Culture
13 Oct 22

Bono surprises Mount Temple school with memoir reading

Credit: John Hewson

The U2 frontman reportedly stopped by his old secondary school, Mount Temple Comprehensive, on Tuesday (October 11).

Bono made a surprise visit to his old secondary school in Clontarf this week to read a snippet from his forthcoming memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

The Irish Independent reported that sixth-year students in Dublin's Mount Temple Comprehensive were treated to a private audience with the singer.

A photograph of Bono with a group of students was shared on U2’s official Twitter page with the caption: “Was back in the library at Mount Temple. The future is bright indeed.”

Was back in the library at Mount Temple. The future is bright indeed. pic.twitter.com/5AU33oExY1

— U2 (@U2) October 12, 2022

Bono is said to have been accompanied by a professional film crew, suggesting that a documentary project may be in the works. He was given a tour of the school, dropped by the music department and met pupils and teachers.

“It definitely gave everyone a bit of a buzz,” one student told the Irish Independent. “A few teachers came in to stand at the back and listen to him speaking so there was a good group there listening to him speaking for about an hour.”

All four members of U2 attended Mount Temple Comprehensive, and formed the band at the school back in 1976. In those early days, Bono and co. used the school as a rehearsal space when it was closed.

Bono is due to release his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story on November 1 via publishing house Alfred A. Knopf (and in audiobook form via Penguin Random House).

The 576-page title will explore the origins of 40 key songs in U2’s extensive discography. Each chapter is named for the song it covers, with Bono’s life story weaved throughout the book.

Bono is set to embark on a 14-city book tour dubbed ‘Stories Of Surrender’, which will begin on November 2 in New York City. The U2 musician will stop at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on Monday, November 21.

The events have been billed as “an evening of words, music and some mischief”. Bono said in a statement:

“I miss being on stage and the closeness of U2’s audience. In these shows I’ve got some stories to sing, and some songs to tell. Plus I want to have some fun presenting my ME-moir, SURRENDER, which is really more of a WE-moir if I think of all the people who helped me get from there to here.”

In his unique voice, Bono takes readers from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was 14, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty.