We're so proud' Irish town celebrates family connection to Gallagher brothers

Migration ripped the heart out of Charlestown: generations of young people took the boat to England and left behind derelict homes and shuttered shops, a hollowing chronicled in a landmark 1968 book, The Death of an Irish Town.

- Rory Carroll

Migration ripped the heart out of Charlestown: generations of young people took the boat to England and left behind derelict homes and shuttered shops, a hollowing chronicled in a landmark 1968 book, The Death of an Irish Town. Some returned to this corner of County Mayo for summer holidays – with children who were growing up with English accents and city ways – before vanishing back across the Irish Sea and leaving Charlestown to its decay.

For those who stayed, this melancholy history may be a reason to look back in anger, but this week at least brings a measure of consolation – and pride – in the form of Oasis.

Liam and Noel Gallagher will perform in Dublin this weekend and in the process are expected to remind Ireland, and global fans, that they are part of the Irish diaspora and that Charlestown is akin to a spiritual home.

"We're very, very proud of our association with the boys," said John Casey, a Gaelic footballer and resident who has befriended the Gallagher brothers. "They were frequent visitors here before and after fame."