All the Dead Voices runs September 2nd to 4th, with One Leg One Eye, Operating Theatre and Lisa O’Neill each taking a night at the historic Dublin stage.
Gate Crashes presents All the Dead Voices, curated by Foggy Notions, three nights of live music from the darkest fringes of electronic pop, folk, theatre and experimental drone from Ireland at the Gate.
The series is curated by Foggy Notions, who are behind acclaimed music programmes such as Haunted Dancehall, MusicTown and the Dún Laoghaire Folk Festival.
The three nights open on September 2nd with One Leg One Eye, the psychedelic drone project of Ian Lynch of Lankum and George Brennan, marking a rare Dublin appearance following the release of their second album CRONE in May. September 3rd brings a rare reunion for Operating Theatre, the music-theatre company formed by composer Roger Doyle and performer Olwen Fouéré, following their return to the stage at the National Concert Hall last year. The run closes on September 4th with Cavan singer-songwriter Lisa O’Neill, back at the Gate after a run of shows in January 2025 and off the back of her EP The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right.
Tickets go on general sale Thursday July 23rd at 10am.
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Wednesday September 2nd: One Leg One Eye
One Leg One Eye is the project of Ian Lynch of Lankum and George Brennan. Their second album, CRONE, was released in May this year on acclaimed independent label AD 93.
Bewildering, psychedelic and ultimately transcendental, the four tracks of CRONE shapeshift and morph endlessly in a coarse miasma. Traditional song structures and vocal melody are eschewed, with the duo instead directly channelling energies from the rich seams of mythological significance submerged below the Irish psyche. The anger, rage and beauty of the sovereignty goddess burn a consistent and deliberate line through the album, in the form of obscure incantations and dire pronouncements, the gnarled sinews that bind it all together.
Thursday September 3rd: Operating Theatre
In June 2025, at the National Concert Hall, composer Roger Doyle and performer Olwen Fouéré staged a reunion concert celebrating the founding of their music-theatre company Operating Theatre.
Operating Theatre was active in two phases, from 1981 to 1988 and from 1998 to 2008. The company operated as both a theatre company, integrating music as an equal partner in the theatrical environment, and as a band releasing records. Roles were flexible, with Fouéré also singing and Doyle also acting, and as a duo they collaborated with numerous other artists including writers, musicians, directors, actors and designers.
In the 1980s, Operating Theatre released records with CBS Ireland, Kabuki Records in London, and on the Mother label set up by U2, and created several theatre productions presented globally, including at the Project Arts Centre Dublin, a tour of Holland, London’s Bush Theatre, Glasgow Mayfest, the Caracas Festival in Venezuela, the Avignon Festival in France, Galway International Arts Festival and Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. These included site-specific productions in an abandoned warehouse in Dublin’s Digital Hub, a glass room in the Imperial Hotel in Galway, a shopfront in Temple Bar and an art gallery in Paris.
In 2008 the company produced a 114-page hardback book, Operating Theatre 1980-2008, with photographs, essays and two CDs, one in each cover. They have experienced a recent resurgence following the success of US singer Caroline Polachek’s version of their single ‘Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth’, originally released on the Mother label with singer and lyricist Elena Lopez. The track has also been used by fashion brands Gucci and Chloé, who featured the original version on their worldwide online fashion collections.
Roger Doyle, dubbed the Godfather of Irish electronic music, has released many more albums to worldwide acclaim, including two electronic operas. He released his first LP, Oizzo No, in 1975. Olwen Fouéré has a flourishing international career as an actor, writer and director in theatre and film, recently starring in The President, a Gate Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company co-production. Her films include Mandy, The Watchers, The Survivalist, Sea Fever, All You Need is Death and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), among many others.
The last time Fouéré and Doyle appeared together at the Gate Theatre was between 1988 and 1991, when they were both performing in the world premiere of the now legendary production of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, directed by Steven Berkoff.
Friday September 4th: Lisa O’Neill
Acclaimed Cavan-born artist Lisa O’Neill returns to the Gate after a series of performances in the venue in January 2025.
Renowned for her distinctive voice, fearless songwriting and spellbinding stage presence, O’Neill has become one of the most vital and respected figures in contemporary folk music. Her songs weave together history, politics, compassion and myth, delivered with a rare emotional honesty that has earned her widespread critical acclaim.
It has been a fruitful period for O’Neill, whose recent releases have cemented her reputation as a singular artistic voice. Later this year she will rejoin The Pogues and other special guests for further European dates.
Tickets
Tickets go on general sale Thursday July 23rd at 10am, with individual links for One Leg One Eye, Operating Theatre and Lisa O’Neill shows.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
