1 week agoBlogsComments Off on Wimbledon 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Raducanu vs Sabalenka headlines Day 5 as Alcaraz, Fritz, Kartal and Norrie all feature
WIMBLEDON is heading towards the business end at the All England Club.
Emma Raducanu faces her toughest test yet as the British star takes on No1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Centre Court this evening.
Before that, defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz features against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Taylor Fritz, Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie are also all in action, while Ben Shelton will finish his second round tie against Rinky Hijikata after it was suspended late last night.
1 week agoBlogsComments Off on My kind son was murdered by his best friend over ‘gay song’…shocking secret about his past made my blood run cold
WHEN teenager Sachin Hawkins secured a place at Hull University to study education, his proud mum was thrilled her kind-hearted son was a step closer to fulfilling his dream of becoming a special needs teacher.
But that bright future was snatched away one evening in his student kitchen, when he was brutally murdered in a savage attack by the person he’d classed as a close friend.
True Life StoriesShira Javaid says her son Sachin Hawkins was pursuing his dream to become a special needs teacher[/caption]
True Life StoriesSachin was studying a four-year degree at Hull University[/caption]
Sachin was stabbed to death by his housemate Syed Hussain-Kazi over a petty row about musicHumberside Police
Following a petty quarrel over a song, Sachin’s housemate Syed Hussain-Kazi, 26, belittled him for having ‘gay’ music taste before suddenly plunging a six-inch kitchen knife into his chest.
Paramedics fought to save Sachin, 19, but he tragically succumbed to the fatal wound.
Speaking to The Sun, his heartbroken mum Shira Javaid, 52, says she’ll never forgive Hussain-Kazi for cruelly and ruthlessly taking her beloved son’s life for “a reason so silly as music”.
Shira, a former eating disorder nurse specialist, says: “Sachin should’ve been safe in his uni house.
“Every day my heart aches for my son. He was my world. Now he will never achieve his dream of being a teacher and I’l never see him graduate or get married.”
Shira was a single mum to two children – Sachin, and her daughter, Aimee, now 18, three years younger than her brother.
The family were originally from Catford, south east London, but in 2012, when Sachin was eight and Aimee was five, Shira and her kids emigrated to New York.
She says: “Being a single mum in London was hard and I needed more support. My mum lived in New York so we moved to be with her.
“Sachin was excited to be with his grandma. He was always the apple of her eye.
“But he always wished to return home one day. He was a very British boy, through and through.
“He also loved playing pranks on the family. He would terrorise his grandma. He was the joker and truly the light of our life.”
As Sachin got older he volunteered teaching young children. Many had special needs, which inspired him to dream of becoming a special needs teacher.
Sinister warning
In 2022, aged 18, Sachin was accepted onto a four-year degree course studying special education teaching at Hull University, back in the UK.
After moving into halls of residence in his first year, he made friends with a student down the corridor, Hussain-Kazi.
True Life StoriesShira says her son was a ‘British boy through and through’[/caption]
Shira says: “His dad, my sister and family were there in the UK too, so I knew he wouldn’t be alone.
“Sachin and Syed grew close. He was very happy. We video-called every day.
“I planned to move back one day which gave me some comfort.
“One day Sachin told me his friend, Syed, had been in trouble with the law when he was very young.
“I said, ‘Son, please be careful.’ But Sachin told me I shouldn’t judge and how everyone deserves a second chance in life.
“Sighing, I’d clearly brought my son up amazingly. He had such a kind, big heart. And I only heard lovely things about Syed, which put me at ease.”
‘Special friend’
True Life StoriesShira was a single mum to two children – Sachin, and her daughter, Aimee, now 18[/caption]
True Life StoriesShira thought her son was having the time of his life at university[/caption]
True Life StoriesSachin was a popular student in his second year at uni[/caption]
In 2023, during their second year, Sachin and Hussain-Kazi moved in together along with some other university pals.
He would FaceTime his mum and sister every day.
Shira says: “Sometimes I’d spot Syed in the background. He was usually in Sachin’s room, playing games and hanging out, and he’d occasionally wave hello.
“I remembered how Sachin had police checks before getting accepted into uni, so thought Syed must’ve had one too.
