'Legend' who namechecked Offaly band on TV quiz offered free gig tickets!
An Offaly band which was given as an incorrect answer to a music question on an RTÉ quiz show has promised to buy the contestant "a pint and tickets to a gig".
On last Sunday's episode of Ireland's Smartest, hosted by Claire Byrne, one of the questions was: "Maniac 2000 was an Irish number one single for which artist?"
Contestant Andrew McDaid, a computing engineer from Donegal, answered "Ruaile Buaile" rather than the original performer of the tune, Mark McCabe.
Ruaile Buile, the 'twisted trad' five-piece from Offaly, went viral a few years ago with their unique cover of Maniac 2000, and clearly it was their version which lingered in Andrew's head.
On Facebook this week, the band posted a clip of the moment when they were namechecked on the show and asked people to help them get in touch with Andrew.
"Facebook, help us find this man! We owe him a pint and tickets to a gig. What a legend!" the band wrote.
Just a few hours later, the post had its intended effect when Andrew responded: "That's me! Aw sure, it should have been an Irish number 1 for you's!"
Speaking to the Offaly Independent this afternoon, Shane Lynam of Ruaile Buaile said the band had a couple of gigs coming up in Donegal this summer and were hoping they would get to meet Andrew at one of them.
"We're going to try and meet up with him over the summer. It was nice to find him - I didn't think we would," said Shane.
He said the band's rendition of Maniac 2000 attracted a big reaction when it was posted in 2017.
"It went viral across social media and on YouTube. We've been trying to put our own flavour on different covers and Irish classics, so it's great when they work out and people enjoy them."
The band has a busy summer coming up with performances throughout the country.
The gig line-up includes local dates at Luker's in Shannonbridge (June 17), at the Litha Festival in Clara (June 24), and at the 'Beat on the Peat' festival in Belmont (July 9).
"Thankfully we'll be really busy in June, July and August. It's probably going to be the best summer we've ever had in Ireland," said Shane.
"The Irish folk and ballad thing has taken off, which is brilliant, and we're kind of getting our own dedicated days at festivals across the country now, which is great.
"We're twelve years at it this year, and it's finally starting to kick off," he said.
The mention of Ruaile Buaile on Ireland's Smartest is here:
And you can see Ruaile Buaile's version of Maniac 2000 here: