Let Z entertain you!

Zoran Donohoe's love for trad led to the opportunity of a lifetime

For musician and teacher Zoran Donohoe, last Saturday night in Croke Park was the kind of moment that makes a lifetime of practice worth it. The 26-year-old concertina player from Cavan Town, who teaches concertina online and in person, suddenly found herself sharing the stage with none other than Robbie Williams, in front of 80,000 roaring fans.

It’s a twist of fate that still feels surreal to her. “I’ve had a poster of Robbie on my childhood bedroom wall since I was a kid,” she laughs. “It’s him topless, covered in tattoos, just after he started his solo career. At this point, if you tried to peel it off, it would probably crumble.”

Zoran never knew exactly where it came from - “definitely not my parents, who are all about traditional Irish music” - but she suspects it was a gift from neighbours with broader pop tastes.

What she could never have imagined is that the very same instrument that once felt worlds apart from pop culture - the concertina - would be her ticket to playing alongside her teenage idol.

The opportunity came last week when Williams’ musical director began searching for a traditional Irish act to join the show.

Donohoe’s band, BiiRD, an 11-member collective blending trad with contemporary flair, got the call. Her response was instant: “Do I have time? I’m gonna make effing time.”

The first meeting with Williams was almost comically low-key. On Friday evening, she and Longford native Laura Doherty on the fiddle were invited to a pub on Dawson Street, where Donohoe walked in to find the global superstar perched casually on a couch with TikTokker musician Garron Noone. “He just said, ‘Oh hey, join us for the table quiz,’” she recalls.

Zoran admits her brain wasn’t in it—she finished last, while Williams, apparently true to form, came second. Later that night, the two musicians played a few reels, and to their delight, Williams began rapping over the tunes. “He said he’s been writing poetry again. It was mad to see him just go with it,” Donohoe says.

By Saturday afternoon, she was "mortified" at the thought of what was to come, yet reassured by how warmly they were embraced as part of the Robbie Williams band: “He made us feel so welcome,” Donohoe says. “We had a huddle with the whole band before going on stage. He was full of energy and encouragement.”

As the lights went up, she was the first musician to step out onto platoon in the middle of the venue, concertina in hand. Williams greeted her with a fist bump and a cheeky “Hey babe” before launching a energetic version of “Country Roads” with Laura and Garron. “Hearing him say that in front of 80,000 people—unreal. You can’t prepare for something like that,” she says.

The collaboration wasn’t just a one-off cameo. Williams’ team encouraged the group to stay in touch, raising hopes of future projects. “He was genuinely intrigued by what we do,” Donohoe explains. “They told us to send over some music. Who knows what could come of it?”

It caps a remarkable run for Donohoe and BiiRD, who only last week were sharing a stage with Ed Sheeran at Fleadh Cheoil. Next weekend she will appear at Electric Picnic for a more modest trad session, but Donohoe says she’s still floating after the Croke Park experience. “Part of me doesn’t even want to leave Dublin, because once I go back to my apartment in Belfast it’ll feel like it’s over,” she admits.

Looking back, she can hardly believe the symmetry: In 2011, aged just 11, she attended her first Robbie Williams concert at Croke Park. Fourteen years later, she was back on the same stage—this time not in the crowd, but centre-spot, concertina in hand.

“It was the best day of my life,” she says simply. “If that little girl with the crumbling poster could have seen it, she wouldn’t have believed a word.”