Kodaline on splitting up: ‘Two of us wanted to leave – that meant it was over’

It’s a warm Saturday evening in the grounds of Malahide Castle, a grand 250-acre parkland just north of Dublin, and Kodaline are 90 minutes away from an emotional, bittersweet concert. Last October, the much-loved Irish band announced they were to split after a new album, We Were Only Young, and farewell tour. Tonight is their last hometown show, a huge outdoor gig to 30,000 people just a few miles away from where they formed in Swords, County Dublin.

Backstage pre-gig, in one of several small overheated portacabins, I ask singer-songwriter Steve Garrigan and drummer Vinny May about their favourite memories of being Kodaline. “For me, it’s random stuff,” says Garrigan. He brings up an appearance on a TV show called Taratata, the French equivalent to Later… With Jools Holland.

Jetlagged, Garrigan forgot the words during the performance. “I just completely went blank. My brain just switched off, and I just didn’t sing for about three minutes. It got really awkward.” He says you can see this on YouTube. “They left it in. I don’t know why. I watched it recently. I was like, ‘Jesus Christ!’ But long story short, we ended up winning the crowd over and it went really well. It’s really cool to watch.”