Christy Moore has ‘not been asked’ to play City of Culture

FOLK legend Christy Moore has not been asked and has no intention of playing a Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 gig in Ebrington next year despite Derry City Council’s Culture Company lining him up for a prospective event next April, according to the administrators of his official social media profile.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th May 2012, 10:28 BST

The Draft Programme of Events for Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 was revealed in the Sentinel last month.

Amongst the prospective events was one mooted for April 5, 2013 billed as “Christy Moore and special guests at Ebrington.”

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But the Sentinel can now reveal that the former Planxty and Moving Hearts member has not being asked to play any UK city of Culture event nor does he intend playing.

The Sentinel initially contacted Mr Moore’s booking agents in the UK and Ireland after a source contacted the paper suggesting doubts over his involvement in the proposed April 5, 2013, concert.

However, the paper received no response and subsequently made contact with the admininstration team at the singer’s social media page which is linked via his official website.

The paper advised that according to the Derry City Council Culture Company’s draft programme of events for UK City of Culture 2013 Mr Moore was being lined up for the ‘Christy Moore and special guests’ gig on April 5, 2013.

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But Mr Moore’s administration team responded: “Christy has never been asked, nor does he have any intention in becoming involved in this event.”

The Kildare native is a former member of seminal folk group Planxty with whom he played alongside other traditional legends such as Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn.

In the 1980s he was a member of the traditional group Moving Hearts. He regularly plays Londonderry, most recently performing over the May Bank holiday in the Millennium Forum.

His music has frequently featured political themes: for example he has recorded songs penned by former IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands (‘Back Home in Derry’ and ‘McIlhatton’) and written and recorded a memorial to those killed on Bloody Sunday, 1972 (Minds Locked Shut).

The Sentinel asked if the Londonderry Culture Company wished to respond to Mr Moore’s teams professed disinterest. No response was available at the time of going to press.