BLACKROCK
A PACKED audience was treated to a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable night of entertainment as the local Breakaways gave a vintage farewell performance in the Clermont Arms.
The group which has been together since school days and has provided huge live entertainment over the years over a wide area took to the stage together with the Castlebellingham Ukulele Orchestra and the Carol Leavy School of Irish dancing in a hugely successful concert that raised close on €2,000 for the local Crosscause charity for an eye clinic in Ghana. It was acclaimed as the most uplifting musical event since the heyday of the village’s former Pavilion Ballroom.
Conducted by Jennifer Clarke and fired by Eamon McKevitt’s virtuoso solo-picking, the Ukulele Orchestra played their way through a perfectly synchronized hour-long series of traditional ballad and popular classics before a wonderful set of Irish dancing was performed by Carol Leavy’s award-winning School.
The Breakaways, comprising Patsy Breen and Eamon Cooney on guitars and vocals and Paul Steeples on drums, finished off the evening with an absolutely stirring and emotive two-hour set of old favourites.
The packed audience of locals and many more from further afield, including the delighted diners on the restaurant’s first floor, clapped, sang and danced along to the Breakaways repertoire – the songs which have become the soundtrack of their lives. It was a thrilling experience on a night which will live forever in the memories of those fortunate enough to have been there.
A raffle also helped to boost the funds raised and the organisers would like to thank the following businesses who generously donated spot prizes: Pat Flanagan Mace, Fairways Supvalu, Centra, Brian McQuillan’s Pharmacy, Karen’s Hairdressers and McMahon Bros, Carrickmacross.