US and Canada Tour - Feb/March 2012

MCD have confirmed a second Dublin concert by The Saw Doctors at the Olympia venue in Dame Street on Friday January 27. Tickets are currently on sale for both the Jan 27 show and the Jan 28 show from €22 Euro including booking fee, from Ticketmaster outlets in Ireland, and online from http://www.ticketmaster.ie

This January, Eimhin passes on the Saw Doctors’ sticks that he grasped with such vigor and skill at the start of 2007, to Rickie O’Neill.

Éimhín had been familiar with The Saw Doctors’ canon over the years and had an extra knowledge of the gigs from his supporting The Saw Doctors with Noelie McDonnell, in both Ireland and Britain. His first gig was the Inauguration Ball of the newly elected Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley in Baltimore.

Éimhín’s flair and talent on the drums brought the power and dramatic capability of the band to unprecedented levels. His writing, arranging and recording contributions to ‘The Further Adventures…’ were immense and will, I believe, stand the test of time as some of the best recordings the band has ever achieved. He moves on now and we wish him all the best in all his future pursuits and we are lucky that he has brought Rickie O’Neill in to take over the kit.

Rickie is 21 and an incredibly talented drummer, and Éimhin has worked with him over the last few months in order to make the switchover as smooth as possible – and it couldn’t have been any smoother. Rickie, being a national record-holder in the butterfly, will know how important it is to have smooth switchovers in relay races, and the smoothness of his and Éimhín’s would definitely put any team in the running for a record performance.

Rickie already has a Glasgow Barrowland and a Manchester Apollo under his belt, amongst other shows from the end of the Winter Tour around Britain and Ireland and he and the rest of us are seriously looking forward to the two upcoming shows in The Olympia in Dublin and then on to the six-week adventure around the US (and a bit of Canada) It’ll be a pleasure to be introducing the Claremorris Man to the cities, venues and fans across North America, on this, our most ambitious trip in a long time.

For now, a huge thanks to Éimhín for all the fun and music over the last few years – we wish you health, peace and happiness for 2012 and way beyond.

Leo

Friends, I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the immense support you have given me over the past few years in my time in the Saw Doctors. Words cannot describe the honour it was for me to be part of an outfit that I admired for so many years, on and off the stage. Collaborating on songs with musicians as fine as Anto and Kev was nothing but a pleasure. Sitting down and working on lyrics and chords with Leo and Davy and to eventually see those songs, set in stone on a Saw Doctors album, will forever remain one of the proudest moments of my career.

Every night that I took the stage with the Saw Doctors, I was aware of how lucky I was and how important my role was. I believe everyone in the band over the last few years felt a deep sense of satisfaction and pride towards the standard of live music we produced. Positive emotions such as these are only experienced once in a lifetime and I am grateful to Davy, Leo, Anto and Kev for all the great nights under the lights on stages across the world.

I would like to extend a sincere thanks to the rest of the lads in the outfit too. Your example, advice and friendship is something I shall value all my days.

Finally, I would like to wish Rickie all the best in his new career with the Saw Doctors. Working with him over the past few months was very enjoyable and I am delighted that he will get to showcase his phenomenal talent in front of Saw Doctors fans world-wide. Ricki, give it stick my man!

Thank you all for the great times and I would at this point like to wish the band all the best in the future. I will always fly the Docs flag. So long everyone and thanks again.

Éimhín

The official Irish Christmas charts are out, and we are delighted to say that 'Downtown' featuring Petula Clark is the highest new entry going straight in at number 2. This is the same position that N17 reached in the 1990 Christmas charts.

Unfortunately The Saw Doctors just missed out on the number 1 spot to this year’s X-Factor winners little mix and their cover of the Damien Rice song 'Cannonball'

You can still buy Downtown ft Petula Clark from iTunes at a cost of 99 cent. You can also buy a limited edition CD of Downtown for €1 cent plus postage from the webshop on this site.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased the single so far. The lads are already planning for another assault at the Christmas number 1 next year.