Bono likens Cork businessman to Indiana Jones after he acquires vital PPE supplies for Ireland

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ Radio One this morning, Bono thanked Cork's Liam Casey of PCH International who helped him source the equipment from Chinese suppliers.

"It's an extraordinary market," Bono said, speaking about PPE. Explaining how competitive it is and how difficult acquiring supplies is, Bono said that countries are consistently being "pushed out of the way".

"It was like Indiana Jones and the raiders of the last PPE," Bono laughed in reference to Mr Casey's trojan efforts.

The order, which includes 20 million masks, 100,000 goggles, 100,000 visors and 30,000 gowns amounted to €10m and was footed by U2 as an act of what Bono described this morning as "national service".

Securing the supplies for Ireland involved phone calls to contacts in companies such as Alibaba and to Mr Casey, who Bono also compared to "Scotty in the engine room of Starship Enterprise".

The singer said that the band is "a little funny' about public philanthropy because it can be seen as self-promotion, but they wanted to do their part and "show solidarity with the frontline".

He also thanked the country and U2's fans, who have enabled the band to be in a financial position to afford to help. 

"We’re not all in the same boat, but we are going through the same storm.

"We all want to serve in our various capacities. Volunteerism is up," he said

The singer, who turns 60 on Sunday, said that he will mark the occasion by taking a long walk with his family as now is not the time for a bigger celebration. "People are giving up a lot more than their birthdays," he said.

The third flight of U2 purchased PPE arrived into Dublin last Sunday, with further deliveries expected in the next few weeks.