The tragic deaths of Dylan Lacey and Daniel Lynch in August of last year sent shockwaves through the Ringsend-Irishtown community. The two local lads lost their lives in a car crash on North Wall Quay, leaving family and friends devastated.
In the wake of their passing, a group of friends decided to commemorate the memory of the two gentlemen by coming together to write a song to convey their emotions about the tragic event. The idea was spearheaded by a group, including Nicole McKeown and Philip Murphy, who both work for the Spellman Centre and were close friends of Dylan and Daniel.
McKeown spoke to NewsFour about the catharsis provided by the song, with friends and family taking what they could from it, and about how the project itself ultimately came together.
“Basically, we thought it was a good idea to come together and write a song and just get our feelings out there; especially lads, as they don’t show their emotions,” she tells NewsFour. “It was literally that we just wanted to do something for the families; we didn’t really know what else to do.”
The song and music were put together and recorded by singer-songwriter Mark Maxwell, along with participants from the Spellman Centre. The track Day By Day made its public debut at this year’s Spellman Awards, which took place on May 15th, where copies of the CD were also made available. The song itself was sponsored by the Spellman Centre and Dublin Port Company.
McKeown was delighted with the immediate positive reaction to the song. “Yeah, I have to say the community were right on board,” she says. “Even at the awards a lot of people were coming up to me and saying ‘That’s amazing’, wanting to speak to Mark, and I have to say that the community were great towards it.”
McKeown expressed the group’s thanks to the Spellman Centre, Dublin Port Company and in particular Teresa Weafer, manager of the Spellman Centre, through whom contact was made with Mark Maxwell in the first place. Copies of the CD are available from the Spellman Centre and Dublin Port Company for those interested in hearing the song for themselves.
Pictured above: Singer and songwriter Mark Maxwell.
By Craig Kinsella
