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Shay heard me playing the piano behind TV reception one day (on my break from the switch). He stuck his head in. He was with Johnny Logan and Jody McStravick. “Do you want a gig?” That invite changed everything. That night I began playing keys in his band. 1/ https://twitter.com/independent_ie/status/1380813592308678656">https://twitter.com/independe...
Paul Brady was the guest. The following week it was Maura O’Connell. Slowly, I ended up playing with the great and the good of Irish music over the next year. All because of that one invite. My playing improved exponentially because his band was incredible Seán Devitt, /2
Tony Molloy. I used not drink in those days and he christened me “The Milky Bar Kid”. I got a mention in his autobiography under that moniker, though he also called me “Robals” 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen"> /3
Then one day, he says to me “You know those lads you busk with? Would you take over the gig for me tonight?” That led to him managing my band for a years, producing our first demos, getting us on the Late Late Show. Within a year my TV thing had taken off. /4
A week or so back, myself and the remaining boys from the band put together a new “Covid” version of “Dancing in the streets” for his birthday. I texted his son Oisín because I didn’t hear back from him. Now I understand why. /5
I think of all the people who helped me and mentored me at that time, I owe my greatest debt to him. He helped establish me as a musician, he taught me how to do TV, he improved my songwriting and showed me how to produce, and soundtrack. Rest in peace old friend, rest in peacehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">
Deepest sympathies to his two sons Oisín and Fionán. Very hard to lose both parents so close together like that.
