Jovial Judges, High Heels and Emotions: Clare's Got Talent at Glór

Judge Brian Flynn

Time! To Face ! The Music! Part X Factor, part Macra na Feirme Talent Competition, the Clare FM event pitted dancers actors and singers against each in their bids to secure a coveted  place in the final of Clare's Got Talent 2012. In the  full  Glór auditorium, partisan supporters and family members witnessed a show of 12 acts performing one turn each followed by comments from the judging panel of broadcaster and entertainer, Brian Flynn, Tracy Crawford of Ballyo Promotions and musician & entertainer Nigel Bridge fresh from playing in Cahercalla

Happily, there were no Cowellesque  histrionics here with all acts getting a well deserved verbal pat on the back  and no wrangling among the trio. The event was compered by Gavin Grace of ClareFM

The evening opened with a montage of clips of video images but no sounds from the audition process, the audio element sadly replaced by pulsating rhythmic backing track. Female vocalists were the largest category of entertainer with  trio Skilled Mulah, and singer Dan O'Halloran adding some gender balance. Most  vocal acts opted for backing tracks over  live accompaniment.

Judges and sponsor 

A J.B. Keane  monologue, a dance troupe and a junior comedy routine added the variety show element.
The winners were Louise O Rourke from Kilkee and the Breakthrough Crew from Ennis with the Lissycasey Lunatics voted best by the audience.

Judge Tracy Crawford

Partisan supporters

A tough job to choose but did the judges get it right?  There was no question that the dance troupe had to go through. The largest group of the evening and bursting with energy, one felt exhausted looking at their high octane routine. I realised with a twinge of regret that among the things I will not get around to in this life is hip hop dancing. The audience prize is a great incentive for an act to bring in a crowd and while the juvenile comedy routine was not my pick one couldn't argue with a large Lissycasey contingent taking up a sizable proportion of the stalls.

Regarding the singers I had two issues. One of the best things about the evening is that it is in live entertainment and I feel the use of a live accompaniment should be rewarded and encouraged.  How lovely to see Claire McDonnell accompanied by fellow student Caoimhe ( a Lissycasey lass herself) at the piano.  In general, I found the collaborative efforts more entertaining than the solo voices. The best costume award had to go to the AbbaTribute act Sub Zero from Newmarket on Fergus in their charming  retro paisley dresses and knee high white boots. Skilled Mulah added a bit of contrast with three chaps on guitar on beat box and proper grand piano and the Burke Sisters accompanied by dad had potential. My pick  were trio Bel Canto, Mary and Alice Healy accompanied by Jillian Bridge. The ladies looked glamorous and sophisticated, were accomplished vocally and in contrast to most of the other girls, they could walk in their high heels!

Sponsored by Clare FM and St Francis Credit Union, this is a great  initiative, providing a platform to encourage local  entertainment and getting people out to support  live acts. It was good to see it attracting a wide range of genres and I was  heartened to see the wide range of ages participating.  Now in its second year, it seems set to become an annual fixture. The final takes place at the weekend. Check out  Glór website for details
Maybe I'll have a go myself next year. Now where did I put those tap shoes....!

1 Skilled Mulah Beat Box  Rolling in the Deep Piano Guitar Vocal harmony 

2 Singer  Aisling Shannon Valerie                   Backing Track

3 Singer  Ciara Normoyle Hey Soul Sister   Backing Track 

4 Singer Dan O Halloran Guitar 

5 Breakthrough Dancers   

6 Singer Claire McDonnell     Ar Eirinn Ni eosfhainn Ce Hi Live Piano Caoimhe accompanying

7 Bel Canto       Mary &Alice Healy  Jillian Bridge accompanist

8 Singer Louise O Rourke     Backing Track 

9  The Field  Drama Pat Cusack O Brien's Bridge

10 Sub Zero Trio  Singers  Backing Track Mamma Mia

11 Lissycasey Lunatics

12 Burke Sisters Dad on guitar   Duo

listen to an appraisal of ‘Clare's Got Talent at Glór’ on Audioboo

Cathedral Christmas Choral Endeavours

The rising of the sun and the running of the deer

              The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir

 Cathedral Choir October 2011 Presentation of award to member Anna Monahan

Christmas Vigil 2011 
Duo      Hush be Still                 Austrian Carol
             In a Manger                   Polish Carol
             Lo How a Rose               Praetorius
Choir  Silent Night,                   Gruber
            The Holy  City                 Weatherly /Stepehen Adams   soloist Tony Murray
            Carol of the Bells            Leontovich 
Duo    Ave Maria                     Caccini
           Don Oiche Ud i mBeithil  trad


