Lead singer with Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody, has discussed his worries concerning the possibility of a hard border in Ireland because of Brexit. If Britain leaves the single market and customs union in the form of a hard or no deal Brexit it could result in a hard border between the north and south of Ireland.
Originally from Bangor in Co Down the Snow Patrol frontman said the thought of a return to customs or immigration checks at the border with the Republic of Ireland was “extremely worrying”. Lightbody went so far as to say it would be “worst thing possible” for the Irish people.
Speaking to The Independent, Lightbody, himself a Remainer, said, “It is something that is extremely worrying. We are still recovering from the events of the 30-something years of The Troubles…It’s not a time to put that hard border back up again, it’s really not.”
“It would be the worst thing possible, I think, for our country, for our people, for the safety of our people, for the peace and the wellbeing of our people. It’s really bad. Whatever scenario we end up in I hope there is no border that goes back up again.”
We are delighted to present your first Latitude 2019 announcement! 🌿🐑💙🎭
☀Tickets on sale Saturday at 9:30am.
🎟Got a @Barclaycard? Enjoy 48 hours of presale access and 10% back on every presale ticket courtesy of Barclaycard Entertainment 👉 https://t.co/cccV3IeJZf pic.twitter.com/R6e4ncTpds— Latitude Festival (@LatitudeFest) January 24, 2019
Snow Patrol have just been announced as headliners of this year’s Latitude festival and the singer said he worried Brexit would cause issues for the group’s international touring commitments.
“Of course it will affect every touring band with British passports, of course it will. I have this hope that something happens that gets resolved and we don’t go into [Brexit].
Lightbody also spoke of the chaos caused by all the uncertainty around the UK’s exit from Europe, “it is so disorganised that any kind of scenario seems like it is going to affect people negatively, and if it doesn’t happen then there are negative connotations for that too.”
“Personally, I voted to remain – I’m going to wear that on my sleeve. I didn’t want Brexit to happen but it looks like it might. This is the new landscape we are in. Touring bands are going to be affected, for sure, but so many other people are going to be affected too, in so many different walks of life. It’s a tragedy, really.”
Don’t forget you can keep up-to-date on all things Nova over on our Instagram page – follow us for all the craziness of radio life coupled with news, sports and LOTS of cool competitions! Click here…
