Irish Examiner View: Outpouring of affection for Christy Dignam

News broke on social media this week that the Aslan singer is at home receiving palliative care.

Aslan singer Christy Dignam singing at the Pendulum Summit 2020 in Dublins Convention Center. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The old lyric "it’s better to burn out than fade away" can be applied to many musical heroes, but there are plenty of stars whose flame has been long and steady rather than a brief flare. In lasting a long time, some of them have now reached a status they could hardly have envisaged in their fiery youth.

John Lydon, the enfant terrible of punk pioneers the Sex Pistols, has been in the news recently with a bid to represent Ireland in the Eurovision.

What might have been seen as a situationist stunt in Lydon’s 1970s heyday takes on a different hue when the singer explains his motivation. His wife, Nora Forster, is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and Lydon’s Eurovision bid is based on his desire to raise awareness of the disease.

The situation is different with Christy Dignam, long-time singer with iconic Irish band Aslan. 

News broke on social media this week that Dignam is at home with his family receiving palliative care, and there has been an outpouring of affection and support for the Dublin native ever since.

Aslan’s tireless gigging around Ireland for decades means there can hardly be a corner of the country which has not reverberated to the hits in their back catalogue — and to Dignam’s unmistakable voice.

For his thousands of fans, at every concert and with every song, he has made a crazy world a little less crazy and a lot more enjoyable.