Fontaines D.C. Mayo links explained as tickets for Slane shows hit general sale

Fontaines D.C have recently announced their biggest-ever Irish headline shows at Slane Castle, Co Meath, in 2027.

This comes from their fantastic summer headlining festivals throughout Europe, such as Electric Picnic and Reading/Leeds Fest. The band will only be the third Irish act ever to headline Slane, with audiences of up to 80,000 people on June 26 and 27 next year with the general ticket sale taking place this morning.

Going back to their roots, 2/5 of the band members are originally from Co Mayo.

Tom Coll, drummer, was born in Crumlin, just outside of Castlebar. He was surrounded by traditional music from an early age as his father, John Coll, was part of a local pipe band. Coll’s first instrument was the fiddle, which he played from ages 10-14. He started playing the drums at age 12 and was heavily inspired by Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin.

Coll attended St Gerald’s College in Castlebar, where he took part in the pipe band and local acts influenced by both traditional Irish music and rock.

After his years of living in Mayo, he moved to Dublin to enrol in BIMM, the British & Irish Modern Music Institution. This is where all the members of Fontaines D.C met and eventually formed the band.

Coll never lost his love of Irish traditional music, as he founded the label Skinty Records and released a compilation album highlighting classic and contemporary trad artists.

Along with Coll, Deegan, the bassist, moved to Castlebar when he was young and attended St Gerald’s as well. The two weren’t familiar with each other until they met at BIMM, becoming friends and living together.

Growing up in Mayo, Deegan often felt like an outsider. His sense of belonging stemmed from his love of music, and he was playing the guitar from age 12. Deegan loved Metallica and other heavy metal artists. He even played in local metal bands around Castlebar, performing in the Ruby Room at the TF Royal Theatre.

Today, Fontaines D.C are selling out venues all over the world and have performed in over 30 countries. They are known as one of Ireland’s biggest bands and are looking forward to their European tour next year. They also hold BRIT Awards under their belts and calculate a whopping 8 million Spotify listeners monthly.

Coll and Deegan are very important to the huge success of the talented group. They both bring different skills to the band, one specialising in the post-punk sound, and the other in the groove, stimulating the melodic rhythm.

Being from Mayo just adds to their successes, which they showcased in their 2019 feature on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Deegan wore the iconic Mayo GAA tracksuit during their performance to fly the flag for Mayo.

The pair also recently appeared onstage at Electric Picnic alongside members of the 2026 All-Ireland winning Mayo team and the Saw Doctors.