“Whatever trouble he’d been in must’ve not been anything serious. I was happy my son had made a special friend.
“Soon after, Sachin bought his plane ticket to come home for Christmas. He was planning to stay for two weeks.”
But in November 2023, one month before he was due to come home, Sachin wasn’t feeling well and had been texting his mum all week as usual.
Sometimes I’d spot Syed in the background. He was usually in Sachin’s room, playing games and hanging out, and he’d occasionally wave hello
Shira Javaid
Shira texted her son to say he could order dinner from her Uber Eats account for him and his flatmates.
The next day, as she was getting ready for work, she realised Sachin hadn’t opened the message or replied.
“I thought it was odd,” she recalls. “Then suddenly I got a call from my sister. She was breathing heavily, and said that Sachin had been stabbed by his flatmate Syed. And he didn’t survive.
“As I heard those two words, my world ended. Sobbing, I rushed to my daughter and told her Sachin had been killed.
“She dropped to the floor crying too. My mum heard the commotion. We all howled together, in disbelief and agony.
“Over the coming days police in Hull kept us in the loop. They told me Sachin did nothing wrong and he wasn’t in any pain. But I needed more answers.”
Desperate fight
MEN MediaHussain-Kazi was arrested outside their student digs on the street, whilst flatmates tried desperately to save Sachin’s life[/caption]
After that, Shira spent every day on the phone with the US embassy in the UK, the mayor and schools, fighting to get Sachin’s body back.
Her family set up a GoFundMe page and strangers, as well as friends whose hearts Sachin had touched, raised over £24,000.
A month later Sachin’s body was flown over for the funeral.
In April 2024, Shira flew back to the UK with her daughter and faced Sachin’s killer at Hull Crown Court.
She says: “We finally pieced together what happened. Just 15 minutes before I’d texted Sachin about dinner, he’d been cleaning the kitchen that afternoon with Syed whilst playing music.
“Syed called Sachin’s music taste ‘gay’ and that he was a ‘f*ggot’.
“They began arguing and suddenly, Syed lunged at Sachin, pushed him against the kitchen door and stabbed him in the chest with a six-inch bladed kitchen knife, yelling, ‘Who’s the b**** now?’
“The other housemates rushed in and saw Syed stood over Sachin clutching a large kitchen knife.
“Syed was arrested outside on the street, whilst their flatmates tried desperately to save Sachin’s life.
Thinking of my son’s last moments, and how he did absolutely nothing to deserve it, broke me
Shira Javaid
“But as ambulances arrived, Sachin was pronounced dead.
“Thinking of my son’s last moments, and how he did absolutely nothing to deserve it, broke me.
“On top of that, Syed showed no remorse on the stand, and kept saying he couldn’t remember, or that he didn’t mean to do it.
“It tore me apart that he couldn’t just admit what he did. I wanted him to heal for himself and accept treatment and help.”
It was during Syed’s trial that shocking evidence emerged about his obsession with knives.
He had previously terrified another first-year student flatmate when he “started swinging a 30cm knife” in front of her face. She fled to her room and locked herself in before moving in with a friend.
He also had previous convictions for two offences, including a knifepoint street robbery in 2019, with a kitchen knife.
Shira said: “Aimee and I heard of his history of knives and how there had been another incident before at halls with him waving knives near students.
“I realised it must’ve been what Sachin had briefly told me about.”
Justice
In April last year Syed Hussain-Kazi, 26, of Hardy Street, Hull was found guilty of murdering Sachin and sentenced to life, with a minimum of 18 years.
Sentencing him, Judge John Thackray referred to Hussain-Kazi’s fascination with kitchen knives and said he had ‘needlessly and mercilessly’ taken Sachin’s life.
He added: “Physically he was no match for you. He was seven stones and you are 12 stones when you pushed him to the door and stabbed him.”
Shira says she felt a wave of relief as Hussain-Kazi was led down to the cells.
“I was relieved he couldn’t hurt another person,” she said. “But my son should’ve been safe in his home at university.
“He robbed my son of his life over something so ridiculous like a song.
“As I left Hull after the sentencing, it was heartbreaking as I felt like I was leaving Sachin.
