Live Report: Damien Dempsey turns Irishness into a celebration of everyone at Electric Picnic

It's nearing the end of Saturday night, day two of Electric Picnic. There's a strange mixture of anxiety and energy in the air - a tired, weary but persistent crowd continues to file towards Damien Dempsey.

After almost three decades as a musician, Dempsey hardly needs an introduction. Since releasing his debut EP, The Contender, in 1995, he has carved out a career blending traditional Irish folk with reggae, soul and contemporary storytelling. His acclaimed albums, including the double album Hold Your Joy, have brought him considerable commercial and critical success. But his music has always felt bigger than the charts.

Tonight, in Stradbally, it feels communal.

Damien Dempsey at Electric Picnic on August 29, 2026. Copyright Saoirse McAllorum/hotpress.com

Dempsey arrives holding a giant spear as Celtic music builds around him, immediately encouraging the crowd to raise their voices. He launches into the opening song, though unfortunately his microphone fails, meaning much of the performance is lost to the audience. A long, pounding instrumental ending gives the song an unexpected second wind, rescuing the moment.

"This song's about people who put you down, give you verbal abuse. Sometimes that person can be you. I have a convent boy in one ear and a con man in the other," he explains before launching into 'Negative Vibes.'

Happy reggae horns and a bouncing snare initially disguise that subject matter: criticism, self-doubt and mental health. Dempsey has previously spoken openly about his struggles with depression, referring to it as the "black dog", making the song's message all the more affecting.

Then he turns the microphone towards the audience. It's their turn to rid themselves of the black dog.

Damien Dempsey at Electric Picnic on August 29, 2026. Copyright Saoirse McAllorum/hotpress.com

A long, wild flute solo commands the band into 'Apple of My Eye', a song concerned with Irish emigration, identity and the complicated decision to leave home in search of something better.

"I feel / The city's lure / The apple of my eye / I cherish her."

More than 20 years after its release, the lyrics still land with remarkable force.

The singalongs arrive early and with extraordinary volume. Dempsey's songs are rooted in working-class experience, mental health and emotional resilience, but there is nothing insular about them. His stories are specific enough to feel personal and universal enough for the entire tent to claim them.

'The Mickey Dam', a traditional Irish folk song about navvies travelling to Scotland for work, strips the performance back. The music takes a step behind the history, allowing the lyrics to dominate. Dempsey roars the words with a palpable intensity, treating the story not as a relic of Irish history but as something still alive.

Then comes 'The Rocky Road to Dublin', dedicated to his grandfather, a Mayo man. It's a touching nod to the rural roots of the Donaghmede man - and another reminder that Dempsey's relationship with Irishness is deeply personal.

Damien Dempsey at Electric Picnic on August 29, 2026. Copyright Saoirse McAllorum/hotpress.com

Before 'Colony', he recalls playing the song in Trafalgar Square.

"We played this song in London. Our great friend Boris Johnson was mayor at the time - he tried to get the festival banned. But the London-Irish lashed him!" The crowd laughs before he gets to the heart of the song. "It's an anti-racism song. I'm no better than you, you're no better than me."

The music backs up the message. Traditional Irish influences sit alongside strummed mandolin, bright guitar, pounding drums and spoken-word passages, creating something simultaneously rooted and expansive.

There are plenty of Irish songs and chants being shouted around the country these days, but many have become associated with spite, division and exclusion. Dempsey offers an alternative.

His brief "Free Palestine" message is consistent with everything that has come before. His Irishness isn't presented as something that has to belong exclusively to one group. Instead, it is an identity shaped by migration, hardship, music and solidarity - something that can be fiercely Irish while remaining open to everybody else.

That's what makes Dempsey's performance so powerful. Musically, it's a light, bright set, packed with instrumental brilliance and introspective lyrics. Emotionally, it carries considerably more weight.

As Saturday night begins to disappear into Sunday morning, Dempsey leaves Stradbally with the crowd feeling a little less burdened by whatever brought them here.