Local Notes: Ballina fundraiser will benefit local charities

The Ballina Lions Club annual Charity Golf Classic on Friday, May 31st, will see the proceeds of this year’s fundraising outing distributed to Mayo Autism Camp (Ballina), MindSpace Mayo (Ballina) and Foxford Alzheimer’s Community Trust (F.A.C.T).

In 2023, four local charities benefited from the event to the tune of €12,000.

The Charity Golf Classic at Ballina Golf Club will also help promote Childhood Cancer Ireland, which provides support to families of children receiving cancer treatment.

John Carroll, Ballina Lions Club member and Golf Classic Chairperson, said: “We are delighted to announce that our main sponsors are, once again, Connolly Motors Ballina, Moloney’s SuperValu and Ballina Credit Union. Their unwavering support, along with that of countless local businesses and golfers, is much appreciated and brings success to the event. And it ensures that local groups can help the more vulnerable members of our community.

“This is now Ballina Lions Club’s main annual fundraiser, so we are asking for your support,” said John.

Contributions can be made by entering a team (€200) or by advertising your business (€50 per sign). You can also sponsor a prize, make a cash contribution to the event via any member of the club, or donate via www.ballinalionsclub.ie (click on the golf poster).

For more information please contact John Carroll on 086-8277232, Patrick Hallahan on 086-1561093, Michael Moylett on 087-2322456 or any member of Ballina Lions Club.

Major concert for St Muredach’s Cathedral 

Coming to Ballina on Friday, May 31 is a unique opportunity to hear 16th and 17th century music performed by one of Ireland’s finest choral groups, Resurgam.

Adding to the promise of stirring music that delves into the Renaissance and early Baroque period will be the accompaniment of The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, long-time collaborators with Galway-based Resurgam.

Bestowed with perfect acoustics, the concert in St Muredach’s Cathedral continues the recent trend of allocating this impressive 19th-century building toward the provision of inspiring music for the general public.

The two groups will be joined by the esteemed St Muredach’s Cathedral Choir under its director, Regina Deacy.

This specially curated concert in St Muredach’s Cathedral is inspired by the Habsburg Empire, and is titled ‘From Siege to Siege’, recognising the constant battles that raged within the famous European empire.

Resurgam was founded in 2003 by Mark Duley and is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed vocal ensembles. It is the premiere project-based professional choir in the country, and many of its singers have parallel careers as soloists. It inspires audiences and partner choirs the length and breadth of Ireland, bringing alive the emotional drama found in so much vocal music, especially that of the 17th century.

Resurgam’s hallmarks as a choir are clarity and transparency of sound, attention to text and emotive content, virtuosity in improvisation and ornamentation, colourful interplay of instrumental and vocal resources and textures, and imaginative and engaging programming.

The ‘From Siege to Siege’ concert programme follows the milestone battles of the 16th and 17th centuries, tracing the major lines of conflict and contact between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and presenting these points of meeting as musical and cultural confluences, as people and ideas moved throughout places and kingdoms in war and peace. During these centuries, the Habsburg monarchies seemed to have trouble brewing at nearly every edge of their vast empire, and must have indeed seemed to live from siege to siege. But the reward of contact and trade, and a focus on arts patronage, made this an era of thriving European musical activity.

London-based instrumental group the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble specialises in using period wind and brass instruments such as the sackbut and cornett. Among its members is Irish musician Conor Hastings.

Tickets for the Ballina concert are now available to buy on Eventbrite and the concert starts at 8pm.

Six of the best country show 

Great National Hotel Ballina has announced a star line-up of some of the top names in country music for a show at the venue later in the summer.

Local singer Gerry Guthrie will join Declan Nerney, Patrick Feeney, Mick Flavin, John McNicholl and John Hogan when they perform some of their biggest country music hits of the past four decades at a concert on Thursday, August 8.

While Gerry Guthrie, Patrick Feeney and John McNicholl are among the 21st-century breed of country music performers in Ireland, Mick Flavin, John Hogan and Declan Nerney have been on the scene since the 1980s. Mick, John and Declan helped to take country music to a different level at that time, paving the way for a new style of country music in Ireland that now counts young and old among its fanbase, and with an expanded repertoire of songs that embraces more than just country and Irish music.

The six will be joined by Keltic Storm, a Northern Ireland band that specialises in accompanying an array of top stars and touring productions, including shows like ‘Ireland the Show’ and ‘Legends of American Country’.

The four-piece Keltic Storm is highly regarded as one of Ireland's leading bands to emerge on the country music scene in recent years and won the Best Backing Band award at the Northern Ireland CMA Awards in 2022.

Keltic Storm has backed leading country music stars on many stages across Ireland and the UK, along with touring in Canada. The band’s instrument line-up includes electric and bass guitars, keyboards, drums and a pedal steel guitar, a sound that is synonymous with country music. The band has also released four studio albums in its own right and is expected to clock up a staggering 250 shows in 2024.

Ballina fans can now book to hear Keltic Storm and the ‘Big Six’ at The Summer Country Show in Great National Hotel Ballina by calling 096-23600 or email info@hotelballina.ie.