Shobsy and Tolu Makay bring the house down at the Irish Embassy in London's reception for Minding Creative Minds

Hot Press was delighted to be among the invitees as the Irish Embassy in London held a reception for Minding Creative Minds, Ireland's 24/7 support and wellbeing programme for all of Ireland and Irish creatives living abroad.

It turned out to be a wonderfully positive night with close to 150 people in the audience for a panel discussion chaired by our Deputy Editor Stuart Clark who was joined on stage by musicians Tolu Makay (above), Shobsy (below) and Dan Murphy from Hermitage Green, and actor Johanna Thea whose impressive CV includes No Time To Die, Finding Alice and Venom 2.

With the Ambassador Mr. Martin Fraser across town with the Tánaiste at the official UEFA 2028 launch, the welcoming address was given by Deputy Ambassador Orla McBreen who emphasised the importance of Irish creatives being given the supports they
need in order to flourish. She very kindly held aloft a copy of our current issue with Michael D. Higgins on the front, which is the most illustrious product placement we've had in a long time!

Also in attendance was the Ambassador's wife, Deirdre Fraser, who was a wonderful host and told us how much she and her husband enjoy welcoming the artistic community into their official residence.

After Minding Creative Minds founder Dave Reid gave an overview of the service and how it can be accessed by the Irish diaspora living abroad, it was over to Stuart Clark who started by introducing Tolu Makay, the Tullamore singer who treated the room to a spine-tingling rendition of 'Trust' from her recent People Still Cry In The Summer EP.

It was the curtain-raiser for a lively discussion, which ranged from the perils of AI, relocating as a musician to London and the pros and cons of being a fully independent artist to finding your tribe, blowing up on social media and Dan making it to the final stages of Germany's Got Talent with his beatbox harmonica.

All four of the panelists talked about their positive engagements with Minding Creative Minds; Tolu receiving financial and legal advice, Shobsy making use of the free counselling service, Johanna giving an online workshop and participating in MCM's Creative Career Summit and Dan speaking at previous events and looking forward to becoming a personal mentor for the service in 2026.

A common theme was the sense of community Minding Creative Minds has helped foster, and the stigma it's broken down.

After Q+As from the floor – the London Hermitage Green Fan Club was out in force! – it fell to Shobsy to bring the curtain down on what was a very celebratory affair. His performance of 'Animated' confirms what've been saying for a couple of years now – he's a superstar in the making!

See https://mindingcreativeminds.ie for information on how to access their confidential free services.