The Last Days of Dalymount – Dalymount Park – Live Review – 12/09/26
by Killian Laher

Dalymount Park, Dublin, Saturday 12th September

With the imminent demolition of Dalymount Park in Phibsborough, the old venue, most notable for hosting Bohemians matches but also numerous concerts down through the years, played host to an eclectic mix of performers over four days.

On Saturday, having missed Roisin El Sherif, we arrived in time to catch concertina player Cormac Begley, who treated the crowd to several tunes, including The Wheels of the World before finishing with To War, pointedly on the day that Donald Trump arrived in Dublin.  Next up was Gemma Dunleavy, who impressed with her socially conscious yet highly uplifting brand of pop tunes.  A poignant moment was her tribute to Terence Wheelock, Stop the Lights.  A polished set saw her unleash a cover of Bryan Adams’ Heaven before finishing with her signature tune, the infectious Up de Flats, which really got the crowd going.

Following this, Brian Brannigan performed with Tony Barrett of Sack, who played a rousing set of A Lazarus Soul songs.  Brannigan was in fine voice as he belted out Lemon 7s, Long Balconies and The Dealers, while also throwing in The Brilliant Trees’ Home and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.  The duo were joined by Brian Gallagher, Anton Hegarty and self-confessed Bohs fan Paul Page to play three of Whipping Boy’s best-known songs.  Brannigan did the songs justice on vocals on When We Were Young and an incredible We Don’t Need Nobody Else, but it was an absolute treat to hear Page’s textured guitar playing on these and a fine version of Twinkle.  Nobody wanted them to finish!

Bricknasty were up next, and their brand of weirdo funk rock felt a little incongruous after what had come before.  They played what sounded like a fairly continuous set with guitar, drums and saxophone.  While they certainly got the audience dancing, it was notable that the biggest cheer of their set was for the disco ball!

The headliner on the night was John Francis Flynn.  Joined by a somewhat jammy band, they played a set of expansive, droning folk rock.  They weren’t afraid to really push the boundaries of the genre with some heavy drumming and Velvet Underground-style scraping of the double bass.  Flynn is a formidable frontman and, as well as paying tribute to the late Shane McGowan and Paddy Keenan, he played a bit of flute himself.  The high point of the set was an avant-garde version of Mole In The Ground, where even a bit of saxophone worked!

All in all, it was a highly entertaining day, with a varied mix of performers, something for everyone.