Dexys Midnight Runners – live gallery and review from 3Olympia, Dublin 04.11.2026

There was no support act at the 3Olympia. Instead, the sold-out room got Dexys Midnight Runners across two sets. The venue went dark, and when the lights snapped on, every member was already in position, as if the curtain had risen on a play already in progress. A couple of songs in, someone in the crowd shouted “welcome home,” and it was clear how much it meant to lead singer Kevin Rowland, who has strong Irish roots.

They opened with the new material rather than the hits. “I’ll Always Love You” and “Once A Man, Twice A Child,” both from this year’s album LOVE, came first. It became clear early on that this wasn’t a standard gig. For “She Got A Wiggle,” Rowland sat opposite multi-instrumentalist and bandmate Sean Read, perched on a stool, and sang the song to him as if telling an old friend a story across a pub table. Then vocalist Janelle Martin joined him for “You’ve Got The Love,” and the stage shifted from two men talking to a conversation about love itself. Each song was cast with its own characters, the band stepping in and out of roles as the story moved on.

After an interval, the second half was hit after hit, with “Burn It Down,” “Geno” and “Breakin’ Down The Walls Of Heartache”. At 73, Rowland is the only original member left, and over the evening the show moved from LOVE’s quieter scenes into the songs that made them, through “Jackie Wilson Said” to “Come On Eileen,” which closed the main set. For a singer whose new album opens and closes on what it means to be Irish in England, Dublin felt like more than just another date on the tour.

Dexys Midnight Runners photos:

Photos & words – Cian O’Donnell @cianod6