FONTAINES D.C. ARE on the cusp of making history as the third Irish act to headline at Slane Castle, following in the footsteps of Thin Lizzy and U2.

They’ll be only the second band to play two nights at the famed Co Meath venue in the same year, following on from U2′s run of gigs back in 2001.  

It’s been a long journey for the four-piece, who began playing together over 10 years ago while students at Dublin’s own ‘school of rock’, the BIMM Music Institute. 

Tickets for their two-night run at Slane next summer are due to go on general sale later this morning, after pre-sales were opened in recent days. 

Speaking to The Journal after the announcement of the band’s first date at Slane earlier this week (the second was announced on Wednesday due to “overwhelming demand”) one of their former teachers at BIMM, Alan Cullivan, said the Fontaines’ potential was clear from the very start. 

Cullivan, who is now Dean of BIMM, has been with the institute since its inception in 2011. He taught the group Music Business during their time at the Liberties college. 

“They clicked, had a shared goal and knew what they wanted to create,” Cullivan said. 

The band, made up of Grian Chatten (vocals), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor “Deego” Deegan III (bass), Tom Coll (drums), and Carlos O’Connell (guitar), formed at BIMM in 2014.

They auditioned for various BIMM college gigs and performed at its Francis Street spaces, similar to other students. From there, they branched out playing gigs at small venues in the city centre such as Workman’s and supporting other artists in larger spaces.

They continued to hone their sound in Dublin’s music scene, blending elements of post-punk, poetry and themes of Irish culture.

Maintaining a grassroots, DIY approach to the business, the band signed with independent label Partisan Records in 2018. 

Their debut album, Dogrel, was released in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim.

They followed it with A Hero’s Death in 2020, which earned the band their first Grammy nomination.

Since then, Fontaines’ albums have continued to top charts in Ireland and in the UK. 

Their last album Romance broke America, appearing on the US billboard 200 chart.

Rolling Stone dubbed the album “the band’s finest hour”, describing it as “transformative and brilliant”. 

The band spent the summer touring Europe’s festival circuit, headlining Reading and Leeds in the UK as well as the Electric Picnic in Stradbally last weekend. 

Cullivan attributed much of Fontaine’s success to “putting creativity first”, rather than focusing on marketing themselves.

“They put the songs first. And I think that’s what stood to them. A lot of young bands can get obsessed with how many likes they have or how many posts they have and that kind of stuff.”

Fontaines D.C. has released four studio albums, with a fifth, Dopamine Chamber, coming this October.

Cullivan said this was down to the band’s relentless approach to songwriting and their refusal to “rest on their laurels”. 

“They just pushed and pushed and pushed. And they’ve continued to do that all the way through”, Cullivan said.

As personalities, Cullivan said the group had always been great to deal with and remain “super nice guys”.

The band maintains a strong connection with the Dublin college, which offers a scholarship in its name.

Fontaines helps to select the recipient of the €12,000 scholarship, covering four years of the BA in Commercial Modern Music.

“They’ve been great friends to the college ever since they left”, Cullivan said.