1. Damien Dempsey was born on 9 June 1975 and is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society.
23 Facts About Damien Dempsey
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Damien Dempsey was born and raised in Donaghmede, a Northside suburb of Dublin.
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Damien Dempsey's father was a panel beater while his mother had a variety of jobs in the area.
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Damien Dempsey's earliest musical influences came from the post-pub musical sessions that were held in his parents' house when he was a toddler.
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Shy as a teenager, Damien Dempsey retreated to his bedroom where he spent his time honing his singing and guitar playing.
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Damien Dempsey soon started to pen his own songs, testing the water on his pleasantly surprised family with "a song about smog".
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Damien Dempsey's family encouraged him to enter the 2FM Song Contest, and he came second with "Cardboard City", a song of his own about homelessness.
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Damien Dempsey attended secondary school at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, sharing classes with model Amanda Brunker.
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Damien Dempsey took a break from performing and moved to New York, working in an Irish bar there.
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Damien Dempsey later joked on stage that when he got the call from O'Connor to join the tour, he assumed it would be on the door as a bouncer.
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In 2004 Damien Dempsey toured extensively, headlining his own shows as well as supporting Bob Dylan during the Irish leg of his European tour, and making his debut appearances at The Fleadh and Womad.
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Damien Dempsey has earned the support of his peers, particularly Morrissey, who invited Dempsey to support him at the Meltdown festival and on various UK and Irish dates as well as his autumn 2004 US tour.
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At Oxegen 2006, on the main stage on Saturday afternoon, Damien Dempsey said that Patrick Pearse would be "turning in his grave" at the state of modern Ireland.
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Damien Dempsey supported English folk-rock band The Levellers on their UK tour in the spring of 2006 as well as playing at The Levellers' music festival Beautiful Days in August 2006.
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Shots was released in the US on the United For Opportunity label in June 2006 and Damien Dempsey undertook a coast-to-coast tour.
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In 2014, Damien Dempsey released a best-of album titled It's All Good which entered the chart at No 1.
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In 2016, Damien Dempsey released an album titled No Force On Earth of original and covered songs to commemorate the centenary of The 1916 Rising.
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The album featured the traditional song "James Connolly" which Damien Dempsey had become known for singing at recent protests to water charges introduced by the Irish government.
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On 25th October 2024, Damien Dempsey returned with the double album "Hold Your Joy".
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Many artists have covered Damien Dempsey's work, including Sinead O'Connor, The Proclaimers and The Wonder Stuff's Miles Hunt.
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Damien Dempsey's songs have been featured on many TV shows including Sons of Anarchy, Fair City, the BAFTA-winning Tyrannosaur and, most recently, Broken Law.
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Damien Dempsey played the fictional Dublin crime boss Paul Chambers.
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Damien Dempsey appeared in the 2017 Irish crime film Cardboard Gangsters.