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Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
How strong Irish roots shaped the Gallagher brothers to become Oasis
As they gear up for big croker gigs, we reveal how Noel and Liam consider Ireland home. Liam and Noel set aside their differences to reunite for this year's Oasis tour, which has been hailed as a triumph Next week's much-anticipated Oasis shows at Dublin's Croke Park will be the first time the brothers will have played the historic stadium together – and will be a homecoming of sorts for the superstar duo with Irish parents. Their Mayo-born mother Peggy has already said she'd be coming over to see her sons play their first Irish gigs since they rocked Slane in 2009. Back in 1996 this reporter brought out a book on the band, Oasis: The Word On The Street, and it's the only tome on the supergroup written by an Irish person. Today, we reprint an abridged version of the opening chapter about their Irish heritage, with some updates on their deep links to the Emerald Isle. School photos of Noel Oasis's roots lie in the south Manchester suburb of Burnage, where they grew up in a working-class background. The original band line-up shares with another great Manchester band, The Smiths, the intriguing connection of Irish lineage. Most members of both groups derive from Irish emigrants who fled their mother country in the 1950s and 1960s to seek work in the then industrial hub of Manchester. The Gallagher brothers' parents originated in Ireland. Their mother, Margaret, more commonly known as Peggy, came from the quiet west of Ireland town of Charlestown in Co. Mayo, while their father Tommy grew up in the village of Duleek, Co. Meath. The other original members of Oasis, Paul 'Guigy' McGuigan, Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs and Tony McCarroll also had Irish roots, but more distant than the Gallaghers. So it was with more than a touch of irony that the 'Irish mafia' link in Manchester should prove so important. For it was Johnny Marr (of The Smiths) who became so enthused after hearing a demo tape that he contacted Noel and eventually persuaded his manager, Marcus Russell, to take over at the helm of the fledgling Oasis. Noel and Liam with mum Peggy and their older brother Paul The Gallaghers themselves grew up in Burnage, a dreary area sometimes referred to as 'Boring Burnage'. Noel was born on May 29, 1967, while Liam was born 'William' on September 21, 1972, (he later shortened his name to the Irish version, 'Liam'). They have an older brother, Paul, born in 1965. Liam's only interest at school was in football but he often played truant and sniffed glue. He'd later say: 'I sniffed cans of gas at the age of 12, took magic mushrooms at the age of 12. Not 20 mushrooms, more like 150.' He left school without a qualification but while there he strangely took an interest in learning the violin at music classes. Noel's schooldays also involved a lot of truancy, smoking marijuana and sniffing glue. When he too left with no qualifications, a careers officer said he'd end up working at the local McVitie's biscuit factory where their mum used to toil. A photo from a Gallagher family wedding in Ireland around 1973 shows Tommy holding Noel Their dad Tommy formed his own Under-14 Gaelic football team and Noel recalls scoring a point in Croke Park in Dublin during a schools tournament. They were also cub scouts and they made their debut stage appearance in the annual school nativity play at St Bernard's Roman Catholic primary school in Burnage, with Liam donning a fluffy suit to play the part of a lamb! Both brothers had run-ins with the law in their early days. Noel was put on probation when he was caught robbing a corner shop at the age of 16, while Liam's only known misdemeanours involved driving cars and motorbikes without insurance. Their parents used to bring the whole family to Ireland every year. 'Until I was about 15 myself and my two brothers would spend six weeks every summer and three weeks every Christmas in Mayo,' Noel recalls . Oasis rocking Slane in 2009 'That's a lot of time when you're a child. Mayo had a church, a post office and about 300 pubs. It was all farmland and I was a bit freaked out by all the sheep because I'm from Manchester. 'We'd never seen the likes of nettles and fields and stacks of hay and all that. But it was great — the three of us used go fishing all the time. 'Our cousins there never dared laugh at our English accents because they would have got a clip around the ear if they did. It was a great childhood and it's something I talk a lot about to Johnny Marr, who had a similar upbringing. 'Me Mam was determined to give us some Irish culture 'cause we were used to concrete flats and stuff. It was a bit of a culture shock for the first four or five years but we just grew to love it. I still do to this day and the great thing about coming to Ireland is at the airport when you know that smell in the air is turf burning. It almost brings a tear to your eye. 