Spoiled Youth!

Headliners face backlash after Ballygar Carnival performance

< DAN DOONER

Irish Eurovision representatives, Wild Youth, have been slammed by angry concertgoers this week following their headline appearance at Ballygar Carnival last Sunday night.

The band – made up of Conor O’Donohue, David Whelan, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam - have also faced a backlash on social media for arriving late to the Ballygar gig and performing for less than an hour.

They had been scheduled to perform from midnight for around 90 minutes at the Mattie McDonagh Centre, but those present at the €20

Athleague Indoor Market this Sunday

The Athleague Indoor Market will be held in the Community Centre in Athleague (F42 P440) this Sunday, August 13th, from 10 am to 3 pm. For more information, or to book a stall, contact Kevin on 087-9136692.

Ballintubber

Tidy Towns to hold ‘Castles in Communities’ presentation

Ballintubber Tidy Towns will host a presentation by Andrew Bair of ‘Castles in Communities’ in The Old Schoolhouse on Monday, August 14th, at 7.30 pm.

Andrew will discuss recent archaeology dig and surveying of the local castle and surrounding area. This is a free event in keeping with National Heritage Week.

Heritage talk in Culleen Hall per head concert claimed they only took to the stage at 1.20 am and had finished their set by 2.10 am.

St John’s Parish Heritage Group will host a talk from 7 pm to 9.30 pm on Friday, August 18th at Culleen Hall Community Centre in Knockcroghery (F42 EN12).

The event will celebrate the stone quarrying heritage during the 1800s and 1900s in Ireland including the unique limestone bedrock still being quarried in Lecarrow.

There will be a demonstration of lime mortar building and pointing of walls from 7 pm, and a talk by Eamon Leonard (MA in local history) at 8 pm.

The Dublin band had been performing at Cork Pride ‘Party at the Port’ earlier in the day, and are believed to have only left at around 9 pm for their Ballygar date.

A number of those in attendance have been in contact with the Roscommon People in recent days to express their dismay with the performance. Each asked to remain anonymous.

One woman, who regularly attends the Ballygar Carnival with her niece who has special needs, said the performance was the worst she had ever seen.

“The lead singer had his back to the audience for most of the show…and they clearly didn’t care about their audience,” she said.

“My niece comes up every year from Wexford, she loves music, but she was so disappointed last Sunday night and wouldn’t even dance.

“It was like Wild Youth looked down on Ballygar… it was the worst gig I was ever at! They barely played an hour and the crowd were really angry at the end”.

Another attendee said that she and her friends had paid a total of €80 for tickets but were left bitterly disappointed.

“For a band who pride themselves on unity and kindness, their performance was anything but,” she said.

She added that many of those present were left perplexed by the performance of lead singer Conor O’Donohue.

“The backing singers appeared to be doing lead vocals…and the sound quality was so poor. The whole performance was of poor quality and not to a standard which I would expect at a festival”.

After a short set of about nine songs, she said, the band announced they were “wrapping things up”.

“There was booing from the crowd, understandably. I thought it was a joke at first…” she added.

Another woman said it was her first time home for the carnival in four years and she had been excited to see the band live. She said the performance ruined her night and swore she’d never listen to the band again.

“There are plenty of young, hungry acts that would have jumped at that opportunity…sure this is a festival that

Boyzone played at back in the day,” she said.

This week, popular Facebook page ‘Ballygar Banter’ has been inundated with complaints from those present on Sunday night, with some branding the performance as “a kick in the teeth for the dedicated committee” following what was another hugely successful Ballygar Carnival.

A post by Ballygar Banter read: ‘It’s a real shame to report that Wild Youth were a total disappointment from the many complaints to Ballygar Banter.

‘It appears they turned up late, were accommodated with everything they wished for but delivered very poorly. Many people were upset and seriously disappointed’.

Roscommon People has contacted Wild Youth’s management team for comment but none was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

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