Olympia Theatre
9th of April, 2005

Line up includes:
Rattle and Hum
The Classic Beatles
The Polis
Flash Harry

All the money raised by the concert will go directly to helping Goal’s work in Sudan.

Tribute band concert to aid Darfur

The Irish Examiner, February 2005

A tribute band concert in the style of Live Aid was announced today to help the victims of the crisis in Darfur.

Tribute Aid 2005 will give all the proceeds of the gig which features U2, Queen, Beatles and Police tribute acts, to international charity Goal.

Rattle and Hum, The Polis, The Classic Beatles and Flash Harry hope to raise more than 4,000 euro at the event at Dublin’s Olympia on April 9.

Organiser Sean Culligan, who plays with The Polis, said he had come up with the idea after watching Live Aid’s organiser Bob Geldof talking about Band Aid 20 on television.

“It just struck a chord with me,” he said.

“After I’d had the idea, it was just a question of ringing up the other bands, and I’ve been amazed by the response from them.”

Lisa O’Shea, from Goal, said that while the overwhelming response to the tsunami in Asia was appropriate, it was important not to forget problems in other parts of the world.

“It’s wonderful that people like Sean themselves remember that in other areas of the world there is gross suffering going on,” she said.

Ms O’Shea said that there was no greater recipient of help than those in Darfur where 1.8 million people are displaced.

“We will spend the money wisely on the poor, and a lot of people will live as a result of this,” she promised.

“We’re known as a sports aid agency and a lot of our events are sports-organised so it’s wonderful that this is actually a musical one,” she added.

A number of celebrities will be at the concert, including soccer manager Brian Kerr and rugby star Gordon D’Arcy.

RTÉ presenter Mary Kennedy, who was at today’s launch along with members of the bands, said she was happy to be supporting the Goal event.

“I’ve seen the incredible difference Goal can make to people’s lives and how the money raised here can multiply by five when you take it out to these kind of places,” she said.

The gig is being sponsored by Terenure College, Dublin, so that all the money raised by the concert will go directly to helping Goal’s work in Sudan.

Father Miceál O’Neill said he was delighted that the college was able to help Goal with its work.