Watch Ólafur Arnalds, The Staves, JFDR, Dermot Kennedy and more pay tribute to Talos on The Tommy Tiernan Show

05 January 2025, 10:25 | Written by Paul Bridgewater

(News)

(Talos)

Closing out Tommy Tiernan’s chat show on RTÉ last night was a tribute to the late Eoin French – who performed as Talos – with a community of musicians French had worked with throughout his life performing “We Didn't Know We Were Ready”.

The song was originally created at the 2023 Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival in Cork by Ólafur Arnalds and a choir of visiting musicians that included French. Many of those involved in the original performance came together last night to close The Tommy Tiernan Show including Arnalds and Jófrídur Ákadóttir (JFDR), Kate Ellis, Sandrayati Fay, Steph French, Dermot Kennedy, Louise Leahy, Memorial, The Staves, Ye Vagabonds and Christ Van Der Ven. "This could arguably be RTEs greatest musical moment in a decade or more. ...and not a Stetson in sight," said one commenter on RTÉ's Instagram account.

The moving tribute took place in front of a visual backdrop of French and you can watch the whole performance below:

"The song is an expression of community and creativity that has now taken on meanings we could never have imagined back when we wrote it," wrote Ólafur Arnalds earlier today. "Barely a day goes by where I don’t think about how fortunate we are to have this platform to channel our grief into."

French’s death from cancer last August, aged 36, sent shockwaves through the music world in both Ireland and Iceland. The Cork musician – who divided his time between his native Ireland and Reykjavík, Iceland – was a key part of an artistic community in both countries.

French's first full-length album as Talos, Wild Alee, was nominated for a Choice Music Prize in 2017. His second album, Far Out Dust, was released in 2019, and his third, Dear Chaos, in 2022. A posthumous release, the four track INNI-released Sun Divider EP, was a collaboration with composer Atli Örvarsson.

The EP was the result of a year-long collaboration between Örvarsson and French, split between sessions in Iceland and French's homes in West Cork and London. It was French's wish that the various projects he was working on prior to his passing would be released and Sun Divider is the first of three projects.

You can also watch the original performance of the song from September 2023 in the lobby at River Lee Hotel, Cork, featuring French.