Gael Force Irish Dancers: ‘Unmissable’ Ireland the show comes to the Civic

JOIN an all-star Irish cast of exceptionally talented singers and performers, the “fabulous” Keltic Storm band, and the world-champion Gael Force Irish dancers for an “unmissable” “Ireland the Show,” which is now receiving nightly standing ovations and rave reviews from live audiences.

Let them take you on a rip roaring journey through the decades of a globally loved culture.

The show will feature well-known ballads and sing-alongs such as the Fields of Athenry, the Irish Rover, Galway Girl, The Black Velvet Band, Danny Boy, and Whiskey in the Jar—to name but a small few—from iconic artists like the Dubliners, the Pogue’s, Makem and Clancy, Luke Kelly, and Christy Moore.

Add to that a string of hilarious stories and jokes from our award-winning comedian Gary Gamble and his surreal impressions of Daniel O’Donnell, topped off with energetic reels and jigs from our fiddling maestro and the talented Keltic voice of Donegal singer Elaine Boyle.

If it’s all things Irish you like, then this is the one-stop show for you that’s guaranteed to take you to Ireland and back in one night!

This week, we sat down with James McGarrihy, CEO of JMG Music Group, to discuss ‘Ireland the Show’, which performs in the Civic on August 29.

What inspired ‘Ireland the Show?’

As you know, Irish culture and people are loved all over the world.

Wherever you go— England, Scotland, America—there are plenty of Irish bars, and people always go to these bars and enjoy the craic, the humour, and the music.

I’ve promoted shows for 25 years, and from what I’ve seen, shows with a bit of music, song, dance, or comedy do very well.

So I figured it would be good to showcase all things Ireland; that’s been the case for sure; we’ve been very, very successful.

We’ve toured England, Scotland, and Wales for the last number of years.

We’ve sold out tours and events; we’ve performed at some of the biggest venues in the UK, such as the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, which is a 2000-seater venue.

Believe it or not, the show does very well in parts of England where there aren’t necessarily any Irish people, because even the English people want to come and experience an Irish show.

So there’s a bit of everything!

How long was the Civic gig in the works?

Well, the Civic gig was in motion about a year ago, and then it was confirmed, and we started working on it a couple of months ago.

Over the next few weeks, we want to promote the show and, over the next year, bring it into the centre and get it out there.

When you’re working on a gig like this or preparing for one, are there any particular highlights or challenges?

Believe it or not, we find that in Ireland we have to market better because the people of Ireland are very lucky at the moment because there’s a lot of good music, a lot of great shows, and plenty of choice.

So we find we have to market it better: promote it on Facebook, do campaigns, interviews, pictures, press releases, advertising, flyer dops, poster drops, social media, and get the artists to push it.

We’re just doing everything we can to try and sell tickets.

But, like I said, the amount of music the people of Ireland have on their doorsteps is phenomenal per head of population compared to any other country in the world.

When gearing up to perform, are there still nerves and how do you deal with them?

Absolutely! I am fortunate enough that I perform as well as being a producer, so I do get nervous before every gig.

Whenever we get there, just before we hit that first note, if we look out at the crowd and there’s a good crowd and you’re excited but you still have nerves, we try to turn that into positivity and use it to help us put on a good performance.

I’ve obviously also been nervous when there’s a poor turn-out to the shows because you think that no one wants to see it, but the support we generally get is very, very good.

I’m fortunate enough that I perform in the Civic Theatre in Tallaght four times a year with various shows with the Legend of America Comedy Show, and we do a Christmas show with Brendan Shine, Philomena Bagley, Declan Nerney, and Mick Flavin, so I have a good experience of the venue, and this is the first time that ‘Ireland: The Show’ is coming to Dublin.

There is always a really good atmosphere in Tallaght.

What is next for you after this?

We first went on tour with this show on September 1.

We’re currently in Scotland at the moment, then we’re working our way into England and Wales.

Once we finish with ‘Ireland: The Show’, we head over to Scotland to perform six shows for Philomena Bagley.

Then we’re on tour for four weeks with the Legend of American Comedy all across Ireland and the UK.

So we’re busy all the time with the band and JMG Music Group, performing 400 shows per year across Ireland and the UK.

We’re actually taking ‘Ireland: The Show’ to Canada at the end of September for three shows, with a tour of Denmark planned for next year as well.

We’re in discussions to bring the show to New Zealand and Australia in 2026, so hopefully that will all come as well.

Who would you like to thank?

We can only do the shows if the people come on board; With COVID-19 kicking in, the entertainment sector was the first to close, last to open.

I’m glad that people are coming back to theatres now! I would like to thank the audiences, all across Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, and also the very talented cast that I am lucky to work with on a daily basis.