One of the most enjoyable features of being back in Dublin is that I finally get to feel involved in its cultural life. No longer am I the foreign correspondent for Hot Press, in more ways than one. Through them, I got to meet Robbie McDonald, an engaging American singer/songwriter who has produced an album that hasn’t stopped being played on my iPod. Mighty Quiet is a collection of his songs that he wrote after his long-time lover, an Irishman, left to join a monastic order. They met in Dublin in 1993, on the one of the most celebratory Gay Pride march I ever took part in. I flew back from London for it, having just emigrated. Through the efforts of many people, including my mother, Phil Moore, homosexuality had just been decriminalized.Robbie and his lover spent eleven happy years together, and this album is a wonderful and poignant account of a love affair, that, the instant I heard it, felt at once in tune with my heart. You can hear 2 minute snippets of each track on the album here, or if you have iTunes, you can download the album here.

He’s launching the album tomorrow, Friday 12th January, in Bewley’s Theatre, Grafton St, on his birthday, at 8.30pm. I’ll be there, please come!