a bit of bonhomie » launch

Robbie McDonald’s "Mighty Quiet"

Dermod — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:03:00 +0000

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!

Diary of a Man Launch Photos

Dermod — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:31:00 +0000

Some lovely photos taken by my sister of the launch on 19th September 2005.

A class act

Dermod — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 10:45:00 +0000

The launch was a great success – I couldn’t fault it if I wanted to. It was great to see so many of my friends there, including some I’d not seen in years. My folks stole the show, naturally, as they should. Marsha Hunt was spectacularly right for the occasion, funny and warm and perceptive, and she managed to break the tension in a very formal space. Declan Lynch and I both read from our books and got some laughs. No awkward moments, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, a really good crowd, Waterstones busy selling books in the corner, good wine and delicious food. A class act. Then drinks in the pub with my friends, then dinner with the Hot Press gang at a really nice restaurant called town on Kildare St. Then home on the Luas.

I could do more nights like that. Everyone in good spirits – yes, indeed, dare I say it, the word was bonhomie.