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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,...

2023-10-07 Féile Liam O'Flynn - Laoise Kelly and Tiernan Ó Duinnchinn & Ban Phiobaire Uilleann Chill Dara - McAuley Place, Naas

I followed my Friday night at Christy Moore in the Moat Theatre with a trip the following day to McAuley Place, to see Ban Phiobaire Uilleann Chill Dara and then Laoise Kelly accompanied by Tiernan Ó Duinnchinn perform for Féile Liam O'Flynn,

So, first up were Ban Phiobaire Uilleann Chill Dara featuring Úna Ní Fhlatharta, Patricia Keegan, Suzanne Kelly and MaryAnn Ryan, and we were treated to some wonderful music on the uilleann pipes. The sound of one set of pipes is quite thrilling, but to have four sets all at once would make your head spin.  It sounded beautiful in this old chapel.





Next up was the wonderful pairing of Laoise Kelly on harp and Tiernan Ó Duinnchinn on uilleann pipes.

I'm not sure how to best describe their performance, but wow! comes to mind.  The harp and the pipes work so well together and again, the acoustics of this old chapel gave extra life to the music.

If you get the chance to catch Laoise and Tiernan performing, you definitely should!







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