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Stars shine up close and personal!

In the heart of Connemara, there’s a quiet musical phenomenon taking place as a host of household names come to a small 60-seater pub for gigs that are special on so many fronts. Publican and promoter Michael Coyne tells DAVE O’CONNELL how he made his musical dream into a reality.

It’s not the size of the gun, they say – it’s the power of the shot. And deep in the heart of South Connemara, there’s a small but perfectly formed pub that is fast becoming a home-from-home to artists more normally associated with much bigger venues in much larger towns.

But for the music aficionados, if you like your live music in intimate surrounds – and unless you have the facility and the cash to book them for your own sitting room – you won’t get any closer than Coyne’s in Cill Chiaráin.

That’s all down to a passion for music – and for preserving the pub at the heart of the community – on the part of owner Michael Coyne, the fourth generation at the helm in the place the locals have known as Tigh Chadhain since the 1880’s, and those discovering its joys more recently as Coyne’s Gastropub & Pantry.

Michael has three special nights of music, under the Coyne’s Unplugged banner, coming up between now and Christmas – Ryan Sheridan on Friday week, November 8; Gemma Hayes on Friday, November 29, with support from Kate Dinneen, and Paddy Casey is in Coyne’s on Friday, December 20.

They follow in the musical footsteps of Lloyd Cole, Mary Coughlan, Sean Keane, Brian Kennedy, the Four of Us and more, who have all played to the 60 people packed into the venue where no seat is a bad seat.

Michael clearly doesn’t put on these music nights for the money because, if he was charging a multiple of the ticket price, it still wouldn’t make economic sense. But he does it for the love of the music and community – and for him both are intertwined.

“I love music. I’m not a promoter, I know nothing about sound equipment, but I just know that I have a special place – and this was a dream that came true,” he says.

But without Mary Coughlan, this would never have happened.

“Mary is the one that basically said ‘you’ve got something special; I’d love to play here’. She was having lunch, sitting outside, the summer before last.

“She was away on tour after that, so it took a while to make that happened and, in the meantime, the Four of Us came and Paddy Casey and Brian Kennedy – and then Mary was here in May. When she started singing, the audience just melted.”

There’s a story about the first appearance of thee Four of Us – now down to two, with brothers Brendan and Declan Murphy – because they were selling vinyl at another gig, writing little notes on the vinyl, and as Michael queued for his copy, he said to them: “the note you can write for me is ‘we’d love to play your gastropub’.”

And they did – twice.

They, like the succession of other artists and audiences, were enchanted by the pub’s unique landscape.

“You’re surrounded by candles, you’re looking out at the bay – next stop is America – and the people who are there have such respect for the artist as well. It may not change you, but it will definitely make you think about where you are and you’ll know that you’ve had a very special experience,” says Michael.

But this isn’t just a romantic notion either. Even if it’s not about the money, there is still a huge amount of work that goes into making it happen.

That’s down to people like his sound engineer Chris Duignan; Echowise Insulation, who help out with the sound and PA; his wife, and award-winning chef, Annemarie doing the food.

“I’m lucky enough that I’m able to do all this,” says Michael. “It’s for the love of music and love for the artists. It was never going to be about money. If I was doing it for money, then it’s just a job. This is something I love; I’m delighted that the artists love it – and that the audience gets it too.”

Next up on stage on Friday week is Ryan Sheridan, the Monaghan-born singer/songwriter known for his energetic live performances and distinct blend of folk, rock, and traditional Irish music.

He made his name with his debut album, the Day You Live Forever, in 2011, featuring hit singles like Jigsaw and Stand Up Tall.

Since then, he has continued to grow his reputation at home and abroad – and last year he was won both the ‘Overall Artist’ and ‘Best Male’ categories for his song Fine Wine at the 19th Annual Acoustic Music Awards.

His new album, Time, is in the offing – and he follows up his Coyne’s appearance with a night in Ballycotton, one in Whelan’s in Dublin, and then a ten-night tour of Germany.

Gemma Hayes comes to Cill Chiaráin on the crest of a wave because – after a decade away from the limelight – her new album, has catapulted her right back to the top.

The Tipperary-born singer, now domiciled in West Cork after years out of Ireland, burst onto the scene with her first album, the Mercury Prize-nominated Night on My Side, back in 2002.

Blind Faith is her sixth studio album — her first in ten years after taking family time out with her two young children.

The album was conceived and written shortly after she emigrated home from London in the early months of the Covid pandemic, and lockdown delayed its release…until now.

Already it has been widely acclaimed as one of the albums of the year.

Supporting Gemma Hayes on the night is Kate Dineen, the Kerry singer/songwriter now based in Dublin.

A past winner of the Noel Brazil songwriting competition for her song Great Escape, she’s a particular favourite on the festival circuit, having played K Fest, the Next Big Thing Festival 2024, Battle for the Burning Lake, 96/1 and the Cork Folk Festival.

She was named #Hotfor2023 by Hot Press Magazine and was selected to play at the Next Big Thing Festival in 2024.

She has released her second EP as well as latest single Doomscrolling earlier this year.

It’s 25 years since Paddy Casey’s life changing Amen album was first release – an anniversary he is marking by re-releasing it on limited edition vinyl.

At the time, Amen went triple platinum and sold more than 50,000 copies, establishing Casey as one of Ireland’s brightest prospects.

His second album, 2003’s Living, became one of the biggest-selling albums of all time in Ireland. One in every fifteen Irish homes owned a copy.

His third album, 2007’s Addicted to Company Part 1, made inroads in the US, and by 2008 he was artist of the week on MTV, with a 20ft-high billboard of his face in New York’s Times Square.

Then came the recession and cutbacks at Sony saw his early champions leave and Casey decided also to jump ship. But he continued to flourish musically away from that spotlight – and his most recent material shows that he’s lost none of his edge.

Tickets for all three gigs before Christmas are available from Coyne’s Unplugged page on Eventbrite – and given the reality that Michael’s musical passion outstrips his financial pragmatism, there will be more of the same in 2025!

Eleanor Shanley and Mike Hanrahan are confirmed for early in the New Year, and Mary Coughlan already committed to a return in 2025, and others too – although Michael’s dream gig will never happen now.

“The one I really wanted to get, the dream, was Sinead O’Connor. I think she’d have been amazing here.

“She was one of the most spiritual people – one of the most misunderstood people. I think she’d have love it.”

Pictured: Michael Coyne…living the musical dream.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune:

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