Singer-songwriter and seanchaí John Buckley McQuaid brings his one-man show to the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, blending folk, film and fury in a searing portrait of Ireland through exiled eyes
In Memoriam sleeveJOHN Buckley McQuaid, modern-day Irish seanchaí, bard, poet, storyteller and singer songwriter john Buckley McQuaid presents his one-man music & video show at the Irish Cultural Centre this Saturday, July 26.
Based on his new album, This is Where I Keep My Dreams – Ireland Through Exiled Eyes, McQuaid brings Ireland’s past and present into stark relief with this one-man multimedia show.
Originally from Dublin and now based in Denmark, McQuaid, who also goes by the title of Bard of Stillorgan, embraces the role of the modern Irish seanchaí—the traditional storyteller—using song, video, poetry and a wry sense of humour. He casts a fresh, critical, often radical yet compassionate gaze on his native land.
At the heart of his show lies a powerful narrative that confronts Ireland’s deep-rooted social wounds—The Magdalene Laundries, Vulture Funds, the Diaspora and the enduring homelessness crisis
A standout is the haunting tribute 46A – In Memoriam, honouring Dublin’s iconic 46A bus, retired in February 2025. McQuaid relates how it played a key part in his upbringing. Funny, nostalgic — and poignant.
The chorus runs:
46A, Oh! 46A
You’ll always be more than a bus
Just yesterday they took you away
They’re stealing the future from us
His upbringing inspired the following lines in Confessions of a Catholic Kid:
Forgive me Lord for I have sinned
I promise not to sin again
Unless of course I get the chance
I beg forgiveness in advance
Mea culpa, mea culpa
Mea maxima culpa
BUT there are deeply moving songs too in McQuaid’s canon. Girls Who Lived in Hell is an unflinching homage to the women confined in Magdalene laundries.
Dear Mr Taoiseach, from his albums This Is Where I Keep My Dreams and Be Yourself, which he released just ahead of then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s 2024 resignation, is both magnificently melodious as well as searingly political.
In Homeless Hotels, the refrain goes:
Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland
Some get cake and some get crumb
Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland
What on earth have we become?
MCQUAID moved to Denmark in 1973 and has since become a fixture on Europe’s folk scene—performing in theatres, libraries, prisons and festivals from 1979 onward
Despite decades abroad, he remains deeply rooted in Irish culture, carrying its history—both glorious and painful—into his art.
His fairy-tale vision shines in the audio-visual work Stations in the Sky.
A true polymath, McQuaid is also a painter—reportedly creating around 500 works—as well as being an aspiring screenwriter focusing on Irish-set narratives. His e‑book Valentine’s Day pairs 29 songs with 29 videos, while his poem Prodigal Kiss features on UCD’s Virtual Poetry Wall
For his principled artistry, he was recently declared Musician of the Month by Dublin’s radical magazine Cassandra’s Voices, celebrated for his powerful, unflinching reflections on Ireland
McQuaid’s artistry derives from deep empathy and wry wit—bringing Celtic humour to heavy truths. He gives voice to the unheard, his lyrics confronting legacy and justice: Land of the Magdalenes laments wounds that “may never be healed,” while Homeless Hotels indicts the Irish state’s abandonment of its poorest.
McQuaid’s artistry reminds us that national identity is not static—especially for an Irish storyteller in exile. With black humour, nostalgia and moral rigour, he challenges complacency: calling for accountability from Church and State, and honouring the pain of the diaspora and marginalised. In doing so, he upholds the bardic tradition: where music is memory, and memory is resistance.
For Irish audiences—at home or abroad—this is more than folk music. It is a reckoning, a requiem, and a call to reckon.
A show not to be missed.
Details
John Buckley McQuaid
Saturday, July 26
Irish Cultural Centre
5 Black's Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9DT
Details: HERE
