Kieran Beville

  Rock Rising A Limerick return with an international reputation On Friday, November 6, University Concert Hall will welcome back a show that has travelled considerably further than its Limerick connections might suggest. Rock Rising – The Supreme Classic Rock Show returns to UCH at 8pm, bringing with it a repertoire of songs that have crossed generations, continents and musical fashions. What began with strong roots in the Irish rock scene has developed into an internationally touring production, with Germany in particular becoming an important part of its story. Limerick has never been short of musicians capable of making a great sound. What is remarkable is seeing a rock show with strong Limerick connections build an audience far beyond Ireland, including a substantial following in Germany, and then return to the city from which part of its story began. This is no attempt to prove anything to Limerick. Rock Rising has already earned its credentials. November’s concert is a...

  David Hockedy The Guitarist’s Guitarist In music circles around Limerick, certain surnames carry a resonance beyond family history. They summon fond memories and the kind of devotion to musicianship that cannot be easily manufactured. The Hockedy name belongs firmly in that tradition. Yet while older generations still speak warmly about Johnny Hockedy and his place in the musical life of the city, the story today belongs unmistakably to David Hockedy, a guitarist whose reputation has travelled far beyond the banks of the Shannon. To watch David play is to understand something essential about the difference between a guitarist and a musician. Plenty of players can reproduce notes. Plenty can mimic famous solos. David does something altogether rarer. He inhabits the music completely. There is authority in his playing, but also intelligence, restraint and emotional force. The guitar never feels like an accessory in his hands. It becomes the narrative voice. A family rooted i...

The Limerick Musical History Group will mark Culture Night with a free public tribute to the late Limerick songwriter Johnny Duhan on Friday, September 18, beginning at 7 pm at his childhood home on Wolfe Tone Street.   The late Limerick songwriter Johnny Duhan, best known for writing ‘The Voyage’, will be honoured on Culture Night, Friday, September 18, with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at his childhood home on Wolfe Tone Street, Limerick, at 7 pm. The free event is open to all and will bring together musicians, artists and members of the community to celebrate his life, songs and Limerick roots.   Duhan began his career as frontman of Granny’s Intentions before becoming one of Ireland’s most respected songwriters. His songs were recorded by Christy Moore, Mary Black, Dolores Keane, The Dubliners, and Mary Coughlan.   Johnny died suddenly in November 2024, aged 74. The Culture Night gathering will bring his music home to the Limerick street where his rem...

Culture Night Comes Home for a Limerick Legend Songwriter/musician the late Johnny Duhan is to be honoured with commemorative plaque at his childhood home. Culture Night has always been about more than opening the doors of galleries, theatres and museums. At its best, it brings culture out onto the streets and reminds us that the artistic life of a city belongs as much to its houses, neighbourhoods and memories as it does to its formal institutions. That idea will find poignant expression in Limerick this year when one of the city’s most important songwriters is remembered at the place where his own creative journey began. On Friday, September 18 , the Limerick Musical History Group (Cha Haran is chairperson) will unveil a commemorative plaque at the childhood home of the late Johnny Duhan on Wolfe Tone Street . Beginning at 7pm , the Culture Night event will celebrate not only Duhan’s achievements as a singer, songwriter and author but the local influences that helped shape a bo...

  Rocky’s ‘Commercial’ Success A Venue with a Vision Rocky O'Shea, proprietor of The Commercial On Catherine Street, in the heart of Limerick's Georgian Quarter, The Commercial has become far more than a pub. It is now recognised as one of the city’s most important cultural spaces, bringing together musicians, artists, performers and audiences in an environment where creativity is encouraged to flourish. At the centre of that transformation is proprietor Rocky O’Shea, whose contribution extends well beyond running a successful licensed premises. To appreciate O'Shea’s place within Limerick’s cultural life, it is necessary to look not only at what happens inside The Commercial but also at the wider role the venue now plays within the city’s creative landscape. Through live music, performance, collaboration and artistic initiative, it has become an important part of the infrastructure that sustains contemporary culture in Limerick. A pub with a cultural purpose The ...

Buskers Bring O’Connell Avenue to Life Cha Haran (Organiser) A spontaneous gathering of Limerick buskers brought music, singing and a welcome sense of life to the city. Sometimes the best events are the ones that are barely events at all. There are no committees, no glossy programmes, no carefully curated line-ups and no lengthy funding applications. Somebody has an idea, puts out the word and people turn up. That was very much the spirit on O’Connell Avenue on Friday 21 st of August when Limerick man Cha Haran invited buskers and musicians to gather at the Crescent and simply play. And a host of veteran musicians came. Singers arrived, guitars appeared, drums and congas and before long the area had become an informal outdoor stage. The weather, mercifully, stayed dry and people began to stop. Some listened for a few minutes before continuing on their way. Others stayed. There was singing, conversation, applause and, inevitably, that wonderful moment when the distinction between...