When Stephen Murphy captained his club at 16 to a county final success in Kilkenny's home of hurling, Nowlan Park, he dreamed of returning for bigger events.
Tomorrow the dream will come true, but not quite in the manner the now 22-year-old envisaged. Instead of donning the black-and-amber of the Kilkenny county team, he'll be taking the stage to support the legendary Bob Dylan in concert.
"I never thought there would be a gig in Nowlan Park, never mind that I would be in it," said Murphy yesterday. He won a competition among local artists for a place on tomorrow's bill.
The concert, also featuring Elvis Costello, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Juliet Turner, is the main event of the Smithwick's Source festival, which is bringing thousands of people to Kilkenny this weekend.
Last night the first of the 46 free gigs with 27 bands began in pubs in the city, but most of the talk centred on Dylan, still going strong at 60 and a recent Academy Award-winner for his song Things Have Changed.
"Every pub seems to be having a Bob Dylan event," said the concert promoter, Mr Peter Aiken. "They're having Bob Dylan nights, song contests and lookalikes. The reaction has been first-class."
Music fans of all ages had bought tickets, he said, from lifelong Dylan devotees to curious teenagers. Some will have gone to the extreme of following the singer throughout his European tour, which began in Norway last month and ends in Sicily on July 28th.
"You do see the same faces at different events," said Mr Aiken. "There's an Italian girl here who was at Vicar Street and the Point last year. He is one of those artists who attracts very committed fans."
Stephen Murphy, who has been rehearsing in Dublin for his big moment, is not one of them, although he "can understand the magnitude" of Dylan's popularity. Playing gigs as a solo artist since he was 13, he has put together a four-man band for the occasion.
He is excited, but not overawed. "I've been putting the boys through hell getting things ready and getting it very, very tight. I think we're going to do ourselves justice and show we deserve our place on the bill," he said.
With 25,000 people expected to visit the city during the weekend, every available bed is booked, according to the chief executive of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms Alison McGrath, who said the festival was a "tremendous boost" for tourism and the local economy.
The Bob Dylan concert will have a capacity of 20,000, but Mr Aiken said a limited number of tickets would be on sale tomorrow from the box office at Hebron Road. Stephen Murphy and his band will be on stage at 2.30 p.m., while Bob Dylan's performance begins at 9 p.m.
Garda traffic restrictions will include the closure of Hebron Road from 2 p.m. tomorrow.
