Christy Dignam’s daughter Kiera has revealed he “didn’t speak” to his Aslan bandmates during the final months of his life.
The singer’s daughter made the confession as she hit back at the abuse she has received on social media since announcing a tribute concert in his honour.
The abuse came after Aslan was noticeably missing from the lineup for the upcoming event, which will take place at Vicar Street next May.
Christy died on June 13th at the age of 63, after spending the last few months of his life being cared for by his family at home in Finglas.
The Aslan frontman was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called myeloma, for which there is “no cure”, on St. Patrick’s Day back in 2013.
Ticketmaster announced the event, which will take place on May 3rd, 2024, after huge demand from fans for a celebration of his legacy.
Days after the announcement, Kiera has taken to social media to respond to the abuse she has received for seemingly “snubbing” Aslan.
She also referred to Aslan announcing they will be continuing with a new lead singer following Christy’s passing.
She said: “I would like to address people’s questions, but I also want to address the abuse I’ve received, and the disgusting lies that have been written online in the past few days about me and the situation at hand…”
“What I’ve been put through the last couple of days is nothing short of disgraceful, unwarranted and has almost pushed me to the edge.”
“Firstly, Joe, Alan and Billy have announced that they will continue playing as Aslan which we fully support. The lads are musicians and music is their livelihood.
“They have to continue to work, and I fully support them going forward. The music is theirs as much as my Dad’s so they have every right to continue.”
Kiera continued: “My dad didn’t speak to the other members of Aslan for the last 7 months of his life and there are a number of reasons why the band will not have a part to play in this concert, reasons which they are aware of. ”
“Although I feel that it is necessary for me to address this due to the needless bullying I’ve endured, I do not feel that it is right to air dirty laundry publicly and I will not go into detail about these reasons.”
“I can assure you all that Aslan having any involvement with this gig is not what he would have wanted. I would ask of you all to please reserve judgement when you have no idea what happened.”
Featuring a variety of top Irish artists performing songs from his career, a celebration of the life and music of Christy Dignam will be held at @Vicar_Street on 3 May 2024.
🎫 Tickets are on sale Monday at 9am – https://t.co/RBztHNlQ2V pic.twitter.com/8qhGZAXzwr
— Ticketmaster Ireland (@TicketmasterIre) December 15, 2023
She continued: “It was a place where he felt at home and where he could connect with his fans on a deep level. We are so grateful to everyone who is helping to make this celebration a reality.”
It is unknown thus far who the “biggest names in Irish music” mentioned in the advertisement are.
