Local star’s back on the road

TOP radio presenter and entertainer, Ronan Collins, is making a welcome return to Northside venues with two events lined up for later this month.

Ronan will host a special evening with friends and clients of Audi-Lab, the hearing specialists from Raheny, at the Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross, on Thursday, June 18, and is performing a music night with his band at the Regency Hotel on Saturday. June 27.

It was on May 30, 1979, when Ronan first broadcast on the new RTE Radio 2 station. He started on air during the afternoons and then later the breakfast show, before moving to RTE Radio 1 six years later.

Ronan currently presents his popular music programme on RTE Radio 1 from 12 noon till one o’clock during the week and research shows that, despite the explosion of new radio stations and formats, he continues to attract a large audience every day.

And he’s happy to continue to bring what he calls

‘an oasis of calm’ to the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of listeners throughout the country.

“Time has passed so quickly,

? he says.

“However support for the programme has never faltered. It’s humbling to know that so many listeners continue to tune in, every day, to hear their favourite songs or to get a special mention.

“The success of the programme is the fact that the listeners choose the music. As long as they continue to listen I will be delighted to play their requests.

“I also believe I offer the listeners an hour in their daily lives, where they can get away from politics, business and scandals and enjoy nice music.

?

Born and reared in Phibsboro, Ronan’s neighbours included top entertainers like Brendan O’Connell from the Cadets showband and Butch Moore, Ireland’s first Eurovision singer.

Dickie Rock was in Cabra, just a short distance away, as was Brush Shields who came from Broadstone. But despite his strong Northside roots Ronan started his career in entertainment across the Liffey as a drummer with Southside band

‘The Others’.

“My mother’s brother, Tom Lowry, was a drummer and when he moved to Canada, he left a beautiful set of drums in my grandmother’s,

? he explains.

“I was instantly attracted to the drums and taught myself to play them. I was asked to join The Others in the

’70s and I was chuffed.

?

The Others featured the Tubbert brothers – Alan and Ken – as well as the late Mick Carwood who sang and played keyboards at night and was a sports writer with the Sunday Press during the day.

“It was my first experience of travelling away from home,

? Ronan recalls.

“All be it to the Southside, where the majority of the band’s gigs were booked. However I did my bit in terms of equality by bringing in two guitarists from the Northside to join.

?

Like every performer working in local venues, Ronan always aspired to go on the road with one of the big bands and he joined Dickie Rock’s band in 1976. At that time, Dickie was attracting up to 3,000 revellers to his shows in dancehalls all around Ireland.

“It was hard work and great fun, although I did not like all the travelling. You’d meet the band at 3pm and head off to a venue in Donegal or Kerry and get back home at five the next morning.

“I recall that during the winter months between 1976 and 1979, I never saw daylight.

?

Ronan says that playing to thousands of people in those big venues and meeting some of the best musicians in the country was a great experience, and one he will always cherish.

“However I had to stop as I was married with a family,

? he adds.

“Being on the road is really a young person’s game, particularly if you are a drummer.

“If you are a singer, you simply put on the suit and sing. If you are a drummer you have to load up the kit, set up on stage and then keep time for every tune or song played that night.

?

In recent years, Ronan has returned to the hotels, clubs and halls to perform with his

‘Reelin’ in the Showband Years’ show, which tours around the country in January and February, and he takes to the stage with his personal shows during the summer months.