‘NEGATIVE COMMENTS’ | 

Kiera Dignam says Dave Fanning shouldn’t get ‘any more airtime’ after Christy remarks

“We were just beginning to grieve, so I hadn’t heard anything about it until people said it to me, and I listened back”

Yesterday at 11:00

Kiera Dignam has said that veteran DJ Dave Fanning doesn’t deserve “any more airtime” after his scathing comments about her late father Christy Dignam.

The Aslan frontman died at his home last month aged 63 after a decade-long battle with cancer.

The following day, a tribute to the Finglas singer aired on Claire Byrne’s RTÉ Radio One show, with Fanning saying that Christy’s career went “downhill” after he turned to drugs to cope with the sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday World, Christy’s daughter Kiera, who is an only child, made it clear that she had no time for his catty criticism.

“We were just beginning to grieve, so I hadn’t heard anything about it until people said it to me, and I listened back. I felt a lot of things, but I made a conscious effort to not give him any airtime.

“I think there’s always going to be stuff like that with people’s opinions and I just have to make a decision that I either let things wind me up or I just don’t give people that power.

“And that’s what I chose to do – I chose not to give people that power.

“I have more important things to worry about and deal with at the moment, so I wouldn’t be giving him or anyone else with negative comments any more airtime. We’re just trying to deal with our personal crap.”

While Fanning has since expressed regret online for making the “ill-timed” remarks, he hasn’t reached out to Kiera or her mum, Kathryn, privately.

The 37-year-old said that she would “need time” to think about whether she will accept his Twitter apology.

Meanwhile, singer Kiera is coping with the loss of her dad by getting straight back into performing.

Hitting the stage at Forest Fest Music & Arts Festival next Sunday, she’ll be showcasing some of her original songs – and a “little tribute” to the Aslan singer may be on the cards too.

But there’s a worry that people may think it’s “too soon” for the mum-of-three to return to work.

“It will be my first time back on stage. From the outside, it could probably look like it’s a bit soon to be doing these things, but it is a thing where I have to focus on something positive and put my energy into something positive.

“I’m on autopilot trying to get on with things and just keeping busy. I think when you lose somebody, you have to preoccupy yourself.

“It’s a little bit daunting. But it’s the same with everything – leaving the house for the first time or going to the shop for the first time when you lose someone, you almost feel a bit of social anxiety.

“I’m just trying to use it as something positive. Singing is what I do, it’s who I am, so it’s something to look forward to.

“Music is my therapy. There’s a little bit more to it now – it’s more on an emotional level. It’s something I need to be doing.

“He’d get it,” she laughed.

As the daughter of a rock legend, Kiera has had to fight to establish herself in the music industry and escape the dreaded ‘nepo baby’ label.

“You do have that added pressure of having to prove that I’m here for me; I’m not here because of my surname,” she explained.

“Some people might think it’s a nepotism thing, which I get. So, you’ll get people who will judge me, who haven’t heard me, who don’t know anything about me, but they’ll already have a misperception of me.

“I’m not everybody’s cup of tea. I don’t like every singer in the world so I can’t expect everyone to like me but at the same time, some of my dad’s fans might give me a chance because of who I am, and they might actually like me”.

Did her dad have any sage words of wisdom for her before she launched her career? “His advice was, ‘Don’t do it’. He knew it was a really tough business and it’s very hard to make it. I think anyone in the industry will try to warn you in that way, but he knew there wasn’t anything that would sway me”.

Forest Fest takes place in Emo, Co Laois from July 21-23. For weekend/day passes and more information, see forestfest.ie.