For years, among my friends, I've jokingly called myself a Superstar DJ.
Hence the brackets. And the question mark. And the exclamation mark. That's me taking the piss out of myself before anyone else gets the chance.
About thirty years ago I took over the Yawl Inn in Youghal. It's where I developed my skills, found my musical identity and established my reputation. But far more importantly, it's where some of the most special friendships of my life were forged.
The people who came through that door weren't just customers or familiar faces. They became my friends. They supported my nights, followed my music, and stayed part of my life as the years passed and the venues changed. They still are. And some of them are now asking me to DJ for their children.
The venues are where I played. The people are why those nights mattered.
The Yawl Inn
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
When I took over the Yawl Inn on North Main Street in Youghal, it was what you'd traditionally call an old man's pub.
That changed. The Yawl Inn became a lively place attracting a broad mix of ages, mostly young adults.
I was behind the decks regularly on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. That's where I honed my skills, developed my style, learned how to read a crowd and established my reputation as a DJ.
But the most important thing that happened at the Yawl Inn happened on the other side of the decks.
It's where those special friendships began. They're still part of my life today, long after the Yawl Inn closed. They've shaped my life and my DJing ever since.
I used to play the music while my friends made their memories. Now I realise they were making mine too.
The Sea Side Posse
Largin' it up
The Yawl Inn crowd didn't stay in the Yawl Inn. Over the years, groups of us would travel together to DJ gigs and raves. We jokingly called ourselves the Sea Side Posse.
What we shared was a real passion for dance music, and the experiences we had together weren't confined to the pub.
One of my DJ heroes was the legendary Mark Kavanagh. I went to his gigs regularly, and eventually we became good friends.
Then Mark came down to Youghal to play a night for me at the Yawl Inn.
He didn't want to be paid. He wanted to play as a friend.
The night was extraordinary, and it's still talked about today. Back then, hearing a DJ of Mark's calibre play that kind of set was something you'd associate with a major superclub. But here we were, in the Yawl Inn in Youghal, with the Sea Side Posse absolutely largin' it up to one of Ireland's greatest DJs.
For one night, we didn't have to travel to a superclub. The superclub came to the Yawl Inn.
Kiss FM Cork
Someone came looking
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One day, back in 1997 or '98, I was sitting in the bar of the Yawl Inn when a stranger popped his head in the door and asked was I around. I didn't know him, so I was hesitant to answer.
Thankfully, I did.
The stranger was Tom Donegan. He'd heard about the DJ at the Yawl Inn, and he was about to open what became Cork's most famous pirate radio station, Kiss FM.
To cut a long story short, I became one of Kiss FM's original DJs, presenting the Afternoon Show every weekday. Later, I went on to present Friday nights on Cork's Radio Friendly.
A record from Twilo
One memory from those Kiss FM years started in New York.
I was over there and went to the legendary Twilo nightclub to see Paul van Dyk, one of my DJ heroes.
During his set, he played El Niño by Agnelli & Nelson.
Standing in the legendary Twilo nightclub and hearing one of my heroes play a record made by a Northern Irishman — that was special.
A few weeks later, that Northern Irishman, Robbie Nelson, was the guest DJ at a Kiss FM night in Cork, and I got the chance to tell him I'd heard Paul van Dyk play his record at Twilo.
That was even more special.
As we now know, El Niño went on to become a worldwide dance anthem, and Robbie went on to global stardom.
All of it started with a stranger popping his head in the door of the Yawl Inn. So thank you, Tom, for taking a chance on a chancer.
The Night Ian M Nearly Didn't Make It to the Decks
Sir Henry's, Cork —
Some nights stay with you because of the music. Others because you spent half the night wondering if the headline DJ was ever going to turn up.
This particular night at the legendary Sir Henry's in Cork managed to be both.
Back in December 1998, I promoted and DJ'd a night headlined by Ian M, one of the legendary DJs from London's iconic Trade nightclub. Mark Kavanagh was also on the bill, alongside myself.
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Unfortunately, Mark had a family issue to deal with and couldn't make it, so I ended up playing his slot as well as my own.
No problem, I thought.
Little did I know!
The Cork City Tour
Earlier that day, my girlfriend at the time and I collected Ian from Cork Airport. The plan was straightforward enough: pick him up, drop him at his hotel and let him get settled before the gig.
Ian, however, had other ideas.
He fancied checking out a few of Cork's local hostelries.
Now, I had a nightclub to get ready and a gig to organise, so I couldn't exactly join him on a tour of Cork's finest drinking establishments.
Thankfully, my girlfriend stepped up and took on the role of unofficial Cork tour guide, giving Ian the royal treatment while I headed off to Sir Henry's to get everything ready.
What could possibly go wrong?
11:15 PM — Panic Stations
Ian was due to take to the decks at 11:30 PM.
At 11:15, there was no sign of him.
I tried ringing him. Nothing.
I tried ringing my girlfriend. Nothing.
Now, remember, I was already playing longer than planned because Mark couldn't make it. My supply of tunes was getting thinner, and I was starting to get just a little concerned.
By 11:45, there was still no sign of either of them.
At this stage, concerned had turned into full-blown panic.
I had a legendary London DJ advertised to play Sir Henry's, a crowd expecting to hear him, and absolutely no idea where he was.
