Famous faces from Finglas

Famous faces from Finglas

Finglas has had more than its fair share of famous faces, from rock superstars to international soccer legends. Which one of these ten legendary locals do you most admire?

Paul Hewson is definitely the most famous face of Finglas. He’s collaborated with music legends like Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Tina Turner. Time Magazine has twice named him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. 

Soccer star Frank Stapleton made his name as a striker for Arsenal and Manchester United. He was capped 71 times for Ireland scoring a then record 20 goals. He captained Ireland during our first major championships, Euro ’88 in Germany, and played in that famous victory over England during the tournament. 

Comedian Brendan O’Carroll found fame relatively late in life when he turned to the stage aged 35, and we’re glad he did. In 1992, he wrote Mrs Brown’s Boys, which made him a millionaire but a movie project dream turned into a financial nightmare that took him the best part of a decade to recover from. But recover he did, and it was Mrs Brown who once again saved the day for Brendan. 

Colm Meaney began studying acting when he was 14 and entered the Abbey Theatre School of Acting after leaving secondary school. He picked up a few minor TV roles but hit the big time when he played the role of  Miles O’Brien in the hugely popular Star Trek: The Next Generation series. He later moved to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where his character had a higher profile. But we remember him best as Jimmy Rabitte.

Christy Dignam is the lead singer of Finglas’s favourite rock-band, Aslan. His career of over 25 years has included numerous chart successes and well documented problems with drug addiction and serious health issues. However, Christy somehow always bounces back and continues to play sell-out live gigs with Aslan who are widely acknowledged to be Ireland’s hardest working band.

Dublin GAA star Jason Sherlock came to national attention when as a 19-year-old youngster he helped his county to an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1995. Three years later he became one of the few sporting stars to make a name in both soccer and GAA when he signed for Shamrock Rovers, becoming top scorer in his debut season. He also played basketball. 

Former Irish international midfielder Ronnie Whelan joined Liverpool from Home Farm in 1979 where he plied his trade for 15 years, winning several honours for the famous Merseyside club. He was a regular for the Ireland team and played in the European Championships in Germany in 1988 scoring a memorable goal against the USSR during the tournament.

Novelist, playwright and poet Dermot Bolger attended Beneavin College as a youngster and his working class roots are reflected in much of his work. Shortly after he left school in 1977 he founded Raven Arts Press Publications and published several works which he sold around Finglas. He’s written several novels, plays and collections of poetry. During the process he’s picked up numerous awards include the Samuel Beckett award and the AE Memorial Prize.

She represented Ireland twice on a European stage, singing in front of an audience of more than 70 million. But Niamh Kavanagh’s first public performance was in a church in Finglas South in the 1970s.

Charlie Redmond was the darling of the Dubs in the early nineties. He received three GAA All Stars for his performances with the Dubs, and won two Dublin Senior Football Championship medals with Erins Isle. In the 1995 All Ireland Final he had to be sent off twice, after refusing to go the first time and playing on unnoticed by the ref.