Donegal's Michael Maloney goes viral with Derry City celebrations!

Michael Maloney admits he was more nervous singing in front of the Derry City players last Sunday than he ever was at any of his live gigs.

The Donegal singer and songwriter has reached a new level of stardom after his surprise appearance in the City changing rooms following their 4-0 FAI Cup final win over Shelbourne at the Aviva Stadium. Welcomed like he was one of their own, the players roared on their support when he arrived with his guitar before he led them in a rendition of his hit sing ‘What do you want to know?, a song that the Candystripes have been singing after victories all season long.

An invitation from club PRO Lawrence Moore set the ball rolling for a moment and a day that Michael will never ever forget.

“Lawrence rang me about a month ago wondering if I would do a message for the Derry team,” he explained. “He said that they were interested in my songs and that they were playing them after their games. I said I would do one no bother. We met up in the studios in Letterkenny and we recorded a message and I thought that was the end of it.

“Then, when they got to the final, he asked me if I would be interested in playing for the boys after the game if they won. I said no bother at all so he got me a couple of tickets. It was class. That was my first game ever. It was some atmosphere. It was a sea of red and white. It was a great atmosphere and 4-0, it was comprehensive too so you could enjoy it.

“Halfway through the second half, it was in the bag, so I was like I better go down here now because this is nice and handy. I think there were some murmurings about it but I don’t think they knew 100%.

“I landed into the changing room and got the guitar, and they came in and they were taking pictures and that. I just walked out then and that’s the video you seen. It was some craic.”

As experienced as Michael is playing in front of a live audience, he admits that he had no shortage of butterflies in his stomach for this unique gig.

“Oh my God almighty,” he laughed. “I was far more nervous for that than I would be playing a gig at the weekend because you just don’t know how it will be received. When it’s live like that, you just don’t know. It was in the moment, there was no rehearsal, it was just there and then. I was in the room before just psyching myself up, I was jumping about the place. I knew myself I would have to bring energy to this. I was thinking if I was in that team I would just be pumped up, especially if I won.

“They took over, which was class. I didn’t expect them to know every single word, so it was a great feeling.

“Without sounding like a cliché, how can you describe that feeling? When people sing it back to you at gigs, it’s class, but to have a team like Derry singing I after every game, it just goes to show you that it must be decent enough. Do you know what I mean?

“For them boys to be singing it every single time, it’s just class and I’m so grateful that they asked me in to do it, I owe them a lot.”

‘Absolutely amazing’

More of a GAA man himself, Sunday’s game at the Aviva was actually Michael’s first soccer game, but he’ll got a long way before he beats the experience of this year’s FAI Cup final, in either sport.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” he agreed. “I was as happy for them. I had a good feeling the whole week when Lawrence was onto me. I just had that feeling that they were going to bring it home. I kind of knew it was going to happen, but when you’re sitting in the stadium like that, you’re building yourself up the whole time, so I couldn’t really relax the whole time, even though it was in the bag. I wasn’t really relaxed because I knew what was coming, but for them to receive me the way they did, it was just one of those moments and it will be hard to replicate that again. That’s a moment that you’ll never forget.

“I had bother getting the guitar in, never mind the mic and the speaker and all that. My plan was then to play ‘Teenage Kicks’ if I got it all in, because it’s hard to keep the energy in a room when it’s acoustic, so I didn’t know how it was going to go, but them boys blew it out of the water. The funny thing about it – I started off in key, but then they took it to a different key. I was playing the guitar and I was away off, but I was all ‘ah well, this is the way it is’.”

The video has since gone viral and introduced Derry City fans to Michael Maloney and vice-versa. It could not have happened at a better time for the Ardara man, who is set to launch his new album – ‘Give Out Before You Give Up’ this weekend.

“That’s another good thing about it,” he agreed. “I would have been playing predominantly in Donegal, and I would have played a lot in the North, but I think I only had the one gig in Derry. I’m playing in Murphy’s Bar in Dungiven this weekend. I’m launching the album there. Now, hopefully people in Derry will know me and that’s all thanks to the boys and thanks to Lawrence. What can you say? You can’t thank those boys enough for what they have done for me. You just can’t. I’m so grateful.”

Michael Maloney’s new album – ‘Give Out Before You Give Up’ will be available from Friday, and will be released on all major streaming and download platforms.

You can follow Michael on social media:

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TikTok – MichaelMaloneyOfficial

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