Irish Sunday Mirror

I’d have to quit & get a 9 to 5 if I wanted to start a family

Dempsey tells of financial struggles

- BY DEMELZA de BURCA

Damien, 43, is one of the country’s most recognised voices and has been a regular on the airwaves since his 1997 hit Dublin Town.

But the bard of Donaghmede, who is gearing up to release his eighth studio album next week, has confessed he is still struggling financiall­y.

He said: “I wouldn’t be able to have kids at the moment to tell you the truth.

“It’s a precarious old life the music, it wouldn’t be that good financiall­y.”

The Dubliner, who said he is dating someone “on and off ”, added: “The only money you make is from live shows.

“Maybe if I was in a better financial position down the road, if I had a wife and kids now I’d have to give up music and get a nine to five job like lots of my peers.

“Some very talented people have had to settle down and get a nine to five or leave Ireland as they can’t afford to play music any more.

“The rising costs in Dublin are pushing Damien singing all the artists out of the city.” In tonight’s episode of hit RTE show Who Do You Think You Are? history buff Damien explores his family tree. It leads him to 19th century Fall River Massachuse­tts to find out about the grim lives of his ancestors who worked there in the cotton mill industry. Speaking about the episode, he said: “It’s a barrel of laughs. It’s industrial schools and workhouses, cabin ships and child labour and suicide and alcoholism, so it’s great craic. It’s a fairly rough aul history to be honest and a lot of poverty. “There was a lot I didn’t know. To get a historian in to tell me the real story was very enlighteni­ng.” His voyage of discovery also leads to Letterfrac­k in Connemara where he learns the harsh realities of what life was like for his grandfathe­r who was incarcerat­ed in its notorious industrial school. Also on his father’s side, Damien learns about the heroics of his great grand-aunt Jenny Shanahan who fought alongside James Connolly in the 1916 Rising. He said: “Women seemed to be written or airbrushed out of history so I wanted to highlight her story.”

The rising costs in Dublin are pushing all the artists out of city DAMIEN DEMPSEY ON TOUGH PROFESSION

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 ??  ?? STRUM LUCK HARD WORK Damien Dempsey is following his passion
STRUM LUCK HARD WORK Damien Dempsey is following his passion

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