Hats off to Dineen and David Kitt, but no mention for Dave Fanning

WE doffed the cap to a few of the more surprising omissions above, but what about those bubbling under, those who won’t just be knocking at the door but will have their feet well and truly under the table come the end of 2006.

First up, mention must be made of Ken Killeen of the Boom Boom Rooms in Dublin. A young promoter with his heart in the right place - “a philisophical inclusion, and a very important conduit for new talent.” Granted, he may not be a household name, but he was chosen as a symbol or representative of the very vibrant independent scene. Honorable mentions also go to: Bernadette Barrett; distributors/PR and labels (Vital Distributors, Friction, Stevo Berube, Reekus Records, Trust Me I’m A Thief, Out On A Limb, Independent Records, N4, Lakota/V2, Sound Foundation, FIFA, Hardworkingclass Heroes festival, Rubyworks/Ruby Sessions, Faction, RMG, Supremo); producer Dave Odlum and performers Declan O’Rourke, David Hopkins, Joe Chester, Snow Patrol/Ian Archer, Redneck Manifesto/Jape. Special mention to the indie scene’s messiah, David Kitt, who is beginning his first proper assault on the world outside Ireland.

Like all right thinking people, we in the parish have long spoken out about the plague of singer-songwriters that are the scourge of our fair isle. But there are the honorable exceptions: Damien Dempsey has the look of a coming man about him - he didn’t make the list this year, but if your esteemed and exceedingly neutral chair of the judges has anything to do with it ...