Funds pour in for Dublin band robbed during tour of Italy

A YOUNG Dublin band who had their van broken into while touring in Italy have been given a boost by fans who donated almost €7,000 to help cover their losses.

The Eskies, a folk group with members from Donaghmede and Tallaght, were staying in Milan when on the morning of March 15, money from the ticket sales, fees and merchandise from their entire UK tour, along with a Macbook, a Zoom recorder, a GoPro camera and their tour planner, were taken from the van.

The band tried to remain focused, however, and in a post on their Facebook page said they would continue the Italian tour.

“To say we are all feeling fairly gutted right now is an understatement” they said. “Spirits are after taking a bit of a hammering but we’ve a day off in Padova today and then tomorrow we start a run of five straight gigs so it’s on and up.”

Michelle Geraghty set up a ‘gofundme’ account to help recoup the losses after she saw a number of comments from fans saying that they wanted to help out. When she started the page, Michelle didn’t know how it was going to be received.

“I thought if every fan threw in €5 it might help get a couple of hundred quid,” she said. “But at the same time I knew they had a big following and were well loved.”

The Eskies contacted Michelle privately and told her how much it meant to them.

“They said they were in complete shock; that as they day went on they were more and more down when they remembered more things that were taken”, she explained. “Seeing the ‘gofundme’ page gave them a boost.”

The band later posted a video saying they were very thankful for the initiative and for the support the fund had received.

“We had no idea it was happening and it would never have occurred to us to do it, and we are very, very grateful,” the band stated. “If ever there was an ‘up the parish moment’, it is now.”

The Eskies have also promised to play a free gig as a way of saying thank you to everyone who wished them well during such a tough time.

At the time of writing, €6,674 had been raised for the band. You can still donate on www.gofundme.com/7guekpck

Aaron McElroy