Every pew packed for concert in St Matthew’s Church

Kate Pendred

Every pew was packed and the many chairs added were taken long before the hugely successful concert kicked off in St Matthew’s Church, Milltown, last Wednesday evening. The star-studded line-up drew fans from far and wide, as well as a large cohort of locals eager to support the Cara Phort Family Resource Centre in Ballynacargy.

Carmel and Tom Cregg and Bernie Finlay had travelled from Tullamore and were in their seats an hour before the concert started. “We love Foster and Allen and have been following them since they were in their leprechaun suits,” said Carmel, while Bernie added: “A show like this is lovely and well worth driving over for.” Their enthusiasm was even more emphatic after the show.

The main organiser of the concert, Moyra Fraser, welcomed all present, including Very Rev William Fitzsimons, PP, Milltown, Emper, Moyvore, and Very Rev Phil Gaffney, Adm, Mullingar. She thanked Fr Fitzsimons for “allowing us to use this fantastic building”. She thanked the staff of Cara Phort and all who had helped make the event such a resounding success.

The Milltown Community Singers, 21 in total, plus their leader Moyra Fraser, opened and closed the concert. They sang Any Dream will Do, followed by The Isle of Inisfree, the theme song from the movie The Quiet Man. Moyra said that number was dedicated to Fr Fitzsimons, whose three cousins appeared in the movie, including his first cousin Maureen O’Hara, née Fitzsimons, the Hollywood star who played the female lead in the film, opposite John Wayne.

TR Dallas performed Johnny Cash’s 40 Shades of Green, then One Day at a time, Never Grow Old, made famous by Jim Reeves, and finished up with The Story I Tell You is True, all of which prompted enthusiastic applause.

Three members of the local Ukrainian community, Olha, Liudmyla and Yana, beautifully attired in their national costumes, put their all into three songs they performed, and had the crowd clapping along.

Billy Morrissey, MC, suggested that their final song could be a contender for the Eurovision Song Contest, and joked, “you might give us the loan of it in Ireland to get us up the ladder a bit”.

Trudi Lawlor followed with a lively clap-along number – The Things We used to Do – and then had everyone holding hands for Old Friends are Best. She paid tribute to her friend of many years, Moyra Fraser, saying: “You have a real gem in this woman.” She finished off with Sweet 16 and a passionate performance of the hymn How Great Thou Art.

Foster and Allen opened the second half of the show. Mick Foster said the last time he had stood on that altar was as a boy serving Mass.

He recalled too his first public performance on stage. “If I live to December, it will be 66 years since I made my first public appearance at the Christmas concert in the old school in Milltown, and I was playing Mick Dalton’s accordion,” he recalled. He welcomed Mick, who was in the front row with his daughter Liz Gunning.

Mick (Foster) introduced the band – his wife Moyra on keyboard, Brian O’Donnell on guitar, and Aidan Flood, all-Ireland champion ceili drummer. He also acknowledged Seamus Cullinane and his crew on lights and sound.

Foster and Allen then launched into three jigs and followed with After All these Years, a song written by two Mullingar people, Ollie Kennedy and Ber Coleman, and, recorded in 1985. It remains the most requested song they ever recorded. The legendary duo concluded with We Owe it All to You, a song penned in tribute to their dedicated fans to mark their 40th anniversary, 12 years ago.

Mick Foster introduced “a special guest artist that I went to school with up the road, and Fr Fitzsimons’ right hand man and a great mouth organ player – Eamon Seery”. Eamon made the mouth organ sing and dance as he ripped through a melody of lively tunes.

Another local man, Moe Heduan, Leinster champion storyteller, entertained the crowd with a number of tales. Moe has just finished writing a collection of his stories and poems, which is due to be released shortly. Fr Ray Kelly performed a selection of songs and amusing anecdotes. Fr Ray shot to fame after a wedding video featuring him singing a variation on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah went viral 12 years ago. He had everyone on their feet for his final number. The Milltown Community Singers came back on stage to close the concert and were joined by the other artistes for a rousing finale.

As the metaphorical curtain came down, Anne Finneran from Cara Phort stepped forward to present Moyra Fraser with a bouquet of flowers in appreciation of all the work she put into organising the evening and making it a resounding success.