The saying goes, “You should never meet your heroes,” because they will inevitably fall short of your expectations. However, my experience has been quite the opposite. Through my Social Fabric Podcast, I’ve had the extraordinary fortune of meeting many fantastic individuals, but none have been as impactful as meeting Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers—a meeting that defied the cautionary adage and blossomed into a cherished friendship.
Growing up, Hothouse Flowers were the soundtrack to many moments in my life. Their music, their looks – ah, I remember the long hair… the one thing that I had in common with the band, the beautiful blend of rock, folk, and soul, was, and still unique.
Listening to their music – without understanding any of the words then – alongside U2, The Stunning and later on The Frames, was one of the many catalysts that made me choose Ireland as my destination at the tender age of 23.
Fiachna Ó Braonáin, with his masterful guitar playing, was more than just a musician to me; he was a source of inspiration. We had a band at the time, The Just, and we tried to emulate them, without much success.
All these years later, I have still not mastered Fiachna’s guitar’s style. But there is still time….
When a chance encounter happened a few years ago, I was so pleasantly surprised by Fiachna’s ability to make me feel at ease and within minutes it felt like we had known each other for ever. We connected, I had the pleasure to have him on the Podcast – as well as the rest of the Hothouse Flowers – Liam O Maonlai and Peter O’Toole – and our friendship as grown ever since.
He is a gracious, down-to-earth, and incredibly generous with his time.
As well as being an accomplished musician, Fiachna has been an incredible host of the hugely popular Late Date Music Show on RTE Radio, a documentary maker, an activist and actor!!!
Through the Social Fabric Podcast, I have had the privilege of meeting many remarkable people, each with their own stories and wisdom to share. But my friendship with Fiachna Ó Braonáin stands out, not just because of who he is as an artist, but because of who he is as a person.
He has taught me that sometimes, meeting your heroes is exactly what you need—it can reaffirm your faith in the goodness of people and the power of genuine human connection.
I have the absolute pleasure of bringing our conversation to the Whale Theatre stage on the 3rd of October, where Fiachna will share his story, his future projects and will play a few tunes live.
Tickets are selling fast but still available at the https://whaletheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873648668
I hope to see you there.
There's a smell of fresh cut grass, and it's filling up my senses
And the sun is shining down on the blossoms in the avenue
There's a buzzing fly hanging around the bluebells and the daisies
And there's a lot more loving left in this world
Don't go
Don't leave me now, now, nowWhile the sun smilesStick around, and laugh a while, yeah...
Hothouse Flowers
Comentarios