They are Ireland's two greatest saxophonists — both tracing their fame right back to the showband era of the 1960s —  but when they met up at the Belfast International Homecoming gala, it was the first time they had been in the same room since the 1960s.

And Andersonstown's Des Lee — survivor of the Miami Showband atrocity — and Dubliner Keith Donald, best-known for his soaring sax solos with eighties radical Celtic rockers Moving Hearts, have another thing in common — they have both just published acclaimed memoirs.

At age 80, Keith was returning to his native Belfast from Dublin to be recognised with a Belfast Ambassador Medal in recognition of a lifetime devoted not just to music but also to a range of just causes from opposing apartheid and Section 31 to, more recently, gigging for Gaza. A grandson of a Unionist Labour MP, Keith's memoir 'Music & Mayhem' recounts how he was abused by a teacher at his primary school. In adulthood, he struggled for three decades with alcoholism. 

One of just two band members to survive the 1975 UVF-UDR attack on Ireland's leading showband, Des Lee went on to play with the reformed Miami Showband before spending over 20 years abroad plying his trade. Regarded as Andersonstown's greatest-ever musician, he has now become a prominent campaigner against collusion and for the rights of victims and survivors.

BOOKED: Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly hosted Homecoming guests in City Hall yesterday for a discussion on the future of Belfast. After the discussion she was presented with a book by Lisa Walsh, formerly of West Belfast and now living in Vancouver
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BOOKED: Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly hosted Homecoming guests in City Hall yesterday for a discussion on the future of Belfast. After the discussion she was presented with a book by Lisa Walsh, formerly of West Belfast and now living in Vancouver

He will discuss his bio, 'My Saxophone Saved My Life', a best-seller across Ireland, on the Late, Late Show tonight. Des reckoned it had been "50 or 60 years" since he and Keith had been in the same room. 

Accepting his Belfast Ambassador Medal, Keith Donald urged all those suffering from depression or addiction to reach out for help. "It's never too late to ask for help," he told a packed Titanic Hotel. "There will be someone there who will help."

The 12th annual Belfast International Homecoming honours members of the diaspora from around the world as well as local leaders who have promoted the city abroad. Among this year honourees were Natalie O'Shea, founder of the Celtic Junction Arts Centre in St Paul, Minnesota, author Louise Kennedy, New York port operator Mike Stamatis, and former Beechmount native Lisa Walsh who now lives in Vancouver, Canada.