‘Community is the remedy’: Bressie at hometown show
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Niall Breslin during his performance on Friday evening.Image 2 of 19
Senan O’Neill, James Smith and Jane Maxwell from Cathedral Choristers.Image 3 of 19
Michael Harding on Friday night.Image 4 of 19
Fr Phil Gaffney with Joe Carroll on Friday evening.Image 5 of 19
Angela Slevin from Kilbeggan and Mary Mooney from Tullamore.Image 6 of 19
Breda Delaney and Kay Browne from Mullingar.Image 7 of 19
Marie Bardon and Brenda Kiernan at Friday night’s concert.Image 8 of 19
John and Sandra Ledwith from Mullingar.Image 9 of 19
Matt Johnston and John Geoghegan from Mullingar.Image 10 of 19
Fiona Mee and Seamus Dunne at Bressie’s concert.Image 11 of 19
Liam Maher from Ballynacargy and Marty Mulligan, Mullingar.Image 12 of 19
Hubie and Patricia Magee from Mullingar Town Band.Image 13 of 19
Zoe and Tracy Johnston from Mullingar.Image 14 of 19
Gary Whyte and Jennifer O’Brien at Friday’s concert.Image 15 of 19
John Young and Eileen Reidy on Friday.Image 16 of 19
Thady and Teresa Burke from Castlepollard.Image 17 of 19
Dympna and Denise Dalton from Mullingar.Image 18 of 19
Genevieve Montgomery and Kirstin McCormack (Mullingar) on Friday.Image 19 of 19
Members of the Cathedral Choristers photographed before the concert in the Cathedral of Christ the King. Thomas GibbonsCaitlin Connors
“Community is the remedy,” said Niall Breslin (Bressie) during his hometown show at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Friday evening.
The concert had a theme of uplifting those around him including the audience of 1300 people, in a “full circle” moment for the Westmeath musician.
The Cathedral Choristers opened the evening. Walking up among the rows of people, their sweet voices brought any murmurs and whispers to an immediate stop. They began with Latin hymns accompanied by the piano, and ended with ‘You Never Walk Alone’. Their performance created an atmosphere of peace and serenity and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
From there, flautist Mary Kate Murphy, glided to the microphone to play a series of tunes. Belying her youth, Mary Kate had immense talent and courage playing completely on her own. She kept the atmosphere light and calm but ended on a high playing a lively jig in anticipation of the “Irish Buddha” – as Bressie called his guest on the night.
Cavan born writer, Michael Harding (the ‘Irish Buddha’), delivered a spoken word piece full of heart and sincerity before Bressie stepped up to the grand piano. Michael spoke of the love the Cathedral harboured in its mosaics of St Anne, his life in the pubs of Cavan and his experiences with therapy. From light-hearted jokes to deep reflections and observations about the human experience, he covered the elements he has become known for over the course of his career.
Bressie then greeted the audience and thanked everyone for coming to his home show. Before playing, he spoke of his longstanding connection with the Cathedral Choristers, and told a heartwarming story of the first time he sang with them.
“We performed Handel’s Messiah, the Hallelujah chorus, and it was half 12, midnight Mass, Christmas Mass, and we got a standing ovation,” said Bressie.
This was when he first realised a musical career was for him.
He went on to thank everyone involved in the production of Friday evening’s show and began playing his neo classical piano tunes alongside the Polaris Quartet.
As a mental health campaigner, it is no surprise that Bressie’s show would include that theme. The performance was divided into four parts and Bressie talked the audience through each piece of music, giving the backstory, and meaning. The pieces of music were from his 2025 album, ‘The Place That Has Never Been Wounded’.
He spoke about how there is a place inside each one of us that has been untouched in this “normalised chaos” of the world.
All the while, a lightshow was projected in addition to a natural setting of props curated by Andrea Cullen. The lights complemented the music, darkening the cathedral in the softer moments, illuminating it during musical buildups, and offering release in a beautiful catharsis. Scenes of midlands landscapes and bogs including Bressie and dancer Robyn Byrne were projected.
Bressie paid tributes to the late Dolly Parton and played ‘I Will Always Love You’. He also paid homage to his late friend, Manchán Magan.
At another point in the show, Dr Tony Bates, head of psychology at St James’s Hospital Dublin spoke while Bressie softly played the piano beside him. He addressed mental health awareness and psychology in modern uncertain times.
A poignant moment came at the end when the Choristers returned to conclude the show. The music was written for a 10-year-old Palestinian girl Bressie had seen on social media. She was pleading ‘what should I do’ about the ongoing genocide that has taken the lives of so many in Gaza. She had seen the music Bressie had written for her and was extremely moved, expressing how one day she would like to learn the piano.
It is now Bressie’s mission to get a piano out to her.
With that heartbreaking story, and the childlike quality of the Choristers’ singing, the final moment of the concert moved many to tears.
Bressie and his team created an experience where music, mental health and community met in the ornate place of worship, and the talent, dedication and sincerity of the performance moved the audience and certainly had people thinking.