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music · Friday 4 September 2026 · 8:00pm 
The Blades
At Dolan's Warehouse · 3-4 Dock Road, Limerick, Co. Limerick
At Dolan's Warehouse · 3-4 Dock Road, Limerick, Co. Limerick
The Blades play Dolan’s Warehouse on Friday, 4 September 2026, bringing Paul Cleary’s band back to Limerick decades after they formed in Dublin during the city’s punk era in 1977. The band once shared a six-week residency at Dublin’s Baggot Inn with a then-unknown U2, alternating headline slots, and Cleary went on to win Songwriter of the Year at the 1982 Hot Press Awards, ahead of both Bono and Van Morrison.
The Blades released two singles on Energy Records in 1980 and 1981, including one performance on The Late Late Show, and by 1982 a reconstituted line-up saw songwriter Paul Cleary win Songwriter of the Year at the Hot Press Awards. Their debut album The Last Man in Europe followed in 1985, and the singles collection Raytown Revisited is included in the book 101 Irish Albums to Hear Before You Die, a mark of how the band’s reputation has grown since they originally split up in January 1986. Cleary’s songwriting mixes soul and pop influences into what is nominally a rock band, closer to Dexys Midnight Runners than to the punk scene The Blades emerged from. Expect a set drawing on that catalogue at Dolan’s Warehouse, played to a crowd that includes people who saw the band first time round as well as a younger audience discovering them through reissues.
Dolan’s Warehouse is on Dock Road on the eastern edge of Limerick city centre. On-street parking is available on the surrounding streets, and it is a manageable walk from Arthur’s Quay. Photo ID is required at the door for this strictly over-18s show.
Dock Road is a short stroll from King John’s Castle and the medieval quarter on King’s Island, so there is plenty to fill the hours before an evening show at Dolan’s. There is more to see in Limerick and across Co. Limerick.
Heading to Dolan's Warehouse in Limerick? Limerick has plenty more to see. Read the Limerick area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.