Irish singer Ronan Keating has come a long way since his early days with Boyzone.

The boy band image is long gone and he is now an established performer who appeals to audiences of all ages.

Now he’s about to release a new album of songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Keating worked closely with Bacharach on the album which is simply called, When Ronan Met Burt.

The Dubliners are taking a short breather before setting off on the next leg of their British tour.

The legendary Irish group have already played Glasgow, Aberdeen and Perth on the Scottish leg of the tour. They resume in Scotland at Coatbridge on 8th March before setting off for England, starting at Newcastle City Hall on 10th March.

The Irish American band The Dropkick Murphys have never been slow in supporting causes they feel strongly about.

They’ve now waded into the controversy involving the American state of Wisconsin, which is planning to implement budget cuts that cut leads to thousands of job losses.

The BBC have produced a documentary on Irish rock bank Thin Lizzy.

It’s called Legends: Thin Lizzy: Bad Reputation

It’s a respectful but honest portrait of Thin Lizzy – who are described in the show as arguably the best hard rock band to come out of Ireland. For video link

Frankie Gavin and De Dannan are now half way through their Up Close and Personal Tour of Ireland and going down a storm by all accounts.

The title Up Close and Personal relates to the fact that the band are playing several small or out of the way venues that wouldn’t normally expect to host such a well-known act.