I miss how he was unapologetically in love with me, too, never afraid to give his mum a kiss or hug in front of his friends.
Shira Javaid
“Now I’m back home in New York, and every day my heart aches for him.
“Sachin will never achieve his dream of being a special education teacher. His sister has no brother and my mum has no grandson.
“I miss his jokes, his pranks and his laughter.
“Most importantly, I miss how he was unapologetically in love with me, too, never afraid to give his mum a kiss or hug in front of his friends.
“I feel so lucky to have had a son like him. I want to keep his memory alive, and stop knife violence that is destroying families.”
True Life StoriesSachin was ‘unapologetically in love with his mum’, never afraid to give her a kiss or hug in front of his friends[/caption]
True Life StoriesShira is sharing her story in a bid to stop knife crime destroying more families like hers[/caption]
True Life StoriesShira doesn’t want her son’s death to be forgotten[/caption]
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1 week agoBlogsComments Off on A van for lovies who are triggered easily? Dublin City Council’s ‘Nee Naw’ panders to mollycoddling – make it go away
IT must be a p**s-take. Has to be, surely? I’m still rubbing my eyes in disbelief. Go on out of that. Yiz are messing.
But no, it’s true, all of it.
PR HandoutThe Nee Naw is Dublin City Council’s latest ludicrous spend[/caption]
Dublin City Council is rolling out a “welfare van” called the “Nee Naw” to provide the pampered generation with a “safe place” to go should they feel “unwell”, “overwhelmed” or just want to “regroup” on a night out.
Yes, a van for lovies who are triggered easily. Maybe the music was too loud, or you got a bad pint, or you lost your comfort teddy?
Bless their fractured souls. The modern world has officially crawled up its own arse.
The Nee Naw is a pilot initiative funded by the Department of Justice.
It all starts tonight when the Nee Naw (who came up with the name It’s how babies describe the sound an ambulance siren makes) parks up between 10pm and 3am on the capital’s busiest strip, Camden Street in the south of the city.
The Nee Naw will be there every Friday and Saturday night for a six to eight-week period.
If it proves successful, it could become a permanent fixture across the land. God, no. Make it go away, at speed.
The Nee Naw will be staffed by a medic, a welfare officer and two security officers, one male, one female.
Why do they need bouncers on board a comfort vehicle?
Those inside promise to provide “non-judgmental support to anyone who needs it”.
‘SAFE PLACE’
Aw. How sweet.
A press release announcing the project explained that the name, Nee Naw, “was chosen to make the service feel more approachable and easier to identify”.
The world of fluffy pink clouds floats overhead.
It went on: “It’s making sure help is visible, stigma-free and easy to access.”
The Nee Naw creators have obviously done their homework. There must be a demand for a “safe place” among the grown-up babies who venture out of an evening.
If there wasn’t they wouldn’t be doing it, right?
‘JUST GOT ON WITH IT’
Excuse the cynic in me. I’m of a generation that rolled up its sleeves and got stuck in when things got tough.
We didn’t go crying to mammy at the first hint of feeling overwhelmed.
We just got on with it.
But we now live in an era where the youngsters simply can’t cope with the complexities of life.
They can barely cross the road, or tie their shoelaces, without needing reassurance and are forever “having a moment”.
‘REALITY IS TOO TERRIFYING’
Probably because they spend the majority of their time staring at a screen they fail to appreciate what’s around them: The real world, that thing you must confront and navigate, alone much of the time.
Yes, it’ll beat you up, but it’ll put iron in your soul.
“Reality is too terrifying a thought. I need my ‘safe place’,” they’ll whimper.
And we give in to this sniffling nonsense.
Dublin City Council’s Nee Naw is a product of the world-gone-mad, one that panders to the pathetic whims of a generation mollycoddled from the day they were born and turned into shivering excuses for human beings because of it.
NO CRAIC CROWD
A Nee Naw. Just contemplate it in silence for a moment. A bloody Nee Naw.
I was at a gig the other week in The Workman’s Club beside Bono’s hotel, the Clarence.
The place was packed with the generation I’m disparaging. The band, a trio of young women from Chicago called Horsegirl, rocked.
The place should’ve erupted. Everybody should’ve been dancing. I was. But I was alone bouncing up and down.
