By David Hennessy
The BibleCode Sundays played one of their biggest headline gigs ever at Scala, Kings Cross on Saturday 9 March for the Ireland v England Six Nations match.
The rugby result may not have gone Ireland’s way but that didn’t stop the crowd enjoying the entertainment from London’s well rock Celtic rockers.
The day started off with Niall McNamee’s support set. Niall McNamee is a singer- songwriter who has been on the London scene for many years. He is also a successful actor who has acted with big names such as Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan.
Niall’s set came to a close before the crowd watched Ireland v England on the big screen.
“That wasn’t in the script,” Ronan told the crowd after England snatched victory with a last minute drop goal.
The crowd would beat Ronan to singing the lyrics of the well known anthem Maybe It’s Because I’m An Irish Londoner.
They would also go through their songs like Red and Green of Harrow and Drinking All Day.
There was also tribute paid to the late Shane MacGowan.
There were also chances for both bass player Enda Mulloy and Kian Chanter to take over on lead vocals for one song.
The band would also give way for the skills of the Murchu Duiginn School of Irish Dancing who showed off their skills just weeks before they head to the World Championships in Glasgow, something they are also raising funds for.
Ronan MacManus told The Irish World after the show: “It was amazing. We didn’t get the result in the game unfortunately.
“England scuppered it, that wasn’t in the script.
“I don’t know that what might have happened had Ireland won the game because the place was jumping.
“This is us in defeat, what a brilliant day.
“The people came out and really celebrated.
“Niall McNamee was amazing earlier on. He was fantastic and he really set the scene.
“The game was a great game, shame it didn’t go our way.
“Then we had the Irish dancing Murchu Duiginn School of Irish Dance came down as well played halfway through our set.
“So all in all, it was a fantastic day.
“The crowd really got into it and it was just amazing.”
The gig was special for it being one of the biggest venues the band have ever played.
It was also a chance to get the full six man line-up together again.
“The lads have all got different responsibilities and different life paths and stuff so we don’t really get a chance to get together as a six as often as we’d like.
“It’s always a special occasion when that happens.
“Something special happens when we’re all together and on the same stage.
“And it felt that today.
“It was absolutely great.
“We could really enjoy the gig.
“We just had a really great time.
“Everyone was smiling, laughing, having a great time, dancing around.
“Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for any more. It was fantastic.”
Saturday’s gig came ahead of a busy period for the band with them playing both the Luton and London celebrations for St Patrick’s Day.
“We’re playing Luton, we’re also doing Trafalgar square just afterwards.
“Then we’ll be in McCaffertys in Harrow that night.
“But before that, we’ve got lots of gigs to get through.
“We’re in the embassy at one point, there’s loads of stuff to do so it’s a fantastic week coming up.
“We’ll sleep next week!”
Asked if the crowd singing Maybe It’s Because I’m An Irish Londoner was a highlight, Ronan said: “Yeah, we ended up doing it again at the end of the night.
“Everyone singing the words to all of our songs really was fantastic.
“I think the highlight for me though has to be the young lad,
Irish dancer, Peter.
“The cheer he got when he started dancing was amazing.
“The place went nuts.
“There’s a good few highlights of the night but definitely those are the two, Irish Londoner and young Peter.”
Was it important to pay tribute to Shane MacGowan like you did?
“Yeah, we opened with Sally MacLennane.
“It felt like we had to really kick off with something big.
“Shane’s at the front of our thoughts the whole time.
“Every gig we do, especially the big ones.
“We owe so much to him as a band.
“Andy played in his band, and played at his funeral.
“We owe so much to him,
“We did Rainy Night in Soho which we dedicated to him.
“Something we’ll continue to do at all our gigs is to play Shane McGowan’s songs, Pogues songs because it is just such a massive loss to the Irish music culture and Irish culture in general.
“His funeral showed the impact that he’s had.
“We have so much to thank him for, for his influence and we had to do that tonight.”
When is the next party like this?
“No doubt there’ll be something coming up.
“We’re still trying to get one of our boat parties going again, they’re always very popular.
“And we want to do something at the end of the year.
“We also want to do something in memory of Carlton because his birthday is in September so there’s always a special time around then.
“We might try and squeeze something in at the end of the year. Stay tuned.
“Next Christmas, there will be a Christmas busk again in Camden.
“There’ll be more stuff going on with the Irish Centre
“There’s a good chance we will be at the London Irish Centre at some point over the next next few months.”
Ronan has been working on his project Storyteller which includes material from the BibleCode Sundays, Brand New Zeros and his solo stuff.
There are still plans for another BibleCode Sundays album in the future.
“The next time we’ll all be in the same room will be that Storyteller launch so you can check that out on my website ronanmacmanusmusic.com and hit all the BibleCodes socials to find out where we are.
“We’re doing a lot more gigs this year.
“As a four piece we are getting around the pubs a lot more.
“A new album is something that we’ve been talking about for a long time.
“But Andy’s been working on his book, I’ve been working on my album, Enda’s been working on his album so there have been lots of personal projects going on.
“At some point, we will get back in the studio and record some more music.”
Ronan added: “Thanks very much for all your support at the paper, it’s fantastic.
“We really appreciate it. You guys always get behind us and we can’t thank you enough really for that.
“This was also done in conjunction with the London Irish Centre.
“They helped to promote this gig, even though it wasn’t at the centre.
“We put a QR code up and people have been donating tonight.
“They do so much great work in the community.
“Thanks to everyone that came out tonight, because it’s absolutely blown us away and we can’t wait to do it again.
“Have a great St. Patrick’s Day, everybody!”
