Christy Dignam showed his kindness as he turned down an invitation to perform with U2 at one of their Dublin gigs to play at a fundraising gig for three brothers with a rare genetic illness.
The Aslan lead-singer, who is battling cancer, said that he couldn’t let the Barrett family down and that Bono would understand his decision to turn down the opportunity to join U2 on stage on Friday night.
“If Bono was in my shoes he would have done the same thing,” he said.
Family: Christy and Joe Jewell with the Barrett family | VIPIRELAND.COM
The three boys, Brandon (15), Keane (13) and Kallum (10) Barrett, from Drogheda, suffer from a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and face a lifetime of medical bills.
The syndrome affects all connective tissue in the body including joints, ligaments and internal organs, leaving the boys in constant pain and able to dislocate their joints very easily.
The brothers’Â parents Mary and Ian are constantly fundraising to pay for much-needed expert medical care in London.
Christy and his fellow Aslan musician Joe Jewell performed at the special gig for them on Friday at the Radisson Blu Dublin Airport Hotel, which was organised by Christy’s friend Dermot Smyth who works with the boys’ father Ian.
Bandmates: Christy and Joe showed up to support the family and raise funds | VIPIRELAND.COM
“I would love to have done U2 and knew it would be a great vibe and that but I knew if I did it, all the joy of playing with U2 would be lost in the guilt of letting down the Barrett boys,” Christy said.
“Dermot told me all about the three boys, and I have a rare condition and know how hard it is and what he told me struck a chord with me.
“So when the U2 offer came in, there was no dilemma, I knew Bono would totally understand,” he added.
Special: The Aslan pals put on an amazing performance for the fundraiser | VIPIRELAND.COM
The Barrett brothers mother Mary was “blown away” by Christy’s decision to ditch U2 especially for the gig.
“We had no idea that U2 asked him and we were blown away by his decision to play for us,” she told the Herald.
Mary also added that the boys were incredibly grateful by saying, “the boys could not understand why somebody would give up the spotlight to be with them”.
Although Christy missed the chance to perform with U2, he and his wife Catherine were invited as special guests to U2’s final Dublin date on Saturday night and said that “they treated us like kings”.
