Liam Lawton set to kick off fundraising drive with Fermoy concert
FOR more than two-decades, award-winning singer and Catholic priest Liam Lawton has been thrilling Irish and international audiences with his brand of sacred and inspirational music.
He has recorded 14 collections, many of which have achieved platinum status, performed at prestigious venues around the world including The White House, Carnegie Hall and The Paul VI Auditorium at the Vatican and has seen his liturgical works translated into numerous different languages.
On Sunday, September 13 Lawton will travel to North Cork to perform a concert amid the atmospheric surroundings of St Patrick’s Church in Fermoy.
The concert will be the opening salvo of a major fundraising campaign by St Joseph’s NS in Fermoy, who are aiming to raise €100,000 to cover the cost of a major expansion plan at the school.
The campaign is being co-ordinated by Deputy Principal Geraldine Burke and Marie Coakley, who is an SNA at St Joseph’s.
“It is quite a big coup for us to be able to bring Liam Lawton to Fermoy and it took a lot of hard work to get him to play here. But, we went for it and are delighted that he will be playing in the local church,” said Marie.
St Joseph’s is currently undergoing a major redevelopment, the major change being the construction of new open-plan classrooms to help meet the needs the specific requirements of pupils.
“While the Department of Education has been very supportive when it comes to building new classrooms, our pupils need to extend beyond those classroom walls,” said Geraldine.
“At present we have an autism class and a multi-disciplinary class. To counter the many needs of our pupils we propose to build an occupational therapy area and a sensory garden which will form the basis of our plans to provide the optimum all-round educational environment for our pupils,” she added.
Geraldine estimated that it would cost in the region of €100,000 to see their ambitious plans come to fruition.
“We realise this is a big ask for our school community. The Liam Lawton concert is our first big venture and we hope this will get our fundraising drive off to a good start. We also have lots of other activities planned for the year ahead, including a ladies lunch with Francis Brennan. More details of these events will be released over the coming weeks and months,” said Geraldine.
“The Liam Lawton concert promises to be a wonderful night of music, with our own school choir and singers from the Blackwater Community School in Lismore set to join Liam for the performance,” she added.
A raffle will also take place on the night with prizes including two-nights stays at the Fota Sheraton and the Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa and a €150 voucher of Ballyhass Lakes. Tickets for the raffle can only be purchased at the door.
Tickets for the concert, which will get underway at 8pm, are available from Amber Fermoy, The Book Shop in Pearse Square and Shinnicks Spar, Barrack Hill priced at €20.