Camille O’Sullivan and Aidan Gillen release single in aid of Focus Ireland

Game of Thrones, The Wire and Peaky Blinders star Aidan Gillen said that they wanted to record the song to raise more funds for the homeless, stating that “everyone involved in the project feels strongly about wanting to help out.”

Camille O’Sullivan, headliner of the Rock Against Homelessness concert, said in a statement that she feels 'appalled and upset' at the situation of homeless people in Ireland. “You see someone sleeping in the street every few metres almost, in Dublin. It is heart-breaking, awful. I am now seeing children, and I am seeing women who are vulnerable. I am seeing people who need someone to talk to them. I'm thinking, 'When did we become so cold?' People are passing these people by like they do not exist. And when I hear of children not having a house, that kind of shocks me.

“The Irish have always been good at supporting these situations and problems, abroad. But I think homelessness is worse than ever now”, she added.

The musician will be joined by Finbar Furey, Deirdre O’Kane, Tommy Fleming, Duke Special, Natty Wailer, The Celtic Tenors, Jerry Fish and Pat McCabe on April 23 for a night of fundraising and support for Focus Ireland. The evening’s proceedings will be overseen by MTV’s Laura Whitmore and 2fm’s Eoghan McDermott.

Camille also added that she's adamant that we need to educate our children about what homeless people go through. “Doing the concert is one thing, but it is raising the awareness that is important to me. Schools need to be taught it. People forget that we are only two steps away from it ourselves… Somebody who had a mental problem, or lost their jobs, or tell out with their family, and is lost. It is very vulnerable people.”

Joined by her young daughter Leila, Camille spoke about her own outreach work for the homeless. “We get them sandwiches. We get them a cup of tea. We have a little chat”, she says. “These are people who need our help. If we can spend three euro on a coffee three times a day and buy a magazine, then we should at least give something every day to somebody who needs our help. Some people hit really hard times, and we need to help them. We have to be more humane and kind and go: ‘I’m here for you’.”

The charity single ‘In Dreams’, (immortalised in David Lynch’s 1986 movie Blue Velvet) was recorded in Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios. It was arranged by Camille O’Sullivan and Feargal Murray. It was then produced by John Reynolds and mixed at New Aer Studios in London by John Reynolds, who has worked with everyone from Damien Dempsey and U2 to Brian Eno and Sinead O’Connor.

Barry Egan, for the Sunday Independent, was executive producer on the project. Dublin Vinyl manufactured the vinyl of ‘In Dreams’.

The single will be available on 19 April on limited edition vinyl and to download from iTunes.

Tickets for Rock Against Homelessness are available from €35, here.