Declan O'Rourke reveals why he won't perform for the Pope during Ireland visit

O'Rourke confessed that he could not knowingly take part in a celebration of the Catholic church. "I’m not a religious person, no disrespect to anyone else’s beliefs. But, you know, I feel the Catholic church is responsible for so much suffering in this country. And I felt that you know if there was going to be a big ordeal … that some kind of gesture would have to be made."

The multi-instrumentalist said that had he accepted the offer, he would have taken advantage of the opportunity to make a statement. "I would have used my performance, I suppose as a platform for that purpose somehow. Not disrespectfully. But just in solidarity, you know?"

"I would have just said this goes out on behalf, in acknowledgement, of the victims of clerical abuse around this country."

While O’Rourke initially agreed to play the concert, once he realised that he wouldn't be permitted to play his own music, he withdrew from the line-up.

“They asked me to take part in the performance of one song, it would have been singing a song with Finbar Furey and Shane MacGowan. It was ‘Rainy Night In Soho,’ which is a beautiful song and they’re two absolute heroes of mine, but it wasn’t my song… there was no room for any of my songs.”

O’Rourke acknowledged that even if he had been able to perform his own music, he is doubtful he would have been allowed to make any sort of statement. "I wasn’t going to get to do what I wanted to do in at least playing some of my music and making that statement somehow, which they wouldn’t have allowed of course."

Ultimately, O’Rourke decided that he could not perform if he wouldn't be allowed to acknowledge victims of clerical abuse. "You have to have your principles and I believe that standing up there and taking part in that concert if you didn’t make the right acknowledgement of those victims would be wrong."