Being a member of a choir brings abundant fun and friendship. . Particularly when away for a week on a Galway Choir trip.
The first leg was a short coach journey to Holyhead. Then the choir boarded the overnight ferry to Dun Laoghaire.
Back on the road a bumpy journey followed. Along the “highways” of Ireland in a coach with questionable suspension.
We arrived at Galway, shaken AND stirred. On entering Jury’s Inn Hotel we saw choir member, the Rev. Lloyd Hughes, at the bar sipping the amber nectar.
He had travelled ahead by plane!
Choir in Galway
The choir gave a concert at Taibhdearc na Gaillimhe. The National Irish Language Theatre, in Galway on Sunday 19th June. Jean Gwynn was our guest soloist. The audience turned out to be most enthusiastic.
On leaving the theatre there was a request to perform a couple of songs in the street. A group of appreciative American tourists been unable to attend the concert !
Galway Impromptu Choir Concerts
Another session took place at the Hotel. News of which seemed to have spread as each night the bar was busier and busier.
Other impromptu incidents during the week were songs to a birthday party and to a hen party.
Three members of the choir appeared on the radio station Galway Bay FM. Keith Finnegan wanted to know about the spontaneous Hotel musical sessions.
It wasn’t all “work.” A coach trip took us around the stunning counties of Galway and Clare. This included the Burren which was enlivened by a local tour guide. He had not just kissed the Blarney stone but swallowed it whole!
Many of the choir members also took a boat trip up the river to Lough Corrib. They had to curtail their refreshment input. On account of the negative reports on the on-board facilities!
A visit to the modern Galway Cathedral (1965) was memorable. Especially for the stunning, abstract, stained glass panels.
After playing the tourist several of us settled for tea and scones. To the sound of the trickling stream at Bridge Mills.
Concert at Kilcummin Church
The concert on the Thursday was at Kilcummin Church in Oughterard just outside Galway. A short “taster” concert of four songs took place in the town square. This brought the traffic to a standstill.
This appeared to have have been a successful ploy as the Church was full for the concert. At the end of which the choir received a prolonged standing ovation.
Soloists were David Jones, Ray Jones, Arwyn Roberts. Glyn Edwards also teamed up with wife Gwyneth to perform duets.
Special guest accompanist, Morgan Cooke was also on hand for the encore. Founder of the rock band ‘Cuckoo Savante,’ he helped the choir swing during “Amen.”
The choir returned from Galway on Sunday after an enjoyable tour but all was not finished. A young, mixed choir was travelling on the ferry so, of course, the journey had to include more songs.
Editor’s Footnote:
This particular trip to Galway took place in 2005 but is worth recalling as a permanent Blog on our website.
Leave a Reply