'I think that being brought up an Irish Catholic is both the best and worst way of being brought up. The whole thing is all that religion b***ks, which I don't go for at all. 'The best thing is the culture, particularly the music. I mean, I really don't like ceilidh music, it's not my cup of tea, but at least I can understand where it's coming from. 'I really believe that the whole Irish Catholic thing does shape the way you view the world. I still have this guilt thing, it never really leaves you. But then I think I have it less than my parents and the next generation will have it less than me, so maybe it will just wither out.' Peggy (left) is from Mayo while Tommy hails from County Meath Their early jobs were pretty manual and a lot of their teenage years were spent on building sites as labourers, mainly with their dad. He owned his own business, laying down concrete floors, and the three brothers, their dad and a couple of uncles and cousins used to turn up to work in a yellow transit van and toil away until late at night. There were lots of arguments among the siblings in those days too, and Noel says they were a type of 'Burnage Hillbillies'. Many of Noel's and Liam's jobs were part-time on Saturday and Noel also spent time as a signwriter for an estate agent, was a baker, worked in a bed factory and was even a fish tank maker. Liam spent time as a car valet and signed on the dole for four years before Oasis took off (his friends jokingly nicknamed him 'Doley'). The two brothers are both fanatical Manchester City fans. Noel's been going to see City since the age of four and admits he was in tears when he first heard their fans taking up Wonderwall as a terrace anthem at Maine Road. In 1986 the Gallaghers had their biggest domestic crisis, one which would shape their whole future. After years of tension and during one particular argument, Noel and his father allegedly came to blows. Peggy immediately left the family home for a nearby council house to start a new life for her three sons. Peggy recalls she used to despair at the thought of her sons' future when they were growing up. She recalled the two younger brothers having an early love of music, particularly Noel. 'He was always banging my knitting needles along to The Beatles of the Sex Pistols,' she reflects. 'Liam was obsessed with John Lennon. He bought every Beatles record.' Tommy recalls Noel as being a bit of a ladies' man in his youth. 'Noel was the champ with the girls, he had a good few girlfriends,' he confirms. 'He used to sneak girls into the house. He usually took girls upstairs because that was where the record player was. He'd play music to them all night, but up until he was 14 Liam used say 'I hate girls, they do my head in''. Then just before the big bust-up at home, Tommy took Liam on a trip to his native village of Duleek. 'He was good at pool, but he was also good at the pull too,' Tommy chuckles. 'All the girls in the village were mad for him. I made a man out of him — he was drinking pints of lager in Big Tom's pub, winning games of pool for a fiver and being a bit of a hit with the birds.'
Sunday World
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
New Lord of Slane Castle says supergroup Oasis would be welcome back at iconic venue
'I remember that one very well and there's great photos of them back at the castle and lovely footage of Noel talking about how important Slane was as a gig for them' The new Lord of Slane Castle has said that supergroup Oasis would be welcomed back to the iconic venue for a show next year. Alex Conyngham, son of the late Lord Henry Mount Charles, revealed to the Sunday World that he intends to continue running gigs and is chasing a major act to perform at the Meath venue next year. Asked if Oasis would be in the frame, Alex told us: 'If they wanted to come back to Slane I would certainly be very willing to have them. The boys would always be welcome here. 'Slane was always a great gig for them. It's actually just gone 30 years since they supported REM here, which was an amazing gig. 'I remember that one very well and there's great photos of them back at the castle and lovely footage of Noel talking about how important Slane was as a gig for them. 'That support of REM was one of the biggest crowds they'd played to up to that time. And then they just took off. 'And when they headlined in 2009 I could hardly speak the next day because I had sung all the words to the songs…the atmosphere was just unbelievable. 