Rónán O Snodaigh has played the bodhrán in folk band Kíla since the late 1980s.
A native of Sandymount now living in Bray, he recently appeared in a short film from film-maker Myles O'Reilly, which documented an encounter with unionist, Orangeman and Lambeg drummer Richard Campbell, in the latter's home city of Derry.
Home is...
I live in Bray with my missus Sarah and two little fellas, Fionnán and Sami. I grew up in Sandymount and I’ve been in Bray for seven or eight years. I love it, it’s a gorgeous place.
It's got its own identity - it can seem like Dublin but it's not Dublin. The people are friendly or more approachable, and it has some kind of community thing going on – people are considerate to each other.
How I get around the city:
I'm off the road so I get around by foot, bus, taxi, lifts. I like walking, because I sing to myself and I think. Everything is in walking distance [in Dublin].
My favourite pub:
The Harbour Bar in Bray. It's very welcoming, and it's one of those pubs with lots of things hanging around. They're not all fake things - it's been there long enough to have all of that stuff.
They look after you, [pre-pandemic] there were gigs on every night and then there'd be sessions on the other side of the bar every night. It's a room with a fireplace that you could spend a few days in.
My go-to café or coffee shop:
Simon's café [in George's Arcade] in town. Simon is a gentleman, simple as that. I don't think I've found anything I don't like about him. I just like going in there and I've known him for so many years - just from behind the counter, you know?
You get these big doorstep sandwiches, a good, decent coffee and one of them cinnamon buns. [The sandwiches], you have to eat them with a knife and fork.
Where I get my exercise:
I get it from life, really - I cycle, I walk, I play gigs. I walk around the beach, I collect stones, I do the garden, I sand down wood in the shed. That's where I get my exercise from, I just live an active life.
My favourite shops:
I go to the second-hand shops in Bray a good bit, looking for cool shoes, so St. Vincent [De Paul]’s in Bray.
I'm wearing a beautiful, fancy pair of boots, I'm really impressed with these. I'm even going to get dubbin and polish them for the next year. I picked these up in about November in St. Vincent De Paul's in the town - a great thing to get for 20 quid.
My favourite place for a haircut:
I do [my own hair], and maybe it's starting to show. I think youth graces you with permission to do all of that and you look cool anyway, but as you get older you don't look so cool. It's time to find a place - I'm open to suggestions!
My favourite place in Dublin to get away from it all:
The back beach in Bray. You go down to the harbour and you turn left. There's only another 20 people that go there, really - everyone goes to the main beach.
I've been going there through the whole pandemic, collecting sticks and stones and seaweed. I get a lot of solace out there. If I’m in a bad humour, I’ll go out to the back beach until I’m alright.
My favourite place to let my hair down:
We went to a pub on Thomas Street [called Dudley’s], and it's a gorgeous place. I really intend to go there a few more times. Your man seems to be really into it growing as a place for tunes.
It's just opened - you get the vibe when somewhere is open and you go, 'right, this is cool'. I liked everyone in there, so I’d probably go there.
The last live event I went to before lockdown:
I play a session in The Tin Roof [in Bray] on a Thursday, and that can be nice. It's only gorgeous but it depends on the people. For me, I like playing music, and even if I'm not playing I like being around nice music.
For years in Dublin I'd call in to people's houses - I didn't bother with the pubs because they didn't carry the vibe as much. We kind of lived in each other's houses.
That's kind of changed now but when pubs allow for it then you think, 'Alright, I'm somewhere now'. And this place The Tin Roof is allowing for it.
Sometimes it's just really sweet to hear people singing songs. You get moments in the middle of a session where you tone it back a little bit and you go, 'Oh, this is bliss'.
Dublin's best kept secret:
I'd say the MVP [in Harold's Cross] is Dublin's best kept secret. No one goes there but I go there all the time. It's absolutely gorgeous - maybe it's too small or something but it's class.
It has the hipster vibe and all the cool stuff that goes with that, but it has the old world vibe too. You still feel like you're in an old Dublin pub, somehow. That's the best of both worlds for me.
