Photo by Steve Kingston.
Sandymount has turned out more than its fair share of creative people. Writers, poets and artists are commonplace. Few, though, have the reach of one musician who is originally from Farney Park. He’s been played in the Aviva Stadium, his YouTube channel has had over 20,000 views and he’s been on a compilation album alongside the likes of U2.
We went to find out more about Michael Green, the man behind Sandymount Songs. Now based in Clontarf, Michael has been writing songs and singing them for many years. He started performing publicly in the Tops of The Area competition many years ago but it was 2002 when things started to move up a gear for him.
“It was World Cup time and I had a song that was perfect for it,” he told us. “I went to the FAI (The Football Association of Ireland) but they weren’t interested when I rang them about it. I brought a copy in and through persistence got an official to listen to it. He loved it and the next thing I knew the announcer from Lansdowne Road Stadium rang to say they were going to use it at half-time during the matches.”
We visited him at home and found a hub of activity in his home recording studio, which he built himself from scratch.
It’s not just music that keeps him busy, however, as a quick glance around the shelves and walls of the professional-looking studio tells a story of someone who is always doing something.
We noticed some medals for archery. “I took that up in the last year, I’ve a range in the back garden,” Green told us, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. We asked about the juggling equipment we could see hanging on the wall. “Oh I learned to juggle a few years ago too.” Beyond that, there was a Google Silver Surfer Award and numerous other clues that Green is a doer and not just a talker. And not just in Ireland, as he takes inspiration from the things around him. He started writing songs about a town where he regularly holidays in Bulgaria. Now his ‘Bansko Songs’ are often played on radio stations there.
What is nearest to his heart is charity. Recently retired as a business consultant, Michael is using a lot of his increased spare time to raise money for causes he supports.
Homelessness is something he feels strongly about, and as such has a song which he wrote which highlights the plight of people on the streets. He is offering the song to various charities to use in campaigns or as they see fit. With one of his tunes on YouTube having over 5,000 hits alone – more than many established acts – his reach for a charity could be very useful.
You can check out his 70-odd songs and videos on YouTube by searching for ‘Michael Green Sandymount Songs’.
By Steve Kingston