The crowd stood still, as if the music had no effect. What’s wrong with you people?
Maybe I’m just out of touch. An old man who knows nothing of modern ways. Maybe it’s me who’s pathetic.
DOLLOP OF RIDICULOUSNESS
Fine. But the Nee Naw is a giant dollop of ridiculousness.
Historians will look back on this time, shake their heads and decry how we overindulged the weakest generation ever.
When it comes to Dublin’s night-time economy, the thing that needs serious surgery, a Nee Naw is as useful as an empty pint glass when you’re parched.
It’s the licensing laws they need to concentrate on.
The previous government promised an overhaul, but of course nothing happened. De rigueur.
Night spots remain in a strait jacket as a result of their indolence.
NANNY STATE
The new lot in power will fail too because they’re scared stiff to allow clubs and bars to open until 5 or 6 in the morning, if they want.
The Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan is a man of action. He supports the modernisation of the liquor laws, but many others in government are like a snuggle of sloths when it comes to action.
They worry about the demon drink. The anti-drink lobby holds sway in cabinet and it is holding back Dublin’s night-time potential.
Until we elect a government that treats adults like adults and allows them to decide how and when they’d like a drink or a dance, we’ll continue to live in a nanny state that thinks spending cash on bloody Nee Naws is worthwhile.
VILE VYLAN
BOB Vylan’s repulsive anti-Israel chants at Glastonbury and Kneecap’s support for a soon-to-be-outlawed group called Palestine Action are the subject of police investigations in Britain.
If they had said what they said, or wore what they wore, here, in Ireland, the cops wouldn’t have launched an investigation, because we don’t have hate speech laws here and you can say pretty much what you want, no matter how revolting.
Which is what free speech is all about. No?
MAYA MAKES IT WORTHWHILE
OVER the course of 58 days this June, July and August, millions of people will take out their brains to tune into the blancmange emptiness that is Love Island.
Meathead meets the cosmetically ludicrous. The only saving grace is Maya Jama, who sparkles even when she’s not on screen.
Shutterstock EditorialSparkling Maya Jama is Love Island’s only saving grace[/caption]
An Irish girl entered the villa this week too. Exciting. Her name is Bilikis Azeez and she’s an influencer.
Of course she is. Who among the pampered generation isn’t an influencer?
THE POOR REDNECKS
US President Donald Trump managed to force his $3.3trillion Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate this week.
The package will CUT taxes for wealthy Americans, while cutting healthcare programmes, especially Medicaid, leaving 12million more (poor) Americans uninsured.
ReutersDonald Trump managed to force his $3.3trillion Big Beautiful Bill through the Senate this week[/caption]
The bill will also CUT, by 20 per cent, food stamps for 40million who live in poverty.
The bill also rows back federal government supports for clean energy.
Tax credits for building wind and solar energy projects will be axed, as will grants for Americans to buy heat pumps and electric cars.
All those cuts will be used to pay ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to deport more “illegals” and build more of the wall on the border with Mexico.
Billions of dollars will be diverted away from social programmes to build more jail cells and Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield.
The bill is black and white theft from the poor to give to the rich.
All those poor rednecks who voted for Trump are going to see what their choice really means in the months and years ahead.
VLAD DIRT ON TRUMP
AT a time when they need it most, America has shamefully turned off the tap on military aid to Ukraine.
Since the beginning of June, Russia has been engaged in ferocious nightly barrages of Ukraine’s cities.
Ukraine needs air defence systems to survive the withering bombardments. And it is running out of them at a fast rate.
Which makes Trump’s decision to stop the supply of patriot missiles to defend Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa astounding.
As is his mean decision to withhold vital targeted artillery that Ukrainian forces need to hold off the Russian barbarians on the front lines.
The decision makes it all the more plausible that Putin has dirt on Trump, and he is a Russian asset at the top of the American tree.
How else can you explain it?
BIG PLANS, NO CHANGE
AN Bord Pleanala is now An Coimisiun Pleanala. Won’t make a blind bit of difference to the speed with which decisions are arrived at, mind.
It was revealed this week that the Government forked out an extraordinary €76,921 on the name change.
They splurged €22,041 on new signage and a further €18,450 on consultancy about the signs.
