Damien Dempsey to headline 10th anniversary of Rock Against Homelessness

Damien Dempsey has been announced as the headliner for the 10 year anniversary edition of Rock Against Homelessness, in aid of Focus Ireland, on February 7 at 3Olympia Theatre.

Throughout its 10 years of existence, Rock Against Homelessness has raised over €450,000 - however, Focus Ireland reports that the homelessness crisis has deepended again in the last year, with a record total of just under 15,000 people, including 4,645 children, now homeless.

Dempsey said: “It makes me angry to my bones that in 2024 there are almost 5000 children without a home in Ireland and 15,000 people homeless. It is beyond words of anger or sadness that this issue has not been fixed. What are the so-called people in power doing about it? Not a lot, as far as I can see.

“I often wonder about the fact that they can do nothing about homeless now but in the 1930s and 1940s - when Ireland was on its knees as a nation financially - they could still manage to build massive housing estates around Ireland for people to live in. Why can’t they do that now? They are too busy selling out the people by selling the soul of Ireland to international vulture funds who couldn’t care less about anything or anyone other than money. Something needs to be done urgently about helping the homeless in Ireland.”

“What do we need to do? I think we should really, really push the Government now to put it into law that people abroad can vote, that the Irish who were born abroad can vote in Ireland in a General election. There is 141 countries around the world that this happens in and we need to push for that in this country. That is important.”

Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland, said: "The support and awareness we get from an event like this is amazing. Focus Ireland needs to raise over 40% of our annual budget through donations and events like Rock Against Homelessness so we really need people to support this magnificent event again this year.

“The crisis has got worse as the number of homeless people has shot up 14% in the last year. These are not just percentages and statistics, but everyone is a real person whose life has been in crisis because they have lost their home. It is unforgivable that 4,645 children will be homeless this Christmas in Ireland. However, the situation would be a lot worse again without the hard work of Focus Ireland and other organisations.

“We are all working to help prevent and tackle homelessness and Focus Ireland helped 18,000 people last year who were homeless or at risk. We now provide over 1,600 permanent homes for families and individuals across the country through Focus Housing. It’s important to never forget that homelessness is a problem we can tackle when we work collectively. Having the support of partners like Cadbury’s, Arachas, Starbucks, the Hard Rock Cafe and the Independent is tremendous in showing what can be achieved.”

Well-known for his strong stances on social justice, Dempsey released his latest record Hold Your Joy in October, which was rated a 9/10 by Hot Press, who said the musician was “located in a creative space of his own, somewhere between the poles of Shane MacGowan and Bob Marley, Dempsey’s is an original voice, as romantic as the former, as political as the latter in his ‘70s heyday – a voice with which to spark a revolution.”

To celebrate this release, Dempsey was also the cover star of our December issue, which you can find here – or read the full interview here.

Tickets for the Rock Against Homelessness 10 year anniversary concert in Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre are priced €40 and go on sale next Wednesday, December 18.