Navigating New York with Damien Dempsey

I am really excited to introduce my guest for this episode, the one and only, Damien Dempsey. It was a dream come true to get to have this chat with Damien, described by many as the "Voice of a Generation."

If you’re a Damo fan, you’ll know that his song “Apple of My Eye” is all about his love for New York City - and in our conversation he tells me about how coming here as a young musician helped him to believe in himself and how he met some of his greatest friends and mentors here in the City.

 As a young musician in Dublin, Damien felt that people looked down on him for writing songs about the social issues of modern-day Ireland, and for singing in his own accent. These are two important attributes that have come to define Damien as an Artist.

When he was in his twenties, Damien came to New York and played his songs in the famous Manhattan bar ‘Rocky Sullivan's’ – which attracted an eclectic group of artists, writers, NYPD officers, lawyers and politicians back in the day. Rocky’s  was owned by a mutual friend of ours – retired NYPD Chief of Homicide and proud Irish American, Brian McCabe, who kindly made this episode possible. 

 When I started this podcast I had a list of ‘dream guests’ and Damien Dempsey was one of them - so I am beyond grateful that I got to have him on

 In this episode Damien speaks honestly about the shame and guilt we have been forced to feel as a Nation, His respect for the Irish that travelled the world and set down a framework for future generations and the importance of spirituality, of travelling the world and how music can help us through life.

I really got so much from this conversation with Damo and I hope you find some comfort and inspiration from his message.