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2024-12-02 Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - The Academy, Dublin

Christmas came early this year for me.  Never did I think that  Me First and the Gimme Gimmes  would be playing Dublin, and never did I ever think I'd get to shoot one of their shows! Well, that all changed last week when they played the Academy in Dublin on a cold, damp, Monday night! I've been a fan since 1997, when one of the lads I worked with, brought in a copy of Have a Ball . It was love at first listen! I did manage to catch them live back in 2019 when they played the O2 Forum in Kentish Town , London, and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped, but it paled in comparison to Monday night in Dublin. So, how did it come about?  Well, back in 2013, I interviewed the band for a now defunct Irish website called Chunk.ie .  Over the years, I've stayed on their PR roster, so I took a chance and emailed my contact there.  Lo and behold, a few emails later and all was sorted, I was down to photograph the show. How was it?  Brilliant, amazing, fantastic,...

2022-11-04 Mairead Carroll - Moat Theatre, Naas

Every now and then I have a choice of gigs to go to...  This night, I could have driven into Dublin to see Meryl Streek in the Workmans Club, or I could stay local and go see Mairead Carroll in the Moat Theatre in Naas.

Well, it was a no brainer.  The weather was terrible and, well, I felt terrible too, so I figured I'd stay local.

Mairead has played the Moat Theatre before, but always as support, never as the main attraction.  Tonight, would be her debut headline performance and she didn't let anyone down!

I'm not quite sure how to describe here music.  It's not folk, it's not trad, it's not country or rock... It's. well, it's very light and soft and calming.  Mairead is a poet who, only relatively recently, has started putting her words to music. It's a very relaxing affair!  Her songs are very personal, and, at first listen, you might think them melancholy, but then you hear the joy and the love in them, and you start to see them for what they are, songs about the joy of life.

I'd a great time at the show. Pre gig, I finally met with up Mairead for the first time.  It was strange, we'd chatted online, and I'd photographed her before, but this was the first time we'd physically met.

Support on the night was from Sarah Buckley.  I've known Sarah for about 6 years now, and I still haven't managed to get a good photograph of her performing.  One day I will, one day...

Anyway, on to the photos, first up is Mairead:








And now Sarah:





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