Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Kíla x4, Síle Denvir, Eoghan O Ceannnabháin and The Mary Wallopers are among the acts playing at Whelan's in Dublin tonight as part of a benefit gig for broadcaster Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí as he battles cancer.
This is one in a series of events organised to raise funds for the 53-year-old Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcaster who is undergoing treatment for stage four cancer.
Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, a lifelong champion of Irish music, worked on a wide variety of RTÉ television and radio shows, including Scaoil Amach an Bobailín, and most recently on the magazine show Rónán Beo on RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta.
He is also well known in Irish language circles for An Ciorcal Craiceáilte and An Cabaret Craiceáilte and won awards including Oireachtas media awards.
According to his friend Seamus Ó Briain, who has set up a gofundme page to help raise funds for treatment, Rónán was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon cancer in May 2019, and had surgery followed by chemo. In April 2021 the cancer came back.
He had more chemo and major surgery, but doctors were unable to remove all the tumours. He now has Stage 4 Colon cancer and has undergone two major surgeries and around 40 bouts of chemo in the last few years and is now at a stage where the chemo he was on has stopped working, and a cure or surgery is not an option in Ireland.
Last week he was informed that the tumours in the liver have doubled in size and that he has new tumours in the lungs and liver.
Rónán has been receiving treatment at a clinic in Spain for up to a month and is organising other suitable treatments at clinics abroad. He is also looking at a self-pay Phase 2 trial in America that might be suitable.
Tickets for Tuesday night's show are available here.
if you would like to contribute to Rónán’s gofundme, please click here.
