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lovely words
The Kerryman who sang Mr Brightside for his late friend spoke movingly on Ray D'Arcy
“He was Mr Brightside to so many people.”
Tim Clifford / Vimeo
EARLIER THIS WEEK, The Killers praised Brian O’Sullivan for giving a sensational performance of Mr Brightside in Falvey’s Bar in Killorglin, Kerry as a tribute to his late friend Ger ‘Farmer’ Foley.
On the Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ One last night, Brian appeared with Ger’s wife Grainne Foley to talk about the whole situation.
And he had lovely things to say about his late friend
“He was Mr Brightside to so many people”
“He was a beautiful man – he had only 45 years on this earth, but they were 45 full years let me tell you that for nothing”
“He was one of the co-founders of getting the K-Fest started in Killorglin – and the thought for him that musicians and art people would be coming to Killorglin for future years is an amazing legacy.”
Brian spoke about how the famous Mr Brightside performance in Falvey’s came about:
Obviously emotions were running high after a few days of grieving – grieving that’s still continuing on as we speak now. I was only one of many musicians and singers and obviously the night I got up everyone was in good form. Now, I didn’t maybe mean to go as far as taking off my top – my good wife Audrey isn’t too happy about that! But Ger would have loved it.
The Ray D’Arcy Show featured other stories inspired by the fact that Organ Donation Awareness Week in Ireland is coming up – and Ger’s wife Grainne told her story about why organ donation played such an important role in her family’s life:
“I was delighted with what happened in the bar – all we can do is use it and try and talk about organ donation”
Grainne told the story of Ger’s lung transplant – at the time only available in England – and how he was “so alive” after it. This led to them travelling the world and having two children:
“He was so proud of the fact that someday Peter and Isabel will walk down the street in Killorglin and people will say ‘that’s Ger Foley’s son or that’s Ger Foley’s daughter’”
“Becoming a donor is not a difficult decision – you tick a box on your driving license – and you can absolutely change lives”
The audience at home were in awe of these two
It was a heartwarming segment of the show
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Mr Brightside, indeed.
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Written by David Elkin and posted on DailyEdge.ie
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