Moy Singers celebrate 40 years of music and friendship

The Moy Singers are celebrating 40 years of delighting audiences at home and abroad.

The beloved Ballina group is staging a concert this weekend to mark the major milestone.

The Moy Singers Jubilee Concert takes place on Saturday, June 13, at the Great National Hotel, Ballina.

Established in 1986, over an action-backed four decades, the award-winning four-part mixed choir have performed for Presidents and thrilled crowds in Europe and the United States.

“The man who came up with the idea was Sean Egan," Mary Brogan, Vice-chair of the Moy Singers told the Western People. "He was a manager in Bank of Ireland. He was great for bringing quartets and acts to town. There was such a hunger for music in the town. Sean was really into his music, and he thought about forming a choral group."

The group’s very first musical director was Mary McPhillips.

“It just grew and grew over the years,” said Mary Brogan.

The singers started practicing in Scoil Padraig and staged their very first concert in the Imperial in Ballina. 

“We were nervous as kittens,” Mary recalls.

A performance for the newly elected President Mary Robinson in 1990 lit the torch paper for the group.

Some resourceful members managed to ‘engineer’ a tour to Austria in 1995.

“That’s what launched us into all our tours. It was the month of July. I was in bed and my brother Judd rang me. He said 'get your ass down to the Riverboat (bar) quick. There is a guy on his way to Sligo in the morning to interview a choir to invite them to Vienna',” Mary recounts.

“I jumped out of bed, ran down and met him. I asked him would be come for coffee before he went to Sligo.” 

Mary recruited Aileen McGowan and Una Loftus for back-up, and the Austrian choir master never knew what hit him.

“He came for a cup of coffee. My husband came for his lunch; he was still here. Eamon came home for his tea after work; he was still here. And he never got to Sligo!” laughed Mary.

That remarkable trip saw the group raise the roof in the majestic Schonbrunn Palace and was the beginnings of their globe-trotting success.

“There was no internet, no mobile phones, we pulled that off through faxes. My telephone bill slipped through the front door and out the back door,” said Mary.

“We brought so many choirs back to town. That’s what the Moy Singers always did,” she added.

The Moy Singers have toured the US, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and the UK.

Ballina’s links with Pittsfield and Boston paved the way for a performance in the famous Seiji Ozawa Hall, the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

A trip to sun-kissed St Tropez almost saw two members marooned in the South of France.

“We left two of the guys behind in St Tropez. They fell asleep on a bench when we were getting the ferry back,” Mary recalls, laughing.

The Moy Singers were honoured to perform at the Mayo 5000 celebrations at the National Concert Hall in 1993 where they had a ground floor seat for the phenomenon that Riverdance was to become.

“They were backstage with us,” said Mona Jackson, chair of the Moy Singers.

Secretary of the group, Geraldine McKenzie, joined in 2017. She was blown away by the warm welcome and the sense of fun that encapsulates the group.

“You are sitting there thinking, ‘I could never do this’ and suddenly you’re very much a part of it. I used to go home after practice on a Wednesday night with a pain in my face, just from smiling,” said Geraldine.

“So many people have said that they walk in laden down with worries and stress and by the time we finishing singing they are forgotten,” said Mary.

The Moy Singers pride themselves on being accessible with the audience to the forefront of their minds.

Mary says she has always carried the words of her late father, the legendary band leader Jack Ruane. 

“He said to me, ‘You know lass, your audience always goes out to be entertained not to be educated.’ I will quote that until the day I die,” said Mary.

“Our new musical director Shona Seck has brought a new dimension that makes the music even more appealing to younger audiences,” said Mona.

The group’s hard work and ambition is the secret to the longevity and success of the Moy Singers. They are never afraid to push themselves and showcase local musical talent.

“We are so committed,” said Mona.

“It’s the love of the music and huge friendships have been formed,” commented Mary.

The Moy Singers have had so many incredible members over the years.

“Frances McAndrew was a complete legend. She was just so much fun,” said Mona.

Others like Pat Diamond and Wally Rouse always kept the laughs and craic going.

Iconic founding member Joan Loftus is still singing with the group.

“There are just too many to mention,” said Mona.

“You remember all the amazing people that made memories for us,” she added.

“The theme of the anniversary concert is ‘Sentimental Journey'.

"Because this is a sentimental journey for us,” said Mary.

The Moy Singers 40th anniversary concert takes place in the Great National Hotel on Saturday next, June 13, at 8pm. Tickets available on Eventbrite or from any committee member.