Scenes from a previous Christmas Eve busk.Dublin Simon Community
The Coronas led the annual Christmas charity busk in Dublin city on Christmas Eve, with a host of musicians joining forces to raise funds for those currently homeless.
Beginning all the way back in 2010 as an impromptu music session, the busk has grown into one of the Irish capital’s most popular annual festive events.
Outside of having to take a break in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, each year has seen a mix of established and up-and-coming Irish acts raising money for the Dublin Simon Community.
Taking place outside the Gaiety Theatre, located just off of Grafton Street, this year’s busk was streamed online to allow anyone across the country to watch the performances.
The 13th edition of the event which has seen the likes of U2 and Hozier take time from their hectic schedules to play, saw Danny Reilly’s The Coronas playing a mix of their own tunes and classic Irish songs.
The Coronas were among the musicians to take part in the annual Christmas Eve charity busk in aid of the Dublin Simon Community (@Dublin_Simon).
The free event took place outside Dublin's Gaiety Theatre to raise awareness and funds in support of the homeless charity. pic.twitter.com/ik2K1MRWxz
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 24, 2024
Introducing them, Oscar-winner Glen Hansard said: "Every year our dear friends from The Coronas show up, legends, they’re all here today which is very special."
@theirishtimesnews Glen Hansard and fellow musicians sound check for Rainy Night in Soho, for The Busk 2024 outside The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. #fyp #ireland #dublin #christmas ♬ original sound - The Irish Times
Playing their biggest song "Heroes or Ghosts," the highlight of The Coronas’ set was when they covered the Cranberries’ "Linger" and Aslan’s "Crazy World," in a tribute to the late Dolores O’Riordan and Christy Dignam.
Also taking to the stage on Tuesday evening was Shobsy, Brian Brannigan, trad duo Lorkin O’Reilly and Jonny Pickett, and uilleann piper Seamus Ong.
This year’s busk arrives after it was recently reported that a record number of 14,966 people were in emergency accommodation in October, including 4,645 children.
The Department of Housing’s monthly reports does not include those who are sleeping rough, the homeless in hospitals or prisons, those who are in shelters for asylum seekers or victims of domestic violence, or people who are couch surfing.
Since February 2020, when the last election was held, the amount of homeless people in Ireland has risen by 47%, with the amount of homeless children increasing by 16%.
If you would like to learn more about the Dublin Simon Community, please click here.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.