s on your naughty list?

People who are determined to try and take the ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas’. In the US, in particular, there is a growing trend to be politically correct and wish folks a ‘Happy Holiday.’ I just hate that.

And your nice list?

In recent months I’ve been working with a 40-piece choir we assembled from Ukrainian refugees now living among us – we recorded a version of Steal Away in Ukrainian. I’ve found them to be wonderful people making the most of a dreadful situation and I’ve come to have the highest regard for the decent Irish folks who have welcomed these victims of war into their towns and their homes, just as we Irish were welcomed in years gone by. They deserve great credit and applause.

Best Christmas present ever?

I recorded my first piano album, Classic Tranquillity, because I’d loved those gorgeous Irish melodies since I was a child. I wanted to treat them with respect and surround them with lush orchestral textures, so there was nobody more surprised and delighted than myself when the album became a huge hit and went to the top of the charts over Christmas. That was a real Christmas present.

Do you pass on unwanted Christmas presents? Tell the truth...

Some years ago, when the kids were small, we’d followed the family tradition of handing out all the gifts from under the Christmas tree. They were so excited about all the shiny new stuff piled around the floor. I looked down at my pile – it was six pairs of socks, new gloves and a CD. I suppose that’s what daddies get. Who could I possibly have passed them on to?

• Phil Coulter brings his Four Score and Then… tour to UCH Limerick on Saturday, November 25th and Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, on Friday, December 1st. Visit philcoulter.com for details of other tour dates throughout November and December.