Once more with feeling...
A new Donegal choir is capturing the voice of the young and the young at heart, raising spirits and reinforcing community bonds along the way, writes Celine Naughton
Anew Donegal choir is hitting all the right notes when it comes to bringing communities together.
Set up in March this year as part of the county’s Age Friendly programme, Ceol le Chéile is a multigenerational choir whose 90 members range in age from seven to 70-up.
As the senior singer in the group, 88-yearold Mary Green proved that age is no barrier when she decided to join. Having been in a choir most of her life, she was delighted to hear about Ceol le Chéile after moving to Pettigo from her native Listowel, Co. Kerry.
“Every week my daughter Jeanette drives me an hour-and-a-half to Letterkenny for rehearsals,” she says. “I’d be lost without her. I love singing, and at rehearsals we forget all our troubles and just enjoy being together.”
As Mary recently discovered, the socially inclusive nature of the choir can lead to a memorable team-up with a big-name star.
“In one of our songs, I have a line to sing on my own. But at our first concert in An Grianán last July, it turned into a duet when Daniel O’Donnell sang it with me.”
A showcase for family and friends, that concert raised the roof according to Mairéad Cranley, co-ordinator of Donegal County Council’s Social Inclusion Unit and project manager of Ceol le Chéile.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” she says. “Daniel O’Donnell said he’d never heard anything like it. A week earlier, we’d asked the participants to write down one word to describe themselves. They wrote things like ‘alone’, ‘sexy’, ‘bookworm’… No two descriptions were the same and they provided the perfect backdrop when we held up these words as they sang their signature song, ‘This Is Me’, from The Greatest Showman.”
Having again performed last week at the Abbey in Ballyshannon, Ceol le Chéile members are now rehearsing their Christmas show. “The choir makes our voices better,” says Aoife Morgan (seven). “If it was just children, or just adults, it wouldn’t be as good; because it’s children and adults together, it’s perfect.”
When Aoife’s mum Elaine came to collect her from choir practice last week, she found her sitting next to Mary, the youngest and oldest members of the choir chatting easily together over tea and sandwiches.
“The friendship has evolved naturally,” says Elaine. “Aoife’s life is enriched in many ways from being part of this choir. She comes out
If it was just children, or just adults, it wouldn’t be as good Aoife Morgan (Age 7)
We create opportunities for older people who are often excluded from society Mairéad Cranley
of rehearsals each week on cloud nine. And it’s not only the singers who benefit – it’s good for all of us.”
According to Creative Ireland director Tania Banotti, Ceol le Chéile is a perfect example of the power of community choirs to connect people and improve their wellbeing.
“There is a wealth of scientific evidence documenting the positive effects singing together has on people’s wellbeing,” she says. “It doesn’t just make you feel good, it helps forge social bonds and can improve physical and mental health too.
“The range and diversity of choirs supported by our Creative Communities is phenomenal. There are those like Ceol le Chéile bringing generations together, choirs for people with dementia, others for people with intellectual difficulties… Lots of choirs are popping up all over the country. It’s wonderful to see such inclusive measures being used to bring people together.”
In Donegal, Mairéad Cranley has seen the difference the choir has made to people’s lives mere months after first coming together.
“Part of our remit is to create opportunities for older people who are often excluded from society,” she says. “Because singing is so uplifting and therapeutic, it’s a perfect fit. All the choir members have a story to tell, and the bond between them is incredible. One woman recently told me that she’d be taking a break for a while as she was due to have a mastectomy. She added, ‘if it wasn’t for the choir I’d have been out of my mind with worry and stress. I’ll be back.’
“We’d never have been able to put it together without the support of Creative Ireland, the Culture Team, Donegal Age Friendly Alliance and local business, like the SITT local link service that provides free transport for members who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to rehearsals. And Letterkenny IT gave us a room where we meet every week.”
Spurred on by the success of the last six months, the choir is now on another recruitment drive. To find out more, email mairead.cranley@donegalcoco.ie
Frankie Quinn, 64, from Ballybofey had just retired from his job in the public sector when he heard about Ceol le Chéile.
“When you’ve spent your whole adult life working and suddenly that’s gone, it’s important to get out and meet people and keep your spirits up,” he says. “The camaraderie and friendship I’ve found in the choir is amazing. I sang in a church choir for years, but never had the confidence to sing solo. Our conductor Veronica McCarron brought that out in me. She instils in all of us a sense of ‘Yes you can’ – not just for the choir, but for ourselves too. That, combined with the interaction between the generations makes this very worthwhile.”
If her name rings a bell, that’s no coincidence as two years ago, Veronica McCarron brought the choir of Presentation Secondary School Kilkenny to the semi-finals of TV’s Britain’s Got Talent. Soon afterwards she retired from her teaching post in the school and settled in Donegal.
“Being in a choir is much more than coming together to sing songs,” says Veronica. “It’s about teamwork, camaraderie, self-esteem, confidence, socialising, getting out of your comfort zone, striving for perfection, and the joy of performing.
“What these choir members have achieved is astonishing. I’ve seen people who five months ago wouldn’t leave their homes due to dementia, depression and other conditions. Now they’re making beautiful music with a repertoire that includes modern classics. To watch them at rehearsal and on stage is a joy.” It’s also been a personal voyage of discovery for Veronica, who’s 70. “When I moved here two years ago, I knew no one,” she says. “Now I have hundreds of friends through the choir. When my brother died tragically earlier this year, everyone in the choir gave me a mass card. It was so touching. The neighbourliness that’s disappearing elsewhere in the world is still clearly felt in Donegal. To be part of this community is just fabulous.”
Ceol le Chéile is one of a number of cultural initiatives that feature in Donegal’s five-year Creative Ireland plan 2018-2022. Another is the Wainfest children’s arts and book festival that starts today and runs until October 14th. “As well as introducing new programmes like Ceol le Chéile, Creative Ireland allows communities to strengthen existing ones, like the hugely expanded Wainfest children’s festival,” says Donegal Creative Ireland co-ordinator Eileen Burgess.
“‘Wain’ is a colloquial term for ‘child’ (‘wee one’) and this is a lovely programme with over 150 events taking place over eight days. Wainfest is one of the highlights of the Donegal cultural calendar, and it’s been shortlisted for a local government award to be announced next month.”
For more information on the 31 Local Authority Culture and Creativity Strategies, go to creative.ireland.ie/en/creative-communities