By BARRY EGAN

LOUIS Walsh says he would have managed WB Yeats, "if he had been big enough".

Westlife manager Louis, who will be at their show in Lissadell House near Sligo next Friday, said that he "would have gladly looked after the career of Yeats if he gave me 20 per cent of his earnings. And he would have been my first poet!"

He said he was "absolutely delighted" that his former partner John Reynolds, co-manager with Louis back in the early days of Boyzone, had sold out the gig.

Louis added that he would have liked to have managed Leonard Cohen, who plays next Saturday and Sunday in Lissadell House and, unlike Cohen's previous manager, he wouldn't have allegedly stolen all his money. "And Ireland is tax-free for artists!" he added.

Meanwhile, Reynolds said: "It is an honour to be putting these shows on, but equally important is the venue. It's a magical place."

The last time Cohen played Ireland all the members of U2 and their manager, Paul McGuinness, attended, as did Enya, the Honourable Garech de Brun, Daniel Day-Lewis and Rebecca Miller, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and Bertie Ahern and Michael McDowell. Don't be surprised, then, who you might see in the west next weekend.

For those not up on their history -- ie Westlife fans -- the Lissadell estate in Co Sligo is a former home of the Countess Constance Markievicz and was a regular place of quiet contemplation for Ireland's most famous poet, William Butler Yeats.

Isobel Cassidy -- who runs the estate and whose sister Constance Cassidy owns Lissadell House with husband Edward Walsh -- said: "The excitement in Sligo at the moment is almost tangible; the last two or three years have been a real challenge for people and these concerts mean a lot to Sligo and the north-west."

What has tarnished this jewel in the crown is a very public court case. Last year, proceedings against Sligo County Council were brought by barristers Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh over the public rights of way along certain routes at Lissadell.

"It's just finished after 58 days at hearing in the High Court," said Isobel Cassidy. "We are all just very happy that Lissadell is alive. When John put it to us that it was Leonard Cohen [who was going to play the venue] and how inspired he is by Yeats and that it would be Westlife coming home to Sligo, it was something we just couldn't not do. And we're so glad now that we are doing it because the area of Sligo and the west is alive with positivity about Leonard Cohen coming here."

The stage for Cohen and Westlife is set in a natural amphitheatre right beside Lissadell House, with the massive Ben Bulben mountain as the backdrop to the stage, and the shining Atlantic in Sligo Bay to the right.

Local lad Shane Filan is almost embarrassingly excited about his band Westlife's show. It is a homecoming show for him (and two of the other members of Westlife -- Kian Egan and Mark Feehily -- who hail from Sligo).

"In 2003, when it came up for sale, Louis came over one day with the Irish Independent property supplement with Lissadell House on the front. 'You should buy that,' he said -- typical Louis. I went and had a look at it just out of curiosity but it would have been a huge undertaking. It was also ¤3m," said Filan.

"Apparently, Bono had flown down in a helicopter to have a look at it, because he is a big Yeats fan.

"But I was never interested because I had already started work on my dream house in Sligo, the house I'm living in very happily with my wife and kids now. Life is good."

The year started with Shane and his wife, Gillian, having their first son, Patrick, a brother for their four-year-old daughter Nicole.

"So that was great to be at home with the new baby," said Filan. "It was a big family year for me. But then Kian's dad got sick and he was dealing with that the whole time. It was hard to see that. Then he died and then Stephen [Gately] died and then Nicky [Byrne's] dad. There was so much sorrow and sadness in the year."

"All those deaths brought us together, made us stronger. It was a terrible shock. The mood of the band wasn't good during that period. It was a horrendous time, but we pulled through."

Westlife, July 30; Leonard Cohen, July 31 and August 1 at Lissadell House. Tickets, from ¤80 including booking fee on sale at Ticketmaster and usual outlets

Credit/Source: www.independent.ie