The spend also included €18,450 on a radio ad campaign; €5,380 on a new sign installation cancellation fee (whatever the hell that is); €6,363 on newspaper notices and €3,637 on the change of name on the corporate seal and rubber stamps.
That’s some wad of cash on a frivolity. But it’s what we expect from those in charge of the public purse, largesse
HOTTEST SPORT ON WHEELS
MOST of Europe – us NOT included, of course – has sweltered in a heatwave for much of the past two weeks.
Temperatures topped 43°C in parts of France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, breaking June records by some distance.
GettyThe world’s best athletes will compete in Tour de France[/caption]
Even across the water, England sweltered in temperatures that topped 34°C. Wimbledon had its hottest-ever opening day.
Here we had to make do with a high of around 23°C.
Pleasant, but not hot.
Thankfully, on Wednesday, the super-high temperatures abated across much of the continent.
The world’s greatest athletes, professional cyclists that is, must be breathing a sigh of relief.
The Tour De France begins tomorrow. Temperatures in Lille, home to the first leg of the 21-stage, 3,320km slog across France, reached 37°C earlier this week.
BEST BIKE RACE
When they take on the 184km parcours tomorrow, the cyclists will compete in a more manageable 25°C. Grand.
The two best cyclists in the world right now, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar and Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard will fight all out to be top dog.
Pog is the favourite, at 2/5 with the bookies, but Vingegaard might be worth a flutter.
He’s a respectable 5/2 to land the yellow jersey.
Whoever wins, this year’s instalment of the greatest bike race in the world promises to be an enthralling affair.
Settle in for three weeks of guaranteed drama and a free trip around the glorious sights of France.
1 week agoBlogsComments Off on Russia pounds Kyiv in ballistic missile attack in ‘terror and murder’ blitz as Trump makes ‘no progress’ on Putin call
A WAVE of Russian drone attacks struck Ukraine overnight just hours after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ended with “no progress at all”.
Explosions rocked Kyiv in the early hours of Friday as air defense units battled drones across both banks of the Dnipro River.
ReutersAn explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Kyiv[/caption]
APFires broke out in at least 13 locations across five districts[/caption]
APExplosions rocked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Friday[/caption]
Fires broke out in at least 13 locations across five districts, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
The Svyatoshynskyi and Solomanskyi districts were among the hardest hit, with blazes on rooftops and in courtyards, and injuries feared.
The barrage came hot on the heels of Trump’s phone conversation with Putin, in which the Russian tyrant reportedly once again refused to back down from his war aims.
“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” the US President told reporters outside a Washington air base on Thursday.
The nearly hour-long call, which also touched on the Middle East and cultural diplomacy, appeared to achieve little beyond hardened positions.
While Trump emphasized the need to end military hostilities, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin was firm, stating: “Russia will continue to pursue its goals.”
He added that Moscow “will not back down” and is focused on addressing what it calls the “root causes” of the war — a thinly veiled reference to NATO expansion and Western military support for Ukraine.
The call took place amid a growing outcry over the US decision to halt some critical arms shipments to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles and precision-guided munitions.
Trump defended the pause, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden.
He said: “Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped to speak with Trump about the weapons pause, warning that the delay could embolden Moscow.
Speaking from Denmark on Thursday, he said: “In Russia, only Putin makes decisions, which is why we need a meeting at the leadership level if we want to have peace.”
But peace seemed more distant than ever as the death toll mounted.
In Poltava on Thursday, two people were killed and 47 injured in a Russian airstrike that also ignited a fire at a military draft office — part of what Ukraine called a targeted effort to disrupt its mobilisation efforts.
Another drone attack earlier in the week struck near a recruitment centre in Kryvyi Rih.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have captured the border village of Milove in Kharkiv region, opening a new front in the northeast. Ukraine has not confirmed the report.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
1 week agoBlogsComments Off on Inside Ireland’s Midlands Prison as ‘virtual tour’ shows behind bars reality for criminals with barber shop & library
A NEW virtual tour of one of Ireland’s biggest prisons has been launched to give an insight into the reality behind bars and the work of officers.
