Athlone singer caught up in Joe Dolan controversy

Paschal Brennan has been caught up in a controversy over the latest tribute to the late Joe Dolan. The Athlone man was to play the part of Joe in a musical about his life, which has been cancelled after it sparked controversy with the Dolan family. The latest tribute, a musical about the showband legend, was launched at the weekend, but it has sparked controversy after Dolan's family revealed they were sick and tired of what they said were people trying to cash in on Joe's memory. The show, which was due to open in the Hazel Hotel in Monasterevin on October 10, has since been cancelled and those behind the show say they are unsure whether a tour of the musical planned for next year will be going ahead. Joe's brother Ben this week criticised people who were advertising their tribute shows using Joe Dolan's name. He said while anyone can sing a Joe Dolan song, they could not use his name and the Dolan family, along with Joe's original band, performed the only legitimate tribute show, titled the Reunion show. He explained that this involved the band singing along with Joe on a big screen and said Joe conducted the band from the big screen as he had always done. He said while they don't perform the Reunion show too often, they will be putting it on again in Killarney on the October bank holiday weekend. Ben Dolan said they had decided to call it the Reunion show as it was a way to reunite Joe's fans. He said that the family had copyrighted the Joe Dolan name. "We're the official people to do a Joe Dolan show. It kills me when I meet people and they say 'I see you're playing such and such a place on Friday night' and it's not us. I'd appreciate if people stopped using his name." The latest tribute act, which was launched at the weekend, was called Goodbye Venice Goodbye. It is understood promoter Michael Hynes has registered the musical as a trade name in a bid to protect himself by possible legal action from the family. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Mr Hynes said the show on October 10 had since been cancelled and he was not sure if the tour next year was going ahead. He confirmed that the show was to tell the life story of Joe Dolan, who was to be played by Athlone man Paschal Brennan, through music. Mr Hynes said he was disappointed that the show was cancelled as there had been a lot of interest in it. "I had a lot of things done for it, but it's outside my call now," he said. "It came as a shock to me." Mr Brennan declined to comment when contacted by the Westmeath Independent.