THE ARTANE Band is to open the Oxegen music festival next month. Promoters MCD agreed to give the band the prestigious opening slot, just weeks after the Ryan commission report detailed abuse in the Artane industrial school.
The Artane Boys Band was once the public face of the notorious Christian Brothers’ school which closed down in 1969. The name was changed in 2004 to the Artane Band when girls were allowed to join. It is now a community-based band.
Corrs manager John Hughes, who approached the promoters, said the Artane Band was a “national treasure” which should be cherished. “These kids . . . are embarrassed about all the press, though it has nothing to do with them,” he said.
The Artane Band will take to the stage with synth-pop duo The Brilliant Things. Brilliant Things musician Greg French produced the Artane Band’s new album. “Even though all the stuff happened back in the 1960s, there was a feeling that the kids were not as proud as they used to be,” he said.
The band will share the stage with The Brilliant Things at Punchestown Racecourse on Friday, July 10th. Best-known for old Irish airs, they also have a contemporary repertoire with songs by Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Abba.
Band leader Ronan O’Reilly said it was a good for their morale and image even though most of the abuse happened before even the parents of the present members were born. “It is very far removed from the everyday thing it is now. For the kids, it is like history. They have got a positive outlook on life,” he said.
While seriously allegations had been made against former band leader the late Br Joseph O’Connor, the Artane Boys Band emerges relatively well from the Ryan report. It says the band was a positive experience for the boys involved and showed what could be done with proper direction and training. But it also said the band did not represent the reality for most boys at Artane.
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