Neil Hannon has confirmed that he's hanging on to The Divine Comedy moniker and will be releasing a new album in early 2003.

The even better news is that he's Ireland-bound at the end of July for a Galway Arts Festival show.

"I have wrestled with the question of whether to keep the name The Divine Comedy or not for the last six months," he explains. "I have even asked other people’s advice on the subject, which is not something I generally do. After the break-up I was anxious to change the name or to – as it were – ‘go solo’.

"I was heartily sick of TDC and wanted to start again with a clean slate. Over time however, I have realised just what the name means to people and how much it means to me. The Divine Comedy has always represented the two poles of my existence – on one hand the search for truth, beauty, the meaning of life etc, and on the other, the love of all things temporary, flippant, rude, kitsch and very, very silly! It’s not so much an inner struggle as an inner ‘secondary school debating society’. Now I feel that I was running away from the name because the name was me. So, to cut a very long story short, I'm keeping the name. Besides, Neil Hannon is a sucky name for a pop-star."

Also on the Arts Festival 'confirmed' list are David Kitt and Sigur Ros who appear at St. Nicholas' Church on July 28th.