And I was running out of records!
Midnight — The Grand Arrival
Finally, at around midnight, the two missing adventurers appeared.
Relief!
Although it was fairly obvious that their afternoon exploring Cork's hostelries had been a roaring success.
Both were, shall we say, three sheets to the wind!
At that point, I didn't care. Ian was there, the night was saved, and I could finally stop imagining every possible disaster.
At 12:10 AM, a full 40 minutes after his scheduled start, the legendary Ian M finally took to the decks.
And what a set he played.
Whatever had happened on his tour of Cork, it certainly hadn't affected his ability to deliver an incredible night of music.
All that panic, all those unanswered phone calls, all that scrambling for another record to play...
Worth every minute.
Ian Remembers
Years later, Ian shared a memory of that very night on Facebook.
When someone commented, "Best night ever, 1998!", Ian replied:
"It was a bit mental if I recall!!He!He!"
Club Walter
If we build it
GiGi's was the established nightclub in Youghal. Local legend James O'Keeffe was the resident DJ, so there was no room for me.
So rather than wait for one, I decided to create my own club night. I went to Mary Murphy, who owned the Walter Raleigh Hotel, and asked whether I could hire the function room.
Mary advised me against it. Others had tried to take on the established nightclub before, and it hadn't worked.
I jokingly replied: “If we build it, they will come!”
And they did.
Club Walter became a recurring Bank Holiday club night, and it sold out every time we held it. It ran for years, until the hotel was sold and the new owners took the property in a different direction.
The Monday Club
Mackies
One of the nights I remember particularly fondly was the Monday Club at Mackies, a family-run pub in Youghal.
Brendan, the youngest son of the family, was running the pub at the time. But our connection went back much further.
Years earlier, Brendan had worked behind the bar for me at the Yawl Inn. He'd experienced those nights first-hand and knew the atmosphere we'd created there.
Now, years later, the Yawl Inn had closed, Brendan was running Mackies, and he asked me to become the resident DJ for an old night they were planning on resurrecting.
The Monday Club.
The idea was to run it through the summer, starting on the first Monday after the college exams finished.
It was a massive success.
And what I love about this story, looking back, is how it connects to where everything began.
Someone who'd once worked behind the bar at the Yawl Inn was now inviting me behind the decks at his own family's pub.
Different venue. Different chapter of our lives.
But a connection that had begun all those years earlier at the Yawl Inn.
The Quays
Fridays, then Saturdays
The Quays Nightclub in Youghal had successful Saturday nights and wanted to build up its Fridays. I was invited to take them on.
At the time I'd been doing occasional club nights with James O'Keeffe, the former resident DJ at GiGi's, so I suggested we do Fridays together. The owners agreed, and we made Friday nights a success.
Later, I returned to The Quays as a resident DJ, sharing alternate Saturday nights with Chris Mangan and Cormac O'Callaghan. On Bank Holiday Sundays, the three of us played back-to-back.
It was a long and successful association.
Berties
One night, two generations
Two people who were regulars at my gigs in the Yawl Inn years went on to have children.
Their daughter, who hadn't even been born when her parents were coming to my nights, asked me to DJ her going-away party before she moved to Australia. The party was at Berties in Youghal.
The crowd was a mix of people who'd been coming to my gigs decades earlier and their grown-up children.
I hadn't planned an Ibiza anthems set. During the night I played an old classic, and both generations went for it. That reaction to one record changed the direction of the night. I followed what was happening on the dance floor, and the set turned into Ibiza anthems.
The atmosphere was extraordinary. But what made the night magical was the sight of people who'd been part of my DJing life for decades, enjoying themselves alongside their children.
The five sisters
The friendship came first
One of my best friends, Siobhán, is the aunt of five sisters. The girls grew up knowing me through her.
Over about eighteen years, I've been asked to DJ milestone birthdays for all five of them.
Amy, the youngest, had me for her 18th, and she's booked me again for her 21st. In her words:
“He was so good for my 18th, I've booked him for my 21st too!”
Amy
It was never a professional relationship that became a friendship. The friendship came first. The birthdays came later.
Alistair
Seventeen years later
Alistair booked me to DJ his 18th birthday.
Seventeen years later, he got in touch about his wedding.
I said no at first. I'm a club DJ, not a wedding DJ: house, tech house, trance and Ibiza anthems are what I do. But I'd played his 18th, and now, seventeen years on, he wanted me for his wedding. That intrigued me. In the end, I said yes.
“Having booked Ferg for my 18th 17 years ago, there was only one man I was getting for my wedding. … The dance floor was hopping all night because Ferg listened to what I wanted, but also catered very carefully to the crowd.”
Alistair
Jim and Gráinne's Wedding
Super star DJ
Jim, Gráinne and I go right back to the Yawl Inn days. We've been friends ever since.
Their wedding turned out to be one of the best wedding parties I've ever DJed. Even today, people still fondly talk about Jim and Gráinne's Wedding.
And Gráinne even left me a review that ended with:
“Super 🌟 DJ”
Gráinne
For once, I wasn't the one saying it! 😄
The people who made him
The Superstar DJ was always a joke among my friends.
But the people who filled the Yawl Inn, supported my nights, followed my music and stayed part of my life were never a joke. They were real. Their friendships were real.