My Life with Eoin Coughlan: 'We played on stage with Robbie Williams in Croke Park'

Musician Eoin Coughlan of the Oars at home in Ballynora, Cork. Picture: David Creedon

When Robbie Williams invited us to perform with him in front of 83,000 people in Croke Park I asked myself the same question any musician with an eight-year-old son would.

It was the mother of all predicaments. “Who are we going to get to babysit?” As it happened my wife was already going to the concert. 

For as long as I can remember she has been an unwavering support to my bandmate Brian and I. 

While she is my other half in life, Brian is my other half in music. Together we make up the musical duo otherwise known as the Oars.

Playing alongside Robbie Williams as part of his 2025 Britpop tour was an opportunity not to be missed and I didn’t want my wife to miss out either. 

Luckily, we needn’t have worried, given that Séamie had scooped a coveted place on the guestlist.

Brian and I are lucky to have performed with some of Ireland’s most revered musicians, from Damien Dempsey to Paddy Casey. 

I’m a songwriter and guitarist while Brian is a multi-instrumentalist. Our latest album, released in January 2024, was recorded and produced in Louisiana by multi-Grammy winner Dirk Powell.

On this occasion, Robbie’s musical director made contact with another musical director in Ireland. He checked us out and liked what we did. 

We played a private concert the day before the gig with some other musicians, including influencer Garron Noone. 

There was a great connection between Robbie and the musicians. Despite his stratospheric success, he was as down to earth as they come.

I can’t say I even remember him having a rider.

My son Séamie, however, came with his own demands, or rather just the one!

Musician Eoin Coughlan of the Oars at home in Ballynora, Cork. Picture: David Creedon

“I’ll come to the concert dad,” he reassured me, “but can I just ask you one thing? Can you tell Robbie not to mention my name on stage.” That was when it hit us. 

For Séamie, fame was a difficult concept to grasp. He had heard the name Robbie Williams being bandied about but assumed he was a friend. 

Over the years he had received shoutouts on stage from countless musicians. It’s no wonder he assumed that this star would be no different. 

I had no idea that my son’s request would become a running joke between the popstar and I.

“Please don’t mention my child’s name on stage,” I asked Robbie in mock desperation. The singer, however, wasn’t about to make any promises.

“It’s such a beautiful name,” he responded. “I’m going to have trouble not saying it.” The night before the gig we played a private party for himself and his dancers. There were 40-50 people singing and dancing with us as we jammed with his musicians.

Robbie was as normal as the rest of us. We got to know him and he got to know us. On the Saturday he hung out for about an hour in our dressing room.

He is also a wise man who has quite a philosophical outlook on life. In a short time he threw an arm around us and trusted us with what he was saying. 

We were taken aback at the level of trust he demonstrated in terms of the personal details he disclosed. 

The mutual respect was obvious from the beginning. He was very interested in our music. He also chatted about our kids and took an interest in hearing about our families.

We were touched by the way in which his team embraced us but the greatest honour of all was being invited into the dressing room for the pre-performance huddle. 

Any musician will understand that this is such a sacred space. Getting the chance to be part of it was the highlight of the experience for me.

Brian and I have played significant shows and toured extensively around the world. We have played stadiums in the past so while this wasn’t our first rodeo, it was undoubtedly very special. 

More importantly, it was a great opportunity for us to expand our fanbase and enjoy a unique experience we will savour for a long time to come.

I can honestly say that if Brian and I were asked to play alongside a star who wasn’t a nice person, we would probably refuse to play alongside them. 

At the end of the day, we have a huge respect for music and connection. What we liked about working with Robbie Williams is that there was no false worshipping of the famous guy. 

He was good craic and easy company, which we value above any awards or status. As soon as you begin speaking to somebody that well known, everything else just washes away. 

You don’t see the celebrity anymore, but rather the good soul behind him. This was just another human like the rest of us who happened to be heading out on stage to thousands of screaming fans.

Some musicians might have found a gig of this scale daunting. Brian and I were just happy to be enjoying a sing song, albeit on a grander level, with some 83,000 people.