There IS and WAS only one Luke Kelly and there never again will be another. Damien or anyone else for that matter isn't trying to be Luke. He is just singing one of his songs and does this well. Its important that Luke's songs are carried on and never to be forgotten, just the way Luke would have wanted.

I'm not Irish at all, and I think Damo has something absolutely priceless inside him that comes out to us when he opens his mouth. Is it a perfect voice? No, but then some of the best pop/rock singers don't have a "perfect" voice either. It's not always about that. It's the feeling that comes across. Damo is all about the feeling, the passion in his work. He's up there for all those who think they can't do it, aren't supposed to be able do it. Ireland should be proud of him. I sure am.

Couldn't agree more

Damo's a king!

one of the Best

@Dehnaldinho here here. I'ver worked with Damo and he's a nice lad. He has some amount of songs in his head. He's keeping Irish music alive, especially for young people. Love this song.

I love this song - never fails to raise the hairs on the back of my neck - and I think Damien Dempsey does it justice.

:) Thanking you.

he murdered that song

Agreed!!!

Brilliant interpretation of a classic song! Well done Damien!

good version seen damien a few time puts on a good show worth a visit

luke kelly was out out on his own. A pure golden voice. Nobody would try to be or sound like him.Sing the songs that he sung and keep his memory alive that`s all...

Brilliant unique singer top man damo

Damien Dempsey is a unique singer.. His voice envokes power and meaning.. He must be good if the Dubliners and Phil Coulter invited him onto the show.. He will never be as good as Luke Kelly. Nobody can..But he still remains one of Ireland's top performers.

You're right, and a bollox into the bargain!

fair play damo....pure class

this was excellent.

the man is class cant wait 2 here a rainy nite in soho

Thank god for what's left of the Dubliners

Love this guy to bits. How and eva. Luke Kelly's voice would shake the very bricks of the building your sitting in as you read this. Damo would have problems shakin a wendy house. He is a class song writer and thats where it ends. Down with that sort of thing damo!!!

Damo is de man. Fcuking rockin the place out. Have it.

great attemt & tribute

great stuff

good stuff boss!

Brilliant song..... Nothing else to say

Well said, i couldnt agree with you more! :)

GET A GRIP ON YOUR LIFE!!! Damo is doing what Damo does best..He's going back to the grass roots of Trad music, Has released 4 savage albums that no one could have any ri-ra with, And for the Dubliners to Play with Dammo is more of a honour for them to know that the Sean Ceoil is Fos Beo!!! I Know & I Fell that Damo is no tryin to "BEAT" Luke at anythin!! But thru Damo there is a new lease of life to Trad Music!!! Sean Ceoil is Fos Beo!!! DAMO DONAGHMEDE 13... ABU!!!

For all the haters on here and I know a fair few of them off here who can't access this coz of other reasons. This is the best cover yes cover since himself. End.

stop living in the past.luke was the man of his day, damien is the man for today.

@delangemtb i cant get enough of this right now ....bang on with you comment

that's just Damien of course, the Dubs are always great

pure class wipes the floor with luke kelly lol

great job did owl luke smellu proud

8 days left now

ah damien ya should have left such a classic alone

listen to the colony or factories or ghosts of overdoses and give it a chance

lol that would be impossible ya prat!!!!!

fair play to damo he is a class act! he hasnt forgotten where he came from unlike a certain eejit that sings in U2 thats off trying to save the world.

He's Not Trying..Thats Just The Way He Sings

damo is not an average singer or nothing like it! hes a brilliant performer and he gives it 110 percent in all his gigs. i doubt if youve ever seen him live before have you? he would put a lot of so called better artists to shame.

some preformer...............vicar steet new years night was just class

check out damien dempsey the jar song wich was just up loaded class

i dont give feck what anyone says, damo has it; big time fair play

@relimes Be True To Your School is the song you're thinking of. I think.

Damo is a top class songwriter and sings from his heart. He is not trying to be Luke Kelly (who I named my son after by the way), he respects Luke Kelly too much. Go see Damo live before you judge!!

This not a patch on Luke's version. 🐶☘️woof

he dosent come close!!!

