More Grammy nods for Moloney

By Eileen Murphy

You’d think it would get boring after a while: the constant critical accolades, the admiration of millions, the Grammy Awards, etc. But for Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains, these things are just part of the job. But hey — somebody’s gotta do it, right?

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock this past week (and who could blame you, with all this nasty snow flying about?) Moloney will again slip into a tuxedo and head to the Grammy Awards. He and the band have been nominated in the Best Traditional Folk Album category for "Long Journey Home," the soundtrack to the PBS miniseries. The album is a collaboration between the Chieftains and artists like Sinead O’Connor, Elvis Costello, Vince Gill and Van Morrison. The Chieftains are also nominated in the category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Shenandoah," on which Morrison supplied the singing.

The nominations mark the first honors for Moloney’s newly formed Wicklow Records label. Of course, with Moloney and his brilliant musical sense at the helm, these won’t be the last.Talk on corners

Those of you who’ve been worrying about the state of affairs between Posh Spice Victoria and her footballer friend, David Beckenham, will be happy to know that they’re keeping busy as they await the birth of their first child. The slinky singer says that she and Davo "sit in a room and talk for hours."

So, what do they talk about? Well, it ain’t current events.

"We don’t have the television on, we don’t read magazines or watch videos," says Posh. "We sit there and talk and talk." Ah, to be a fly on the wall . . .

And it seems to be a week for singers to reveal their innermost thoughts to the press. Edele Lynch, of the Irish girl group B*Witched, told the Sunday World that she’s scared of the dark.

"I hate staying on my own in the dark, so I usually leave the bathroom light on in the hotel bedroom. I’ll tell myself that everything is OK, and say my prayers and I’ll usually fall asleep during them . . .

Boyz will be boyz

(until they’re men)

Hey, all you rabid BoyZone fans out there: take a deep, shuddering breath. Your most favoritest singing group has announced that reports of their imminent demise are just a load of, er, bollocks.

Well, of course group frontman Ronan Keating would never actually use such a crude word. What Ro actually said was, "Never mind all the headlines about BoyZone breaking up — the only place we’re going is back on stage with a new show we hope you’ll all enjoy."

The Boyz are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming greatest hits album and making plans for their stage show. They’re also planning a full-fledged assault on America’s music charts, so look for them to spread a little sunshine in the States toward the end of the year. If you’re unacquainted with the Dublin hunks, look no further than U2’s new video, "The Sweetest Thing." They’re the guys who jump on the back of the car sometime before the elephant. makes his appearance. (And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, go watch some remedial MTV.)

How suite it is

Sentimental fans of the late Jackie Gleason’s "Honeymooners" television show, which is seen in reruns even on other planets (where they get a big chuckle out of lines like "To the moon, Alice!") might want to make a pilgrimage to New York’s Park Central Hotel. It was here that The Great One lived and ran his production company while filming the classic TV show 40 years ago, and the hotel is commemorating that fact by naming their new lobby bar after him.

And in addition to raising a toast to the late, great funnyman at Gleason’s, and hanging around to see if his hunky actor grandson, Jason Patric, will stop by, overnight guests will also have a chance to see New York via public transportation: the hotel will provide $3 MetroCards. Remember, screen alter ego Ralph Kramden was a man who drove a bus.Her heart will go

on (to Dublin)

No one ever lists Dublin among the great romantic cities of the world, possibly because it’s usually damp and chilly and is home to Jury’s Cabaret. But certainly it has a dreamy, sentimental side — we get all misty thinking about tea in the Shelbourne and shopping on Grafton Street.

Happily, superstar singer Celine Dion agrees with us — about the romance thing, anyway. She recently revealed to the Sunday World that she has a soft spot for Brendan Behan’s hometown.

"I was in Dublin representing Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest," she said. With her was longtime manager Rene Angelil, with whom she had fallen madly in love.

"One of the great memories is our first kiss there," she recalled. "It was our first real kiss, romantic kiss, so Dublin will remain very special in my heart."

Cheeseburger in Paradise

U2 singer Bono has revealed that the highlight of 1998 was, for him, the concert in Belfast where he was joined onstage by soon-to-be Nobel Prize winners John Hume and David Trimble.

"To be the filling in the John Hume-David Trimble sandwich was a great honor," he said, presumably with a giggle.