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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,...

2024-03-16 Ciaràn Moran - The Grand Social, Dublin

It turns out that it's been almost a year to the day since I last caught Ciaràn Moran live.  That was at The Cobblestone in Smithfield back in March 2023.  There were a couple of gigs I meant to get to, but for one reason or another, I just couldn't get there.  This time though, the gig was in The Grand Social, a great venue just over by the Ha'penny Bridge, and I was not going to miss this show!

I've spoken in a previous post about how myself and Ciaràn came about, so I'll not rehash it here, but it's been an absolute joy to watch him progress the way he has.  I thought he was good when I saw him in the Underground, Dublin back in 2019 and I'm happy to say I wasn't wrong!

Tonight, in front of a packed house of adoring fans, friends and family, he put on a great show.  The setlist featured. amongst many others, Follow Your Soul (my favourite), Too Hard on Myself, Life Inner City and the beautiful Mother.  Also in the mix were covers of Irish standards Grace and The Fields of Athenry, all before closing the night out with a manic mix of Maniac 2000 and Freed From Desire!

Post gig, I grabbed a few words with the man himself, but he was in serious demand with the fans, so I packed up the gear and headed for home, singing all the way back to the car!

I've said this before, I'm sure I will say this again.  Go see Ciaràn live or, at the very least, go buy / stream his music.  You won't regret it.

Now for a few photos.







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