Once-in-a-lifetime show for young MYTh members
YOUNGSTERS from MYTh Academy performed in front of a worldwide TV audience of millions as they took to the stage on Saturday at Croke Park in front of Pope Francis.
The founder of MYTh Academy, Aisling Doyle, was one of the Tyrone Production’s stage directors for the event, which attracted close to 100,000 people to Croke Park.
Despite playing in front of such a large audience, the young members of the academy took it all in their stride.
‘ They were all very excited during the build-up to their performance, but on the day itself they were ridiculously excited. Not many people can say they got to dance for the Pope. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will live with them forever,’ said Aisling.
Some heavy downpours on Friday looked like it might put a dampener on proceedings but things had thankfully picked up by Saturday.
‘Everyone was up early on Friday for rehearsals in Croke Park but the weather was terrible. It was almost hurricane like conditions. We had to abandon the stage for safety reasons and rehearse inside. Luckily the rain stopped in time for the evening rehearsals but the stage was still wet and slippery. It had to be a very careful rehearsal,’ said Aisling.
Academy members took to the stage on three separate occasions during the Festival of Families concert and also lined up behind Pope Francis for his speech of the Holy Father.
Other performers also took time-out to put the young performers at ease, with Nathan Carter wishing them luck before their first performance.
Daniel O’Donnell also made one Wicklow grandmother’s day after bumping into her grandson.
‘Daniel was an absolute superstar,’ said Aisling. ‘ The kids all crowded around him and he chatted away to them. Kyle Ferguson told Daniel that his grandmother was his biggest fan, so Daniel asked if he wanted him to ring her. She nearly dropped the phone when he did ring her and hasn’t been the same since’.
MYTh Academy would like to thank Principal Mary O’Riordan for the use of the Holy Rosary for rehearsals during the summer break and Jackie Olohan for helping with the music.