The fascinating insight into the Midlands Prison – where some of the country’s most dangerous sex offenders are housed among others – brings you through the committal process, inside cells, work, education and exercise areas.
Lags who have been locked up have access to fitness and education facilitiesPR HandoutThe prison is currently holding a major recruitment drivePR Handout
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan hailed the project as he launched a fresh recruitment drive for 300 prison officers.
He said: “This innovative project not only greatly enhances the public’s understanding of the work that goes on within our prisons, its release now also allows potential future recruits to come and tour their potential future workplace.”
Available on the Irish Prison Service website, the tour brings you on a step-by-step guide with a virtual officer explaining the structured life and the day-to-day activity within the system.
You can see inside a cell, as it’s explained how lags have access to a phone, along with items such as a kettle and TV.
It also walks you through the gym and prison yard, where inmates exercise while being monitored.
Other areas shown are the barber shop, the kitchen, the metal workshop, the library and surgery.
The virtual prison officer talks through rules and also explains how life in jail works.
This includes the education available, and the pay rates carried out by enhanced, standard and basic regime prisoners, ranging from €2.54 a day to €1.
The Irish Prison Service, told how the tour highlights the work done by officers, giving an insight for potential recruits.
Director General Caron McCaffrey said: “The Recruit Prison Officer campaign is a vital opportunity to attract individuals who are committed to public service and rehabilitation, and who will play a central role in maintaining safe and secure prison environments.
“The incredible work of Prison Officers is complex and often hidden from public view, but our annual competition and the launch of the virtual tour allow us the opportunity to let the public see the teamwork, integrity, potential, safety and support that Prison Officers not only offer to prisoners, but to their colleagues as well.
“I wish to commend all those involved in delivering the Virtual Tour, an innovative and informative project that highlights the professionalism and dedication of our staff across the prison estate.”
‘REWARDING CAREERS’
Applications for the role of a prison officer opens onpublicjobs.iefrom July 4 and will run until August 1.
Minister O’Callaghan added: “The Government is committed to ensuring that all prison officers are empowered and equipped to lead rewarding careers that make a real difference.
“This year’s campaign is a vital part of a much wider investment in our prison systems.
“Prison officers are at the heart of our justice system and have the potential to positively impact the lives of some of Ireland’s most vulnerable people, as well as Irish society as a whole.”
A virtual guide shows viewers around the prison’s library, barber shop, and inside cellsPR HandoutThe new virtual tour shows viewers inside the life of those behind barsPR HandoutThe Midlands Prison is home to some of Ireland’s most notorious criminalsPR Handout
1 week agoBlogsComments Off on ‘I can’t come over to this bloodbath’ – Irish gig promoter reveals top music stars’ fears of playing gigs here in 70s
A CONCERT promoter has told of the huge battle to convince terrified global stars to come to Ireland during the brutal 1970s.
While Northern Ireland was devastated by The Troubles, violence in the Republic — including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings — also persuaded many to stay away.
Peter Aiken has told of the battle to convince global stars to come to Ireland in the 70sDarragh KaneViolence here — including the 1974 Dublin bombing — persuaded many to stay awayAP Photo/Peter WinterbachDon McLean said ‘I don’t want to go to Belfast, there’s a war up there’Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums
A new podcast from The Irish Sun details Ireland’s extraordinary journey from a cultural gigging backwater to a live entertainment juggernaut in just 25 years — and how major music festivals became a crucial part of the calendar.
The first episode of Fields of Dreams reveals how Ireland’s huge 1970s youth population started to turn their backs on the stifling Church/State combo which had ruled their parents’ lives.
Promoter Peter Aiken has brought the likes of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen to Dublin, but his father Jim was on a one-man mission in the 1970s to open Ireland — north and south — up to huge international acts.
Peter said: “In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people’s eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing.
“There was very little scene in Belfast because everything closed there at five o’clock. Like when he put on Rory Gallagher — Rory came every Christmas.
“But when Rory came in 1972, the concerts were at 11 o’clock in the day, so people would be home by 4pm. People were terrified. The whole of Belfast, there was a ring of steel all around it.
“You got searched getting into the town. And at five o’clock, that all shut down. So anything that was inside the city was shut.
