Hanging With Henry

I spent some time with Henry McCullough recently and as ever, he was wonderful company. He had just been rehearsing one of his songs, 'Big Old River' with the Inishowen Gospel Choir, and the spirituality that was latent in the words was now powerfuly apparent. We were enjoying the afterglow when Henry told us the story of how he was 'saved' in Portrush at the age of 14.

He has seen the poster for a travelling tent show, and one of the guys was playing a beautiful Gibson guitar. That was invitation enough. And at the end of the service, when they were inviting people up the the front to be saved, Henry and his mate ran up there.

The narrative had become cloudy in Henry's memory over the years, but his sister and some other people had recently filled in the gaps. The punchline is that Henry was saved by none other than... Billy Graham.

"So you've got your passport stamped, then Henry?"

"I have indeed".