The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Best of Brosna on show as locals come together to help reduce church debt
IT sounds like Brosna is in store for one heck of a night next month as the village gets set to put on a show on the night of Friday December 8 at 8pm to help cover the costs of the local church renovations.
Mike Denver is set to be the main draw on the night and if the word of organiser John Murphy is anything to go by, excitement is already reaching fever pitch in the area.
“Fr Gunn came to me with the idea of doing a concert and he just said to me that could get Mike Denver and once we knew that, the whole night just started to take shape,” said John, speaking to The Kerryma non Friday.
“The tickets are flying it at the minute which means that the biggest problem that we’re going to have is that we won’t have enough space for everyone in the marquee; it’s a good compaint!”
“The local community has really come out in a show of support to make sure that the night is a huge success; we’ve about 83 different ticket sellers out and about at the moment so the uptake and excitement is mighty.”
Having seen the local church completely renovated and refurbished a number of years ago, this latest concert is another in a long list of fundraising activities that the the local Brosna community has undertaken the help reduce its building debt.
“There was a huge job done on it [the church]. It was completely renovated and all the old stone work was fixed up and re-done. There was around €1.5million spent on it now and so it’s looking immaculate,” he continued.
With this reporter quick to baulk at this dauntimg amount of debt, there’s a strong note of pride in John’s voice as he quickly points out that, of the €1.5million spent on the church, the local community has already managed to raise back close to €1million of this, through a series of walks, runs, dog nights and concerts down the years.
“We’re well on our way to getting rid of it. We’re hoping to raise about €50,000 - €60,000. If we could manage to get that amount, we’d be flying it” John laughed before going on to tell me about all the amenities that the public will be able to enjoy on the night.
“Well, it’ll be taking place in the Square in Brosna and so we’ll have this big marquee tent there on the night; we’re going to have plenty of parking, we’ve secured a bar license for the marquee and sure we’ ll have the man himself in Mike, so what else could people want,” he continued.
Kerry Group, along with Galvin Murphy Hooper Dolan Insurance Brokers, are the biggest sponsors on the night and John says that they, and the rest of the sponsors of the event, must be given great credit for their fantastic support.
“Tickets are available to buy all over; they’re in Garvey’s SuperValu in Castleisland, they’re in Walsh’s Electrical in both Tralee and Castleisland and they can book through a few mobile numbers as well if they wanted to,” said John.
Anyone looking to book tickets in advance of the show can do so by calling John Murphy himself on 0879286969, Marie Sheehan on 0879863663, Fr David Gunn on 0878119770 or through Lisa Cox on 0860791591.
“We’re looking forward to a great night,” finished John.