@Cuchulainn131 and he need another voice - but one good thing - everybody can now see how good Luke was

dont think so. Would love to hear their version if they did tho

settle down. This wasn't written by Luke Kelly, but by Ewan McColl. Like Kelly sang it well, as does Damien Dempsey. imo

@Gumsheilds After Luke Kelly then yes

Didnt the beach boys do this song also? I know they did something about school and it might have been this one.

Patrick Carr its in A flat .

this is class would put owl luke smelly to shame

Comparing Luke to Damien. Well theres not much of a difference. Damien does his own thing and sings the way he wants to sing. The same as Luke. Two different vocal ranges but both sincere, ballsy and honest. True working class heros. Damien lights up this town!

This is brutal, have never heard worse!

Damien Dempsey is not trying to be anyone. He is himself, he just happens to be singing a song sung by Luke Kelly in the past. His own music would blow you away. Has he a naturally good singing voice? No, not really, but with singers like him, it's not about pronunciation and having a sweet voice. Johnny Cash didn't have a perfect voice either, neither did Bob Dylan and certainly not Ronnie Drew, but I could listen to all 4 of them all day.

as it happens im not irish!!!!!

what key is this in?

No Offence kidda, but i dont have to learn to do anything, you like who you like and i like who i like, simple as!

@eirebuck why would luke be embarrassed?

Does Any1 Kno Where I Can Download This..?

say that to his face triplemac13

damo shows us all how it should be sang...poor auld luke would be embarrased

I love Luke Kelly, but I have to say, Damo`s version sneaks it. Powerful.

ok ok all you out their who dont like damo ----give me a shot go through my site done in mi back room and i ll be in Vicar street in no time ...come on ye feckers get voting for me

Damo needs to grow a beard to fit in with the Dubliners and their tradition.

howeya kellyoneill i love all your vids of luke kelly watch them all the time but youll have to learn to appreciate the damo chap anyone that can see he's the best alive today then you probibly dont have the foggiest

enuf said...................

george murphy does a great cover of this song aswell

Damien Dempsey is great but he is no Luke Kelly. I love the sound of the uilleann pipes on this song.

if there was a man to fill the shoe's of the irreplaceble luke kelly its damo.......go damo reppin for donaghmede

I don't want to saddle him with high expectations, but he's the next Luke Kelly, or as close as anyone will ever get to Luke Kelly

ya's call yourselfs irish,cop on yous lot,lukes a legend,my fav also,but from a different era,damien dempsey is a living legend,if you listened to his lyrics properly yous would understand,for god sake he also irish yous should b proud of em,not slaging em off......my god i wouldnt turn my back on any of ya's.yous are all a disgrace slaging each other off

Think you might have missed the point a little bit. . . .

Totally different voice to luke. as ronnie had, stop comparing people to luke as there is no comparison. let people have a chance.

Cannot listen to this after hearing Luke sing it. No doubt this guy is doing his best, but its a mere shadow of Luke's performance of it. Sorry.

If you want to hear a modern day Luke Kelly, do a search for The Legend of Luke Kelly on You Tube, or Chris Kavanagh....you will hear one of the finest ballad voices in Ireland today, much better that Damien Dempsey.

well, he's good, but noone takes Luke Kelly in this.

i say fair play to him, he is a good singer but no luke kelly, look who he is around him, id sing myself with that lot if i had the chance

dempsey,dempsey,dempsey..i just dont get it. might be great craic back at a party. but hes no singer..

savage my arse! he is a muppet! lol and just for the record the dubs arnt that great either!!!!

its not a case of whos better Dempsey or Kelly , just appreciate the music , either way its a hell of a lot better than listening to some afro american that thinks hes some kind of drug dealing gangster ... oops "gangsta" talking his way thru a "song".. muddafukka ....if anyone of you ever come across Dempsey singing the Beatles classic "Norwegian wood",with Sharon Shannon , then u,ll truely appreciate how good a singer he is ......maybe not as good as Luke.. but far more talented than Emenem

you dont know what your talking about

hes a good singer but tries too hard to be luke kelly!

Cant stand a guy who rides coat tails of someone so genuine. Why not copy Bay Cit Rollers or something, not an Icon like LUKE. Makes my blood creep. He is utter SHOITE

TUPACS VERSION IS MUCH BETTER

tupacs version is way better

the backing music is shite, drums and piano are nothing to do with the dubs

Sorry so say but this has to be the worst performance of this song i've ever heard