LEONARD COHEN IS set to return to Ireland in September to play two concerts at The Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The 77-year-old singer songwriter played the same venue in 2008 and was overcome by emotion as he performed to the crowd.

In 2010 Cohen returned and was forced to add a second concert date at Lissadell House in Co Sligo after the first one sold out in six minutes.

Earlier this year he released his first new studio album in eight years, Old Ideas. In his sixth decade in the music business Leonard Cohen remains at the top of his game. He has received worldwide praise for the new album with The Telegraph declaring it a “work of genius” and Rolling Stone Magazine saying “the sound is full of caresses”. This will be the first time that Irish fans will hear this new material performed live.

The singer, who cites Irish writer WB Yeats as one of his literary influences, has been an inspiration to many other musicians. There have been over 1,330 covers of his original songs, including those by U2, REM, Nick Cave and the late Johnny Cash.

Tickets for the concerts on 11 and 12 September are priced at €79.50 and are likely to sell out pretty quickly when they go on sale this Friday.

(Via Youtube/gcluskey)