Christy Dignam’s daughter Kiera slams ‘negative’ comments after memorial gig

Last week, she performed at the 'Christy Dignam: A Celebration' event in Dublin’s Vicar Street alongside other Irish artists like Imelda May.

And while the evening was a “positive” celebration of Christy’s life, Kiera, who is also a singer, admitted that she’s received a few nasty messages from trolls over the past few days.

She said that she and her family are still in the “early stages of grieving” as she reminded her followers that they are “human”.

Taking to social media, she said: “This is a thank you and it's all positive and everything, I have to say, has been so positive, the love in the room was unbelievable.

“And the love that we've received since then... but I think it is important to just point out that there can be a few select kind of negative things online in anything and of course that comes with the territory, I get it.

“But I think that sometimes people need to take a little step back and realise that this is not just a job. We are human. And at the end of the day when you strip everything back, I had to go on that stage and celebrate my da. And that's hard.”

Kiera continued: "We are heavily in the early stages of grieving and anybody who wants to bring something negative to that or me personally online, because to be honest with you, I haven't had any negative to my face but there have been some comments and stuff like that which again, as I said, I get, but I think that that says a lot more about those people than me.

“We just wanted the other night to be positive and to lift us up and celebrate my dad as he was as a musician, as a person, what he brought to people's lives and what people got out of him.

“We just wanted a positive night of no bullsh*t and that's exactly what we got. So thank you to every single person who has supported us and has been there and for sharing the other night with us.”

Kiera is set to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae as part of the line up for Rock Against Homelessness next month.

She will perform at the 3Olympia for the annual gig in aid of Focus Ireland, which will be hosted by Laura Whitmore.

Kiera will join headliner and two-time Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae as well as acts such as Aimee, Toshin, Isaac Butler and The White Horse Guitar Club.

"The homeless crisis in Ireland is shocking. It’s heartbreaking to think that so many people don’t have the basic security of a home and it doesn’t bear thinking about the fact that there are now over 4,000 children homeless in Ireland today,” she said.

"I’m delighted that I can help in even a small way by getting involved in Rock Against Homelessness, bringing awareness and hopefully helping to raise much needed funds.”

Her father Christy, who died last year at the age of 63, was part of the annual fundraiser in 2021 when it aired on television during the pandemic. Aslan played a set broadcast from the Olympia Theatre.

The Sunday Independent’s charity concert is sponsored by Cadbury, Arachas and Hard Rock Café in Temple Bar, with 2FM as media partners.

It has seen a number of household names headline, including Glen Hansard and The Boomtown Rats in 2017, Imelda May and Dermot Kennedy in 2018, Fontaines DC in 2020, Pillow Queens and Aslan in 2021, and Kojaque and Damien Dempsey in 2022.