‘I have a Belfast property that has tripled in value’

EAMON Murray is the bodhran player with Beoga, the Irish band which co-wrote the international hit Galway Girl with Ed Sheeran. Beoga, which was set up 15 years ago and is based in Antrim, has been widely praised for its new take on traditional Irish music.

In 2017, Beoga performed with Sheeran at Glastonbury. The band also supported Sheeran in his Irish tour earlier this summer. Murray, who is from Antrim, now lives in Galway. Beoga’s own nationwide tour kicks off in late September. The band will support Damien Dempsey in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens this Saturday, July 14. For more information, visit beogamusic.com.

What’s the most important lesson about money which your career has taught you? Money peaks and troughs. You can have a really good spell and then have nothing for the next few months. So I’ve learned that it’s always important to have a rainy day fund.

What’s your favourite song about money? On the Nickel by Tom Waits. It’s a song about homelessness.

What’s your favourite Irish coin? The old punt coin. I remember having 10 or 15 of them in my pocket on holiday as a kid.

Apart from property, what’s the most expensive thing you have ever bought? Probably cars — I bought a nice family estate car a few years ago when we knew our daughter was on the way. I find cars frustrating — because of the cost of maintaining them and how quickly they depreciate in value.

What was your worst job? I’ve had a few. Working as a labourer one summer was pretty tough. When I was 17, I worked in a shoe shop — it wasn’t me at all.

What was your biggest financial mistake?

I bought a house in Belfast a few years ago which appreciated in value very quickly. I should have remortgaged it pre-Brexit to buy a property in the south of Ireland. I took it for granted that Brexit wouldn’t happen. However, the value of sterling has plummeted since and so the value of any money raised by remortgaging that property to buy one in the south would be less now.

What’s the most expensive piece of musical equipment you’ve ever bought? Drum kits which I’ve bought over the years.

If you could design you own euro note, whose face, would you put on it? Blindboy from the Rubber Bandits.

What was your best financial killing? My property in Belfast. It was a property in a really desirable area. I bought it during the recession, got it for a really good price — and it has nearly tripled in value since.

Are you better off than your parents? Probably — if you compare them to me when they were my age. My mother was a teacher. My father was a welder.

If you won the Euromillions, what would you do with the money? I’d clear my mortgage and buy property abroad. I’d have a select crew of 40 to 50 people and I’d keep sending them cheques for €10,000 every few months — and I’d do so anonymously.

iTunes or Spotify? I collect vinyl and I use both iTunes and Spotify.

What was the last thing you bought online? A pair of custom Nike runners for my wife.

Do you ever haggle? I love haggling abroad, though I usually end up buying something I don’t want. I’ve had good fun haggling in Morocco and Malaysia.

What’s the best advice you ever got about money — and who gave it to you? Never buy something that will put you under pressure. My father was always of that opinion. So I’ve always saved for cars over the years — rather than get them through hire purchase. Aside from my mortgage, I don’t have any loan that I’m paying back. My wife’s exactly the same.