Mags GarganMags talks to Rónán Johnston about his path through music and faith
Music and faith are the two great passions that have influenced Rónán Johnston’s path in life and, although he found fame through the former, it has never dulled his commitment to the latter.
You can almost identify a person’s age from how they first came across Rónán; whether it is from presenting Borderline, an RTÉ Saturday morning show for teenagers in the 1980s, working with Zig & Zag and Dustin on The Den in the 1990s, vocal coaching on You’re a Star and team captain on The Lyrics Board in the noughties, or more recently as a DJ on Spirit Radio and the music producer for the Moone Boy comedy TV series on Sky1.
However, all through his career in television and producing music, faith has been a constant inspiration in Rónán’s life, leading him to co-found the Emmaus Christian music band and community as a result of his experience of the charismatic renewal movement in Dublin. The band has released 15 albums of worship and contemporary Christian music, and Rónán has become an international conference speaker and teacher on praise and worship.
It all began for Rónán – also affectionately known as Rojo – growing up in a musical family in Cabinteely, Co. Dublin.
“It was all about music from an early age,” Rónán says. “I played piano from the age of six and started writing songs from the age of seven. Dad and granddad were both musical, but everyone in the house played and we would sing in the car – music was part of who we were.
“I was an altar boy and part of a local folk group, and faith was also very much part of what I grew up with,” he says. “But my faith was enlivened in my late teens when I went to a charismatic renewal meeting. It was a massive movement back then, and from my point of view it really brought alive my personal relationship with Jesus. It was a very powerful experience for me and being a musician, the musical aspect of the movement was very attractive to me.”
Charismatic renewal
From their involvement with charismatic renewal, a group of friends got together and formed Emmaus to play music and pray together. “There were about 19-20 of us and we were very driven by music at first, but it developed into something more prayerful and became a lay Christian community,” Rónán says. “While doing that, I had started working in RTÉ as a presenter and then writing music for Nighthawks and Jo Maxi.
“But I was always doing something Christian or something with a worship flavour as well. I might have been producing Joe Dolan or thinking about something else in my head, but I had worship in my heart and I was always trying to bring the same passion to both things.”
Rónán’s passion for praise and worship has led him to write a book setting out in simple, direct language the meaning and purpose of worship.
“The heart of the book was about meeting with God in worship,” Rónán explains. “In the early days, charismatic renewal had a massive impact on Masses, with many folk groups forming out if it. The movement has died out now and you don’t have those big worship ministries anymore and, as Catholics, we can be passive and sometimes leave things to the experts.
“Beautiful music is being played by other people and it is hard to get people to join in worship, but it is essential to get people connected and praying to God in worship and praise, and music is every bit as much prayer or contemplation,” he says.
Rónán says he felt he needed to write something “half-way between devotional and a read that drew you to God, but also slightly instructional.
“I’m saying this is where it comes from. This is what it is about. Taizé is doing it, Gregorian chant is doing it; praise and worship is a thread running since the beginning of the Church and we are missing a trick if we think we can turn up at Mass and listen to readings and receive Communion, but not see all worship means thanking somebody. Even the word Eucharist comes from the Greek work for thanksgiving.”
Rónán is married to Joanne, a session vocalist and primary school teacher. They have two children, Naoise and Siún, and they live in Co. Wicklow where Rónán has a music studio.
He says the children are more artistic than musical, but Joanna is his favourite session singer and she appears on most of his albums. “When I am working in the studio in the house, I might ask if I could borrow her for 20 minutes, and she will stop making sandwiches or whatever she is doing. It is very organic in that way, moving from one world into another.”
No clash
Rónán says he has never really felt a clash between working in the music world and his devotion to his faith. “When I was on tour with bands, I would look for where I could attend Mass and people got used to that,” he says.
“I was always asking myself how can I present the love of God in the best way here? The Church has gone through such a difficult time. You might see a televangelist screaming for money and people would wonder is that what you believe in? Or some terrible story could come out about clerical child abuse, and people wonder is that what you believe in?
“I try to be authentic and not too defensive, and explain that it is about having a relationship with God.
“There are times out on road when I would feel lonely and think am I the only person in the world who believes in this stuff.But I always have my wife and family, and I have a good community around me.”
*Rónán Johnston’s book Trust, Surrender, Believe, Receive; an Adventure in Praise and Worship is available from Veritas, Footprints or his website www.rojomusic.com/book