Self Aid

Self Aid
Self-Aid poster with logo
GenrePop music
Rock music
Traditional Irish music
Dates17 May 1986
Location(s)RDS Arena in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland
Years active1986
FoundersTony Bolland
Niall Matthews
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Self Aid was an unemployment benefit concert held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986.[1][2] The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea, both Englishmen of Irish descent, were designated "honorary Irishmen" for the day; the event was promoted by Jim Aiken.[3] The concert included the last performance by The Boomtown Rats until they reformed in 2013.[4]

The purpose of the concert was to highlight the chronic unemployment problem in Ireland at the time, with nearly 250,000 people unemployed. The 14-hour concert was the largest that had ever been staged in Ireland.[3] All musicians that took part donated their time free of charge.[2] All profits from the concert and subsequent album, Live for Ireland, went to the Self Aid Trust. The telethon raised millions of pounds for a job creation trust fund as well as over 1000 job pledges.[1] The song chosen for the finale was "Let's Make it Work", written by Christy Moore and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran.[2] Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzy with Gary Moore on lead vocals.[5]

The concept of the concert — job creation through pledges — attracted criticism both at the time and subsequently, with critics claiming that no jobs had actually arisen as a result other than vacancies that already existed.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Carroll, Jim (19 May 2008). "Self Aid 22 Years On". Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Lynch, Mick. "Self-Aid: Looking Back Twenty Years On". Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Self-Aid to Help Irish Unemployed". Billboard. 98 (19): 90. 10 May 1986. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  4. ^ "History of the Boomtown Rats". Boomtown Rats. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ^ Putterford, Mark (2002). Phil Lynott: The Rocker. Omnibus Press. pp. 271–272. ISBN 0-7119-9104-9.