RTÉ brings Culture Night 2024 to RTÉ One on September 20th with a joyful celebration of our cultural landscape.
RTÉ Choice Music Prize winner Denise Chaila anchors RTÉ One's one-hour Culture Night special from The Round Room in Dublin's Mansion House, heading a line-up of exceptional musical performances which includes a punk rock celebration filmed in Derry, featuring local outfit Cherym and London-based Irish punk rocker Spider - watch a preview above.
Below, programmer maker Donal Scannell rocks out at legendary music venue Sandino's...
It's hard to believe that punk is almost 50!
That means that if you hit retirement this year, it was the soundtrack to parts of your youth. The people who are running Ireland at the top of the ladder today were punks - or at least punk adjacent - in their formative years.
On assignment with U2 on their last European tour, they spoke intently about the importance of punk in their lives, especially Adam Clayton, who said: "We always like to kind of push that positive message which we got from punk, which is you can be responsible for your own destiny. And as such, we've always wanted to keep shaking it up and inspiring ourselves, and hopefully inspiring everyone else to not see the limitations, but to see the possibilities."
Personally, I remember as a child seeing Top Of The Pops and seeing someone strewn with safety pins glaring out at me through the haze of our fuzzy TV. It’s an image that has never left me. I didn’t know then it was called punk, but it looked and felt different to The Nolan Sisters, that’s for sure.
Prepare yourself in 2026 for an onslaught of punk nostalgia on your TV screens. Ahead of the curve (of course) is RTÉ Celebrates Culture Night, which traveled to Derry to draw the lines between punk past, present and future. The home of The Undertones is home now to an act who spew forth a succession of amazing three-minute pop wonders they are proud to call punk. The band are Cherym, three riot girls who make infectious hooky songs that pack a punch in part because of the rock-solid politics underpinning their sound.
For this Culture Night extravaganza Cherym have teamed up with Spider, another Irish punk who has sought refuge in London. They had never met before filming and had only communicated via video calls and messages, but in the same room they were like old friends. Kindred spirits for whom punk makes sense. The sound, the fury, the community and the thrill of making a racket makes wherever they are a safe space.
Where else could this have been filmed but Sandino’s in Derry, Cherym’s home turf and a beacon of love, respect and tolerance? Sandino’s was started by Joe Mulheron, who sadly passed away last year. Being there feels like being inside a gorgeous mind. The venue wears its politics on its walls and that openness is what enables Cherym, Spider and their fans to feel secure.
The plan is simple in theory - Cherym and Spider perform together for the RTÉ Celebrates Culture Night cameras. For one Cherym song they sing with added vocals by Spider. Then Spider sings a song, with Cherym as her backing band. Cherym’s invited fans are a beautiful bunch who dote on the band and all soon become Spider converts too.
Before the recording, we sat down with the massed ranks of Cherym and Spider to find out more about where we are at, and why.
Cherym singer Hannah kindly kicks things off: "We are here in Sandino’s today because it is a great place to be if you are a marginalized punk."
Spider, new to Derry and therefore Sandino’s, loves what she sees: "It seems like it's very good for people who enjoy music. I think that there's a lot of history here, and there's a lot of art being made here, and being appreciated in the room."
"Punk is literally just rebelling against people being chained down."
What unites you, I ask? Alannagh, Cherym’s awesome drummer, hops in straight away: "I think the vibe, we're all parts of different marginalized groups. We can bond over our love for music. We all come from different parts of Irish culture, like two from the south, two from the north. So many differences, but at the same time, the thing that brings it all together is our music and the style of music that we play, which is essentially more down the punk route, and the fact that we can all be appreciative of music made by marginalized groups."
I'm glad you mentioned that four-letter word, punk. What does it mean to you?
"Punk is freedom", says Spider, "You’re free to say what you want, express how you want, without any boundaries, or confines as to what society thinks you should be. Punk is also rebellion. The reason punk started was to rebel against the silent majority and things that were holding people down. Punk is literally just rebelling against people being chained down."
So why Derry? Cherym’s bassist Emer says: "I suppose punk has a connection to Derry because this obviously is a place with immense history. I mean, so many punk bands started here as well, like The Undertones, and it has so many grassroots-level venues. Someone who grew up here has come from all that history - it's in your bones and your blood to tell a certain story,
It's amazing how all of you, when you heard each other's music, knew straight away you were going to like each other, I add. Spider hops in: "The first time I listened to you guys (Cherym) was Alpha Beta Sigma. I listened to that, and I heard the lyrics, and I was very easily able to tell that we were on the same wavelength, not only playing punk music, but also using our platform to say and do important things... I think they're so cool, they're amazing musicians and amazing people, and I love their vibe, but also, I thought about how cool and important it is to have all of our identities on Irish television, playing music like this."
"When I heard Spider’s music it stuck in my head so easily", responds Alannagh, 'It hit me with a sense of authenticity because of her style, and I felt I was hearing the most liberated female I could find. Her lyrics are just so powerful. We're bringing this punk energy. Not just punk, the majority of us are queer as well, so you're seeing different marginalized groups on your TV representing Ireland... People are gonna be mad, but we're here now, so we're gonna rock out!
RTÉ Celebrates Culture Night, RTÉ One, Friday September 20th - catch up afterwards via RTÉ Player.