“All the cinemas were gone at that time too. We had Willie Nelson coming one time and he read something in his local paper and he actually rang the office himself and said, ‘I can’t come over to this bloodbath’.
“You had to have power of persuasion, and he’d been with the manager of Don McLean and he said, ‘You have to come to Belfast’.
‘THERE’S A WAR UP THERE’
“But he said, ‘I don’t want to go to Belfast, there’s a war up there’.”
American Pie singer McLean did come under Aiken’s watch, as did Elton John, Rod Stewart and many others.
But when it came to going north of the border, there were often obstacles and headaches.
He said: “I remember Dad telling me that he was bringing in Merle Haggard one time, I think 1978, and I happened to be there in the Europa Hotel in Belfast.
‘AT LEAST WE’RE TOP OF SOMETHING’
“I wouldn’t say it was with pride, but you’re saying, ‘Do you know the hotel you’re staying in is the most bombed hotel in the world?’ At least we’re top of something!”
In the course of our podcast, future musicians, including Tom Dunne from Something Happens, Steve Wall from The Stunning, The Radiators from Space star Pete Holidai, Sharon Shannon and Fiachna O’Braonain from the Hothouse Flowers, outline their first steps into music in a country that was then rooted firmly in the past.
Dunne said: “The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland.
“It’s really remarkable that when bands like the Beatles and the Stones were having number ones worldwide, we were getting ‘Limerick, You’re A Lady’ and really weird songs about funerals. Ireland was like this sad nation.”
GROWING REBELLION
The whiff of growing rebellion was inspired by folk, punk and rock music.
The Showbands era was coming to an end by the mid-70s as new technologies began opening the country up to outside influences.
Dunne said: “I wouldn’t have given them the time of day. I couldn’t see any real distinction between the worst of country and western and the showbands. It was just all palaver, you know, men dressed as Indians.
“It was just a pile of sh*te, and it never, even for a second, beeped on my radar.
‘PART OF SOME MAD VISION’
“It was part of some mad vision of Ireland that had got nothing to do with me whatsoever.”
Dunne was among those who credited Celtic rock band The Horslips with saving Ireland’s youth during a decade which slowly began to take shape.
“In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people’s eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing.”
Peter Aiken
Horslips were the first Irish band to really take control of their own affairs, from album covers to production, and blazed a trail for others to follow. But they went further than that.
Bass player and singer Barry Devlin said: “There was a funky fun club where you got a joke record at Christmas. And you know, if you wrote in to the lovely ‘Samantha’, who was the secretary who took care of all these things, you would get a reply.
LETTER WRITERS
“You always got a reply. But the lovely ‘Samantha’, unfortunately, was me and Eamon Carr.
“And so we spent a lot of time writing return letters to lovesick teenage boys!”
Mary, who thought everybody could sing until she went to school and realised she might have real talent, said: “On a Sunday afternoon, after the pubs closed and Daddy had come over, and all the men and the neighbours had come in, singing sessions and musicians all — Daddy always had instruments in our house.
‘PUSHED AT THE FRONT’
“We didn’t have a lot, but we always had plenty of instruments.
“I was always the one pushed at the front to sing.”
Promoter Philip Flynn put on Ireland’s first weekend outdoor folk festival in a field in Co Sligo, an event that was copied all over the country in the years to follow.
“The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland.”
Tom Dunne
It was an early template for the major events of the future which would become summer staples, like Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic.
‘THERE WAS NOTHING’
The Boys of Ballisodare Festival founder said of his 1977 event: “We didn’t need planning permission, we didn’t need a licence, we needed nothing because there was nothing.
“What you did need in Ireland at the time was a dance licence, but that only applied if you wanted to do dancing.
“I have a significant memory of Christy Moore standing on the hill in Ballisodare with myself and my brother Kevin on the Monday after the first festival, just saying how great it was.
“He said every parish will be at this now. And he was right.
“People, when they see something, think they can replicate it. And they have an overblown view. People thought I was a millionaire.”
The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts
Willie Nelson said ‘I can’t come over to this bloodbath’Gary Miller/Getty ImagesRory Gallagher was happy to perform despite the TroublesMark Sullivan/Contour by Getty ImagesTom Dunne from Something Happens joined our podcast to outline his music journey
