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music · Saturday 12 September 2026 · 19:30 
The Blades
At The Spirit Store · Georges Quay, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 NR79
At The Spirit Store · Georges Quay, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 NR79
The Blades are one of those Irish bands whose reputation kept growing long after they split up. Formed in Ringsend, Dublin in 1977 and fronted by songwriter Paul Cleary, they made a string of tightly crafted mod-pop singles in the early 1980s that still sound sharp today. Their live return - they reformed in 2013 and have been playing regularly since - has reminded a whole new crowd why those records mattered. This September they bring the show to Dundalk’s Spirit Store: a quayside room that suits the band down to the ground.
The set will draw on the catalogue that made The Blades a fixture of Irish music history. “Ghost of a Chance” was their breakthrough, performed on The Late Late Show back in 1981. “Downmarket” followed in 1983 and became the only Blades single to chart in Ireland, peaking at number 28 - a modest position for a song that has since been called one of the finest to come out of the country. The band signed a major deal with Elektra off the back of it, though the major-label path never suited them and they went their own way.
What the live show offers is the songs in a room. Paul Cleary’s writing is rooted in working-class Dublin experience - direct, melodic and unpretentious - and it translates well to the Spirit Store’s main room, which holds around 200 people and has a reputation for good sound in an intimate setting. The venue doubles as a bar with food, and there is a gallery space showing local artists’ work. Arrive early and you can eat before the gig; the downstairs bar fills up on nights like this.
Dundalk sits on the main Dublin to Belfast corridor, about an hour north of Dublin by road on the M1, or roughly 70 minutes by train on the Dublin Connolly to Belfast line. The Spirit Store is on Georges Quay, a short walk from Dundalk train station. Street parking is available in the town centre nearby. If you are coming from Belfast, the drive south on the A1 takes about 40 minutes.
The town has a good mix of pubs and places to eat around the town centre and the quays, and the surrounding area of Co. Louth has plenty worth exploring before or after an event like this. There is more to see in Dundalk and across Co. Louth.
Heading to The Spirit Store in Dundalk? Louth has plenty more to see. Read the Dundalk area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.