1990 July - A Fanzine Called Eirinn

Before the Internet and being able to know almost everything instantly, being a fan was very different. We got most of our information about U2 from music magazines, including U2's Propaganda, TV programmes and other fans. We never got to hear songs from new albums before their release, so it was really exciting on release day to rush out and buy the album and then hear it all for the first time. I quite miss that excitement - nowadays we seem to find out about things pertaining to U2 so easily.

Another way of sharing and gaining information about the band was via a fanzine. These were very popular in the late 80's and 90's. They were homemade magazines made by fans and they were very popular and were quite an important part of U2 fandom in those days.

In the summer of 1990 I decided to start a fanzine of my own, I called it Eirinn, an old name for Ireland which I pinched from the title of a Runrig song. The 'zine was dedicated to U2 and Ireland. Initially it was really a labour of love as I was literally cutting and pasting it which took a long time. After a year or so I got a word processor so it was a little easier then and around 1995 I got my first computer and it was so much simpler to create and publish.

I really enjoyed doing the fanzine, it was nice to share my love for U2 and Ireland with other fans and it was also an outlet for my creative side. But towards the end of the 90's fanzines were becoming obsolete. Glitzy online fansites were taking over and the lovingly made paper fanzines couldn't compete. I stopped producing Eirinn on it's tenth anniversary in 2000.

There was something to be said for fanzines though, it was always special to receive a 'zine in the post, to open the envelope and to turn the pages, it was something tangible, that you could touch and feel, a bit more personal than cyberspace.

1989 - Fans and Friends

In early 1989 an advertisement in the penpal column Grapevine in Propaganda caught my eye. It was from someone called Pat in California - she was looking for U2 penpals who were over 30 years of age. In the days before email and online forums this was the only way for fans to get to know each other. I fitted the bill and was desperate to be able to share my U2 fandom with like-minded people as I knew no other fans and I felt very isolated. So I wrote to her and was thrilled to quickly receive a reply. Pat seemed to be a lovely person and so began a friendship that still continues today, though she moved on from U2 many years ago. She introduced me to other fans, Myra and Jeanette in the UK and Dianne in America. The UK fans soon drifted off, but Dianne is still a very close friend and U2 fan.

This was the start of getting to know and being able to share U2 with other fans. One of the most special things that has come my way through being a fan of U2 is friendship. I have been able to get to know people who I have more in common with than just U2, but who I would never have met had it not been for the band. I met many people in those early years - some soon moved on, some "went off" U2 and we were left with nothing else in common. Others were a bit "strange", ineviably fandom does attract some who are unbalanced. But most were great people and some have been friends for almost twenty years now.

Initially, in those early days I never thought that friendship would be a spin-off from being a fan. It is something that is precious to me and I am very grateful to U2 for that gift. I've shared so many great times with these friends and you'll read about them here!