'So, yes, they'd always be welcome back here. They now have a multi-generational fanbase and that makes for a really lovely crowd scenario as well.' Alex, who is now running Slane Castle with his wife, Carina – the couple also live in the castle with their three children 'and three dogs' – says he is passionate about carrying on his father's legacy, particularly the music events. The late Lord Henry Mount Charles Noel Gallagher before Slane 2009 News in 90 seconds - 10th August 2025 'We had a wonderful relationship,' Alex says of Lord Henry, who died in June after a long battle with cancer. 'Like all parents and kids there were moments we tested each other a bit, but that was healthy. But he was my dad, he was my friend, he was my business partner, so we did a lot together and the vast majority of the time we got on extremely well. 'Occasionally I might have needed a kick up the arse or a put down and it was probably well deserved, in fairness.' Did you get a sense that he had trust and confidence in you taking over the business? 'I spent his last night with him, it was just the two of us, I slept in the room in the hospital on the floor beside him and we actually talked until very late that night,' Alex reveals. 'We chit-chatted and we did get a bit serious at times and I think and hope he did feel confident about myself and Carina carrying it forward. 'He reiterated a few different messages, but the one he was very clear on always is, it's not a question of ownership with a place like Slane, you don't own the place and hopefully it doesn't own you, but it's about looking after it for the wider public.' Alex (50) grew up in Slane Castle and he recalls being a six-year-old and seeing crowds running through the field where cattle had been grazing when the gates opened for the first concert in 1981 with Bob Dylan topping the bill. 'Watching this torrent of people flooding down, it was like a sea,' he says. 'There was also the buzz of the soundcheck beforehand and I'd never heard big noise like that aged six. It was an extraordinary experience from the get-go.' Alex recalled how his father would consult his teenage children about acts he was contemplating for Slane 'and would swear us to secrecy.' And he vividly remembers meeting one of his own idols, Slash from Guns N' Roses, when the American supergroup played Slane in 1990. 'That Guns N' Roses gig in '92 was a little fraught because the band were late on stage and myself and Dad started getting very nervous because the crowd were getting, understandably, a bit agitated,' he says. 'We went down to them to find out what was going on. Slash, who was definitely one of my all-time heroes as a teenager, got me a chair and handed me a beer, which was a very surreal experience. 'We said, 'this is lovely, Slash, thank you so much, but where the hell is Axl?'' 'It turned out that he was still in his hotel room in Dublin. There was a panic then and we basically said, 'if you are not on stage in the next half-an-hour/40 minutes there's probably going to be a riot and that's going to rest on your head. So whatever you have to do, please just make it happen.' 'Axl came straight from the hotel, landed in a helicopter, walked on stage and opened with Night Train. So it was amazing. 'In fairness, when they came back and played in 2017 I met Axl and we kind of laughed about that. And he was very courteous and apologetic…and he put on an amazing show. 'Dad was very sick and it was the only concert he ever missed…we came very close to losing him then in 2017. 'There was a lovely moment during the gig where Axl said, 'big shout out to Lord Henry who is in hospital and not very well at the moment.' There was a big, lovely roar from the crowd. 'Then he added, 'but I'm not going to dedicate that last song to him,' which was Knocking On Heaven's Door.' SLANE Castle will host CAIM, a contemporary art programme, from September 12-30.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
No Wonderwall? The greatest Oasis songs ranked from ten to one
Ahead of the Croke Park gigs next weekend, our music critic John Meagher looks at the band's best anthems from a full-on rock-stomp to a hymn for the ages They are the most eagerly awaited shows of the year and, for many, a prospect that looked increasingly unlikely as the years went by. Noel and Liam Gallagher have put their differences behind them and have already played a batch of enthusiastically reviewed UK shows. Next weekend's two dates at Croke Park will be their first Irish shows since headlining Slane in 2009. The setlist to date is heavily weighted on their imperial phase – 1994 and 1995 – and wisely ignores later albums. But what are Oasis' finest songs? It's hard to look beyond the following 10…
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
All the gigs Oasis played in Ireland over the years ahead of triumphant Croke Park return