Gathering Hymn  Adeste Fidelis
                               Away in a Manger         Andrea
                                Once In Royal David's City Duo +organ 
                                Mass parts Joncas, Lecot, Deiss, O' Carroll
                                Psalm: Tonight a Saviour has been born to us Ronan McDonagh cantor Helen Minogue
                                Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring Duo
                                Oh Holy Night    Cappeau/Adolphe Adam
                                 For Unto Us A Child is Born  Handel
                                 Hark the Herald
                                 Diadem

Cathedral delegation at ClareFM studio 23rd Dec

Quavers and semiquavers Helen, Gertrude

Christmas is inevitably a busy time for church choristers.  The Ennis Cathedral Choir has been associated with liturgy in St Peter and Paul's Cathedral for over a century beginning under the direction of Belgian musician, Charles, 'Mons' Nono who arrived in Ennis in 1859  and today is a 40 strong adult mixed voice choir, roughly of the proportions of 3:1 women to men. The choir is currently directed by Michael Hennessy with Leon Walsh as principal organist. The growth of the choir continued under the direction of Ernest de Regge who came to Ireland from Belgium after World War 1 and was choir director for about 35 years until his death in tragic circumstances in 1958 . The cathedral choir is a  welcoming ensemble for liturgically inclined  singers and musicians and  members are drawn from a range of nationalities, including French, German, Slovakian and Chilean .

Michael Grogan

I joined a delegation from Ennis Cathedral at  ClareFM studios to talk about the choir's seasonal  liturgical activities to John Cooke of Morning Focus the station's flagship current affairs magazine programme. My favourite moment in the interviews(links below) was  hearing Michael Cullinan talk about his experience of being in the choir from  the age of 9 years under Ernest de Regge.  No doubt, he could fill a whole programme with the changes within the cathedral milieu alone  that he has seen in the five decades  since.  Following the broadcast the delegation adjourned to the Food Emporium where we enjoyed coffee and buns compliments of  our host and gave an impromptu recital of seasonal repertoire. We were joined by Michael Grogan from Scariff who played some tunes on my viola. It was all -well very Christmassy with whatever inhibitions we might have had suspended by the buzz of goodwill and the oxygen of publicity following our radio encounter.

Coffee time carols at the Food Emporium

 Morning Focus studio secs to airtime

Gallery  Quartet: Roisin, Me, Michael, Leon

On Christmas Eve, I was joined in the gallery by violinist Roisin McMullin to play some duet arrangements of a carol selection as a prelude to the choral aspects of the evening vigil Mass .  With the invited guest soloist  indisposed, tenor Tony Murray stepped in to sing the solo parts of the traditional choral favourites. The Holy City is a great sing for the choir, the melody composed by Stephen Adams to words by Frederic Weatherly, best known for the  lyrics of the WW1 sentimental ballad, Roses of Pickardy.  Coincidentally, I note that  his near namesake Frenchman,  Adolphe Adam, wrote the melody for another big item on the programme, Cantique de Noel aka Oh Holy Night , a perennial favourite in Clare and the world over .

Tremendous Tenors Sean Ruane, and Tony Murray 

St Peter and Paul's Cathedral is a very elegant ecclesiastical space at any time but illuminated by candlelight and  adorned with the the symbols of Advent and Christmastide, it is a beautiful  seductive interior for all  to gather and encounter the concepts of friendship, community, gratitude and transcendence through the rituals of  liturgy and choral singing.


Clare Noel Canticles  For more on Clare's Oh Holy Nights