Kieran Beville

The Miami Showband Massacre 50 Years On, Remembering a Tragedy that Shook Irish Music By Kieran Beville On the evening of July 31, 1975, one of Ireland’s most popular showbands, the Miami Showband, was targeted in a brutal attack that would forever change the country’s musical landscape and highlight the deadly realities of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Fifty years later, the massacre remains one of the most harrowing and controversial episodes of that troubled era — a chilling intersection of music, politics, and violence. This article revisits the massacre, its impact on the Irish music scene, the ongoing quest for justice, and how the memory of the Miami Showband endures today. Who Were the Miami Showband? Formed in Dublin in 1962, the Miami Showband quickly rose to prominence as part of the thriving showband scene — a uniquely Irish musical movement combining pop, rock, country, and dance music. Showbands were the heartbeat of Ireland’s social life, especially through the 1960s...

  Limerick’s Unsung Guitar Maestro Dave Keary   By Kieran Beville   The name Dave Keary (legendary guitarist from Limerick) is a name that resonates deeply among musicians across Ireland and well beyond. In an industry often dominated by flash and fleeting trends, Keary’s story is a reminder that sometimes mastery wears a modest face, and sometimes, the most profound influence comes from the person just out of the spotlight’s glare. Dave is a man who dwells in the shadows of the spotlight and his musical journey is astonishing. The Sound of a City Dave Keary’s musical journey mirrors the evolution of Ireland itself—a nation finding its voice in a modern world while never forgetting its ancient roots. Limerick, with its fusion of urban grit and pastoral calm, offered a rich soundscape. Like many musicians of his generation the young Keary soaked up what was being played in smoky pub sessions until his career became defined by subtle brilliance rather than spectac...

     Ozzy Osbourne Pro-Israeli Propagandist By Kieran Beville   While tens of thousands of Palestinians were being slaughtered in Gaza by Israeli forces—entire families erased, hospitals bombed, and children buried beneath rubble—rock legend Ozzy Osbourne lent his name to a campaign to defend Israel’s cultural reputation. In doing so, he positioned himself not as a bystander to genocide, but as an enabler of the machinery that sanitized it. The former Black Sabbath front-man has, for decades, cultivated an image of anarchic rebellion. Yet in October 2024, amid the worst mass killing of Palestinians in modern history, Osbourne aligned himself with Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) , a pro-Israel lobbying organisation disguised as a benign arts collective. He signed an open letter denouncing cultural boycotts of Israel, parroting the Israeli state’s narrative of victimhood, and ignoring the unspeakable carnage unfolding in Gaza. His sup...

  When Words Sing The Evolution of Poetry from Chant to Screen By Kieran Beville “Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” ( Rita Dove , former U.S. Poet Laureate)   In this article I focus on the question, what is poetry? Let us consider the poetic voice from ancient chants to TikTok verses — have we lost something, or gained more? What is the difference between poetry and prose? A story is told (perhaps urban legend) of t he famous Irish playwright and wit, Brendan Behan who was invited many years ago to Oxford University, to participate in a debate on this topic. His opponent spoke eloquently for almost two hours (seems rather lengthy) on the important distinctions and the quality of prose. Behan then rose to his feet and promised to be brief. He recited this rhyme. There was a young fella named Rollocks Who worked for Ferrier Pollocks As he walked on the strand With a girl, by the hand The water came up to his ... ...