John Illsley of Dire Straits at Black Box Theatre

What to Expect

John Illsley co-founded Dire Straits with Mark Knopfler in 1977 and played bass on every record the band made. He is the one constant across a catalogue that sold roughly 120 million albums, and this tour is him going back through it with a band of his own. The set is drawn from the songs that defined the group across the late seventies and eighties, played straight rather than reinvented.

Illsley has been touring his own material and the Dire Straits songbook for years now, and the show has settled into a length that gives the longer pieces room: 145 minutes with an interval. The Black Box is a large flat-floored room, which suits a band that depends on a big, clean sound rather than close-up detail. The Galway date is presented by Swarbrigg Promotions as part of the Town Hall Theatre programme.

Good to Know

• Monday 19 October 2026 at the Black Box Theatre, Dyke Road, Galway City.
• Running time 145 minutes with an interval.
• John Illsley on bass and vocals with a full backing band.
• Presented by Swarbrigg Promotions through Town Hall Theatre.
• Ticket prices and the start time are not printed on the Town Hall Theatre listing, so confirm at booking.
• Booking through Town Hall Theatre at tht.ie.

Getting There

The Black Box Theatre is on Dyke Road, fifteen minutes’ walk north of Eyre Square past Woodquay and the Galway Sportsground. Drivers from Dublin, Athlone and Ballinasloe take the M6 and N6 and follow the Headford Road in; from Limerick, Gort and Ennis use the M18 and N18. There is a large car park at the venue itself on Dyke Road, the main practical advantage of the Black Box over the city-centre theatres. City buses serve the Headford Road corridor and Ceannt Station is about twenty minutes away on foot.