Cliona Hagan date a big hit; Johnny Brady next on list
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Cliona Hagan on stage at The Covert on Saturday.Image 2 of 16
Maria Nevin from Mullingar riding a pony at the family fun dayImage 3 of 16
Louise Hughes from Castlepollard with Bailey, Keeley and Carly McGee from Oldcastle.Image 4 of 16
Jackson Hanlon, Leia Conway, Cole Keogh and Sabrina Dowd from Mullingar enjoying the Family Fun Day. Photos: Jay G FordeImage 5 of 16
Theo and Joy Tynan from Longford enjoying dancing at the Family Fun Day.Image 6 of 16
Ziva, Tania, Ciara and Zoey McCarthy from Mullingar at the Family Fun Day at The Foxes Covert on Saturday.Image 7 of 16
Simona, Layla and Eva Vilaisiene from Mullingar at The Foxes Covert Family Fun Day.Image 8 of 16
Angela Megan and Pádraig Mulchrone from So Sweet Shop in Boyle.Image 9 of 16
Ziva, Zara and Zoey McCarthy with their father Patrick McCarthy from Mullingar at the Family Fun Day at the Covert.Image 10 of 16
Lexie and Debra Tynan from Mullingar enjoying the day out.Image 11 of 16
Natalia Salgado, Páidí Tynan, Bentley Salgado, Vitor Salgado and Denise Poynton from Mullingar enjoying the family fun day.Image 12 of 16
Leticia Salgado and Sadie Tynan from Mullingar readying for a day of fun.Image 13 of 16
Back from left, John McNally, Reg Battams, Kieran McNally, Denis McNally and Brenda Battams; front, Logan Tilly and Pippa Holland from England.Image 14 of 16
Aria McKevitt and Shannon Lynch from Mullingar enjoying the Family Fun Day.Image 15 of 16
Dylan Cox from Ballinalack and Simoné Sardinha from Longford, who helped out at the Family Fun Day at The Foxes Covert.Image 16 of 16
With Cliona Fagan (centre) prior to her performance on Saturday last at Ballinafid were Billy Tynan and his wife, April Murtagh of at The Foxes Covert.The entrepreneur behind Saturday’s Family Fun Day at The Foxes Covert at Ballinafid has already arranged another event intended to provide outdoor summer entertainment to his patrons.
“Johnny Brady is performing here on August 30,” says Billy Tynan, who took over the bar at the landmark pub in December, and who began doing food there in February.
In May, Cliona Hagan played a gig at The Covert, and such was the reaction that Billy invited her back to perform at the family fun day last Saturday.
The weather was good, the food was top class; there was a bouncy castle, there were face painters and even pony rides for the younger attendees.
However the star attraction was the Tyrone woman who gave up her career as a secondary school teacher to pursue music full-time.
Cliona actually lives in Westmeath, having married Westmeath musician Simon Sheerin in 2022.
To accommodate the numbers attending, there was a marquee on site, and, says Billy, that worked very well, so a similar arrangement is in place for the Johnny Brady visit.
“We are also in talks with another performer about a potential September date,” says Billy, who has spent a lifetime in the hospitality sector. Most recently, he spent seven years as head chef at Center Parcs.