Cohen to return to Kilmainham for two dates in September

Leonard Cohen is returning to play two concerts at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Imma, in September – the same venue where he…

Leonard Cohen is returning to play two concerts at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Imma, in September – the same venue where he was reduced to tears by the warmth of the audience’s response at two concerts in 2008.

Tickets for these Imma shows, on September 11th and 12th, priced €79.50, go on sale this Friday on Ticketmaster ( ticketmaster.ie).

The acclaimed singer- songwriter singles out those Imma shows from four years ago as the most memorable he has played. Cohen (77) had been absent from public life for the best part of 10 years when he began a comeback series of concerts in 2008.

He was so overwhelmed by his first appearance in Ireland in decades that he recalls: “The reception was so warm that tears came to my eyes and I thought ‘I can’t be seen weeping at this point’, then I turned around and saw the guitar player weeping.”

Cohen has an affinity with Ireland having had an Irish nanny growing up in Montreal. His greatest literary hero is WB Yeats.

At a show in Lissadell in Sligo two years, he took time to travel around Yeats country and says he was deeply moved by his visit.

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Brian Boyd

Brian Boyd

Brian Boyd, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes mainly about music and entertainment