SONICA officially opened the “EMPIRE” auditorium based at its Skerries HQ, First Landings on 11th March 2021. The auditorium is named EMPIRE in homage to the late local musician, Philip Dunne, who sadly lost his life in November 2019.
A friend of the Dunnes, SONICA owner and local Skerries man, Donnacha Neary, approached the family to request permission to use the name EMPIRE, the title of Philip’s EP that he released before he passed away, to remember Philip’s love for performing live music and to honour his memory.
Damien Dunne, Philip’s father commented: “SONICA have given us a space to celebrate Philip and the amazing person and musician that he was. Our message to anyone struggling comes from another of Philip’s songs ‘Bring Me Home’, the sentiment being, ‘if the sun doesn’t find you, just keep dancing in the rain.”
Donnacha Neary, MD of SONICA said: “We are sincerely grateful to the Dunne family for allowing us to pay tribute to Philip in the manner that we have. Philip was an extremely talented player, song writer and performer – his passing touched the hearts of many in our local community of Skerries. I’m happy that EMPIRE can play a part in how we will always remember him”.
To read more about EMPIRE, click HERE
If you are in need of support or would like to speak to organisations that can help, contact Pieta House HERE
