DJ Tommy Action recalled in images

TOMMY Godfrey, AKA ‘ DJ Tommy Action’, (right) featured heavily in Nicole Kierans’ exhibition ‘ The Hidden Lens’ in Listoke Gallery, Drogheda, recently, a one-night-only showing of black & white photos taken by her late grandfather Gerry Hughes from Pearse Park.

Gerry was a postman and noted showband singer, and enthusiastic amateur photographer. His granddaughter Nicole, an art student at NCAD, came upon a bag of old negatives taken by Gerry in the 1960s, and as well as developing them, mounted an exhibition.

Former well-known DJ, Tommy Godfrey, was one of the town’s first DJs back in the Swinging Sixties, along with Noel Clinton, Dermot Finglas and his brother Franklin Dee. Tommy played many of Drogheda’s venues such as St Columba’s House on Laurence Street, Bothar Brugha and others. Tommy loved music and played all the pop records of the day, including Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, The Walker Brothers, Roy Orbison and The Beach Boys.

Tommy and Gerry were great friends, hence he featured so prominently in The Hidden Lens exhibition. Tommy worked in Reilly’s shop, Bothar Brugha (now The Golden Bowl) for over 30 years, where he was a very popular shop assistant with the nurses and nuns.

Cllr Frank Godfrey, who attended the exhibition, congratulated Nicole and wished her all the best in her future artistic career. ‘ This young woman quite clearly put an enormous amount of work into The Hidden Lens and her granddad Gerry would have been very proud of her.’