amazing gesture Charlie Bird says song Bono recorded for his Croagh Patrick climb brought tears to his eyes

'Thank you Bono for this amazing gesture'

Charlie Bird. Photo: Colin O’Riordan

Allison Bray and Eoghan Moloney

February 04 2022 12:54 PM

Broadcaster Charlie Bird said he is delighted that U2 frontman Bono has dedicated a new song to his Climb With Charlie fundraising campaign, which he introduced through cloned voice technology today.

The song, Crazy Mountain, debuted this morning on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 after listeners heard Bird introduce the track using the latest cutting-edge technology to clone his voice, which he revealed has now almost gone as he battles Motor Neurone Disease.

“Charlie here, recently I reached out to Bono and the band to see if they might support me on the Climb with Charlie and earlier I received a lovely personal letter back in which he said to leave it with him to see how he might support me.

“A couple of days ago what dropped into my mailbox was a beautiful song that Bono recorded for me. I have to tell you, I was blown away by it.

“When I first listened to it, I was very emotional, and yes, I shed a few tears. Tears of joy. So, thank you Bono for this amazing gesture,” Charlie said through the Voicebank technology.

The song is now available on the Climb With Charlie social media platforms.

Host Ryan Tubridy described the technology which generates Charlie’s voice as “almost unnerving” such is the degree of accuracy it booms out the former RTÉ correspondent’s voice with.

“Seeing or speaking with Charlie recently, you know he does not sound like that now, but hearing him speak like that with the technology - he might as well have been undiagnosed. It’s remarkable,” Ryan said.

The fundraising campaign will see Bird and a host of household names climb Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo on April 2 to raise funds for Pieta House and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Bird said he was blown away by the gesture from the rock star. Charlie said Bono has been “hugely supportive of the Climb With Charlie campaign, which aims to raise funds for two amazing charities”.

“I want to encourage everyone to log on to www.climbwithcharlie.ie and donate what they can, or set up their own fundraisers to climb in their local area, be it climbing a set of stairs or a short walk around the house, around a local park, a walk to the beach, whatever you are able to do.”