After 16 long years, Oasis are finally set to return to Ireland when they play Croke Park as part of their reunion tour. Noel and Liam were the two main members of the Britpop band, often considered one of the biggest bands ever, before a huge fight between them minutes before they were due on at Rock en Seine saw the band split in the most acrimonious of circumstances back in 2009. 16 years later, the brothers and the band reunited, and are currently in the middle of their mammoth reunion tour — with them set to play two sell out shows at Croke Park next weekend (August 16 and 17). Oasis are back, with their reunion tour heading to Croke Park on August 16 and 17. Pic:With the Gallagher's Irish roots well documented, as their mam Peggy is from Mayo and their dad Thomas, from Co Meath, this will be something of a homecoming for the lads — who have played Ireland several times over the years before their split, with us taking a look down memory lane at all the times they've done so. One of Ireland's best venues before it was unfortunately demolished in 2018, the Tivoli Theatre hosted the then-on-the-rise Oasis just after the release of their debut album, Definitely Maybe, that summer. While not much is known about the gig, with the modern days of dynamic ticket pricing and people paying mad money for the reunion this summer, you may be shocked to find out that back in 1994, a ticket to see them cost a massive… 6 Irish Punts and 75 Irish pence (about €16.46 in today's money). Take us back, please. The band performed at Slane for the first time in 1995, when they opened up for REM. Pic: Independent NewsWith the Slane Castle gigs being one of the biggest of the Irish musical calendar, Oasis made their debut at the iconic castle as openers for REM; months before the release of their sophomore album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory would become their magnum opus. The headliners almost didn't make it to Meath, however, when lead singer Michael Stipe underwent emergency surgery and drummer Bill Berry collapsed on stage in Switzerland. The band had to cancel gigs in France and Spain. They made it to Ireland, however, for one of the most iconic gigs in Slane's history. Fans of Oasis at The Point in 1996. Pic: Independent NewsThe lads headed to The Point in Dublin just a year later, and fresh off the release of their best album in Morning Glory. And in keeping with the price tags of the shows, you could've had the privilege of seeing the band at the height of their powers for just £19. The gigs also coincided with Noel's late-night debut when he appeared on the Late Late Show, chatting about his Irish heritage mere minutes after the show ended. Cementing themselves as the biggest band in the world, the band headed Leeside for one of their most iconic gigs when they went to Páirc Uí Caoimh in Co Cork. Much like when Michael Jackson headlined nearly a decade earlier, the decision to come to Cork was a mammoth event, with RTÉ even covering the two shows as part of their massive tour, which also featured their most iconic concerts ever; two nights in Knebworth to 250,000 people. Just one year later, the band returned to The Point as part of their Be Here Now tour. Pic: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland The band came back to the capital to promote their third studio album — which, while incredibly anticipated, didn't live up to the hype initially — with this gig being notable as Noel was on singing duties. Liam was unable to perform for the shows, citing a 'sore throat' akin to when the band did MTV Unplugged a year earlier, and much like when his older brother performed at Unplugged, Liam was spotted in the balcony watching on. The Oasis concert at Lansdowne Road in 2000. Pic: Collins Dublin Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Oasis returned three years later to play the former Aviva Stadium, with all the stars arriving — including U2's Bono, who was spotted in attendance with his wife Eve Hewson. 40,000 people were on hand to watch the band as they performed their fourth album, with 1,000 extra tickets being released to combat touting (why can't we do that anymore??) The band returned two years later for Witnness, the prelude to Oxegen. Pic: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin Just before Oxegen took over the Fairyhouse race course, we had Witnness in the early 2000s — with Oasis headlining night two of the two day festival. The festival that weekend was absolutely stacked, to say the least — with The Prodigy also headlining night one, while Primal Scream and No Doubt were also highlights of the weekend. But a previous review said that the gig was, well, a little less good than their previous shows. One of the best shows the lads put on in the later stage of their career, 20,000 descended on the Rathfarnham Park. Pic: VIP Ireland Following the release of Don't Believe the Truth in 2005, Oasis came back to our shores twice — once over the summer in Marlay Park before it became the hotbed of Longitude. The show was well received following the critical praise of the band's sixth studio album, with them returning to The Point later that December for two shows just before Christmas. The lads played Slane just two months before their break up. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/ The last time Oasis played in Ireland for over a decade and a half, they returned to Slane 14 years after opening up for REM, albeit this time as headliners. It was a family affair that time around, as Peggy Gallagher was on stage with the lads while Liam called the gig 'f***ing biblical.' Just two months later, and minutes before they were due to go on Rock en Seine for the third to last show of their Dig Out Your Soul tour, the Gallaghers had an explosive fight, with the band breaking up that very evening. The guns have fallen silent, with Oasis' reunion tour heading to Croke Park next week for two sold out gigs. Pic: Emmett/Fear PR/PA Wire Until 15 years nearly to the day, that is — when the band announced that the guns had fallen silent and Noel and Liam got the band back together. Of course, this didn't come without controversy — namely the 'dynamic pricing' fiasco which saw tens of thousands of people (yours truly included) spending massively inflated prices due to demand. But that didn't stop tickets from selling out pretty much instantly, and following clips of their gigs in Cardiff, Manchester and London, Dublin are well and truly mad fer it.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Salmon stocks in River Boyne have slumped to lowest ever level, says lifelong Louth angler
The revelation was made by a lifelong angler Peter Cunningham from Drogheda who warned that salmon fishing on the Boyne could be banned for conservation reasons in the next year or so. The highly experienced fisherman has been a member of both local clubs Drogheda and Slane and Rossin over the decades. But he said he has never seen the stocks as bad as they are now despite the best efforts of other angling clubs like Trim, Kells and Navan to protect, repair and renew the Boyne salmon spawning grounds in the river's tributaries upstream in Co Meath. Peter said: "I remember years ago you couldn't walk across the Boyne without salmon coming at you left, right and centre all year round. We could go out and catch five or six salmon in one day. "Now if you go out the stocks are so low that you would be lucky to catch one salmon a week . "The banning of draft net fishing at Baltray, Mornginton and Queesborough where fishermen had licenses and made their living out of salmon fishing for generations has done nothing to save the salmon. "The same can be said about Catch and Release since it was introduced by law to the river - this meant every time you caught a salmon you couldn't bring the fish home you had to put it back in the river. "The decline has been steady since the nineties and the problem is that the salmon are not returning from the ocean to breed and spawn." Peter believes the root of the problem is the giant supertrawlers and factory ships out in the Atlantic which are destroying the Irish salmon stocks. He said: "The Boyne salmon for instance when they go out to sea at around eight months of age either go to two places to feed - up the Irish Sea towards the coast of Norway or they head to feeding grounds off Nova Scotia or Newfoundland off the Canadian coast. ADVERTISEMENT "Many of these fish are getting caught up with the big factory ships looking for mackerel, especially in the Norwegian area of the North Atlantic. They effectively go out to sea to their feeding grounds, get caught by these trawlers and never return home. "Some salmon do come back after a year or two but will only reproduce one fish from 1,000 to 2,000 eggs. "The Boyne is more reliant on the 5 to 8 pounds multi wintered salmon which comes back after three or four years and will produce 5 to 6 salmon from 4,000 or 5,000 eggs. Unfortunately these salmon are not making it back home to breed and that is the nub of the problem." Peter said there is little or no illegal fishing on the Boyne these days and even when there was 20 or 30 years ago, it didn't impact on the salmon stocks because there were enough fish to go around. He added: "The whole situation is extremely worrying. We are looking at the end of an era here if we can't fish for salmon on the Boyne. "The Boyne salmon is known and revered all over the world and would be a great shame if a ban came in. "But the stocks are so low I can see it happening and the same will probably also happen in other Irish salmon rivers like the river Moy in Ballina, Co Mayo in five more years or so. "The Government has allowed these super trawlers from other countries to come into Irish waters and the only way to save our salmon is to curtail them." Peter said there are other fish in the Boyne like trout and sole and the sole in particular can be caught near the mouth of the river along with sea trout which are popular with local anglers.
