Dermot Kennedy thanks Cork fans for their patience during long-awaited Musgrave Park gig

The Dublin singer says he last played in Cork to 'one or two hundred people' but on Saturday night he had thousands of fans in the rain to see him perform his postponed concert

Dermot Kennedy playing at Musgrave Park, Cork on Saturday. Pictures: Larry Cummins

Dryrobes may have been the most divisive fashion item to hit our shores when many turned to ‘sea swimming’ during the pandemic, but there was no denying their usefulness on Saturday night in Musgrave Park. As the heavens opened upon a stadium full of Dermot Kennedy’s fans, warm and dry attendees weaved their way around with a smile as their seaside clothing found a new purpose at the sold-out gig.

Unsurprisingly, the audience was a sea of ponchos – punctuated by those who fashioned outerwear from bin liners and one man I spotted proudly wearing a shower cap to keep his head dry – and a staff member at a nearby shop, which does not sell ponchos, confirmed their demand that weekend. “I should just put up a sign at the door that says ‘No ponchos, no naggins’,” he laughed.