Moon & Sixpence for Kilcullen gig

The 'Moon & Sixpence' band will play in Kilcullen Town Hall Theatre on Saturday 4 October.



The band, of which the late Des Byrne was a founder member, was set up in 1994 and raises money for charitable causes in a limited number of gigs each year.

The band will be appearing at the Irish Arts Centre in New York later in October, in two performances aimed at raising $50,000 for the Centre. The prior Kilcullen performance is to raise funds to defray expenses for the trip, which the band members are covering themselves.

The Kilcullen connection with the IAC came about when Dan Donnelly's Arm, owned by Des Byrne's family, was lent in 2006 as part of an exhibition of Fighting Irishmen. The exhibition subsequently moved to the South Street Museum in Lower Manhattan, and is now on display in Boston University.

A cheque for €5,000 was handed over earlier this year to Dr Dillion of the Kildare Hospice by the band. The money was the proceeds from two concerts held last year in Kilcullen and from one held in Andrews Lane Theatre in Dublin before Christmas.

Over the years, The Moon & Sixpence has raised many tens of thousands of euro for various charities around Kildare, including the Michael Garry House shelter for the homeless in Newbridge.

They released one CD album, ‘Better Late than Never’, in 2002. The other current members are solicitor John Reidy, Aer Lingus chief pilot Henry Donohoe, restaurant owner Siobhan Hurley - all from Newbridge - Peter Coe, and Kilcullen-born doctor Michael O’Connell.