Ladysmith Black Mambazo announce Irish date

The not-to-be-missed concert by the Grammy award winning band is part of a 33-date tour of the UK and Ireland which has just been announced.

The name Ladysmith Black Mambazo came about as a result of winning every singing competition in which the group entered. "Ladysmith" is the hometown of the Shabalala family; "Black" references the black oxen, considered to be the strongest on the farm. The Zulu word "Mambazo" refers to an ax - symbolic of the group's ability to "chop down" the competition. So good were they that after a time they were forbidden to enter the competitions but welcomed, of course, to entertain at them.

In 1993, at Nelson Mandela's request, Ladysmith Black Mambazo accompanied the future President to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Mambazo sang again at President Mandela's inauguration in May of 1994. They are a national treasure of the new South Africa in part because they "embody the traditions suppressed in the old South Africa".

Tickets for the Helix gig are available now, costing €25 and €30.