Damien Dempsey 'secret' gig raises €1,400 for Ballymun youth project

A  BENEFIT gig by award-winning Irish musician Damien Dempsey helped to raise €1,400 for youth services in Ballymun.

People packed into Cassidy's bar on Westmoreland Street in Dublin on Friday night for the gig featuring the Donaghmede musician who performed  songs from his platinum-selling albums Seize the Day, Shots, To Hell or Barbados and his latest album Almighty Love.

Republican ex-prisoner Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane (pictured) took to the stage with tracks from the famous Music from the Blocks album which he secretly recorded while a political prisoner in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.

Noeleen Reilly (right), Sinn Féin representative for Ballymun, helped organise the event, which raised €1,400 for the Easy Street project in Ballymun.

The Easy Street project aims to build trusting relationships and engage with the young people, who gather around the streets, parks and vacant blocks in constructive activities and positive life choices.

Recent Government cuts to funding for youth projects and youth clubs means that many projects across Ireland are being force to raise funds elsewhere.