Gerry’s festive gig goes online

For many years now, fiddler Gerry O’Connor’s concert is as much part of the Christmas festivities as turkey and ham, Christmas crackers and

as he gathered together family, friends and local musicians who have returned home for Christmas for an evening of exhilarating traditional music and song.

In recent years, the concert took place in An Tain Arts Centre having moved there from the Spirit Store.

It has become such a tradition that December 28 is pencilled in the diary every year, says An Táin’s director Paul Hayes.

‘Gerry has been doing the concert here for so many years, some years in the main auditorium, other years in The Space, depending on how many musicians he had joining him,’ explains Paul. ‘ That date is reserved for Gerry so this year we had to find a way of making the concert happen.’

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, An Táin have been live streaming concerts by local musicians on their Facebook pages for a number of months, so they have decided to invite Gerry to host a special concert from his home at Ballymakellet on December 28, which will also be live streamed.

Gerry, of course, delighted traditional music lovers around the world when he presented a short gig from his home studio every Wednesday evening during the first lockdown via his Facebook page.

More recently, he performed an online concert in aid of Dundalk Simon Community which so far has raised over €2,000. The fundraiser is still open so people can make donations until December 31.

As with his previous concerts, Gerry will be taking requests through his Facebook page and has promised to play some well known tunes so fellow musicians around the world can play along from the comfort of their own homes.

‘I’m going to do about 30 minutes on my own and then this year, have ‘an open house’ where everyone can play along and join in at home,’ he says. ‘I’m taking requests on my Facebook page and will make up four or five sets from those which will be aimed at adult learners,’ he explains. ‘I will be putting up the list of tunes beforehand so people can prepare for them.’

Gerry will be joined by family members who are home for Christmas and is hoping to have a special guest drop in for some socially distanced tunes.

He is inviting music lovers at home and abroad to join him on an Tain Arts Centre’s Facebook page on Monday at 8pm for an enjoyable evening of Irish traditional music and craic.