Young local choir has huge talent, says Mark Irwin

A singer who is currently playing one of the lead roles in Les Misérables in London’s West End, and a Twelve Tenors member happily said “yes” when invited by Mullingar-born West End star Mark Irwin to perform in his home town this month.

Hollie O’Donoghue, who plays in Les Misérables, is originally from Limerick, and Twelve Tenors member Adam Pettit is a Londoner who is, Mark jokes, looking forward to finally getting to taste “a proper pint of Guinness”.

Mark, who was in The Commitments and Marco Polo in the West End, obviously has great powers of persuasion, as Hollie and Adam have agreed to join him for not one but two concerts in Mullingar.

The concerts are taking place on June 16 and June 17 at Mullingar Arts Centre – and joining the professionals on stage will be a new choir put together especially for the occasion by Mark and the arts centre’s Niamh O’Shea.

“The choir are really fantastic,” said Mark last week, admitting that he was wowed by how fantastic the members – all still at school – sounded thanks to the work they have been doing both on their own, and under Niamh’s directorship.

The concerts are being held to raise funds for the Mullingar Hospital MRI scanner appeal, something very close to Mark’s heart.

“My dad worked there most of his life – he works in St Mary’s now; my uncle works there, my sister’s father-in-law,” he says.

It will be three years this August since Mark last performed at the arts centre in Mullingar.

“I was nervous the last time: performing in front of family and friends, you really want to put on a good show,” he admits.

This time, he reckons, he will be a little nervous again, since it is important to him that the concerts do well for the MRI fund, and it is important to him too that the two singers he has persuaded to come over from London find themselves in front of an appreciative crowd.

Mark is proud of his Mullingar roots, and remains loyal to those who gave him his start here – not just his parents Tony and Pauline or the arts centre but also the cathedral, where he sang with the choristers for nine years.

Last Saturday evening, he sang at Mass in the cathedral, and he also sang there the previous Sunday.

Mark’s professional life is very hectic right now, as he sings with the Twelve Tenors, and has recently been performing with the prestigious Tenors of Rock too.

At the time of writing, he was on his way to the airport to perform the next day with the Twelve Tenors in Cardiff; he was just back from a two-week singing gig on a cruise ship and due to head off on a one-week cruise gig with a tenor group.

The rigorous work schedule has, he reckons, made his voice stronger, and that in itself has attracted some very positive comment in musical circles.

Mark says he would be delighted to become a more regular member of the Tenors of Rock, who work a lot in Las Vegas, but touring with the Twelve Tenors is in itself exciting.

He’s enjoying the bit of buzz that is building ahead of the Mullingar show, and returns again to the subject of the youth choir, to express how impressed he is with them.

“I just want to put it down what this town has to offer is amazing in terms of talent, and these young singers are incredible. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but one piece they are doing is seven minutes long and in that, 11 of them sing solo.”

From the main stars, Mark, Hollie and Adam, the audiences can look forward to a mix of solos and duets – but the show finale will see all singers involved and promises to be spectacular, he says.

Watch the Mullingar Arts Centre interview with Mark here.