It was a St Patrick’s Day like no other
EMPTY streets, quiet towns, closed pubs, shut restaurants. St Patrick’s Day 2020 will certainly be one that will live long in the memory of us here to witness it.
No parades, no parties, no coming together to celebrate our Irish heritage. Instead of children taking part in the colour and creativity of our St Patrick’s Day parades, there was silence on the streets.
In his address to the nation later that evening, a sombre Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described how today’s children will tell their own children and grandchildren about our National Holiday in 2020, a day he said the country will never forget.
The Covid-19 pandemic is nothing any of us have seen before. Instead of the regular St Patrick’s Day fanfare, there was fear.
With only essential services operating, social distancing had replaced the social dancing we associate with this special day.
But amid all of the natural apprehension, there was a glimmer of hope among our revered musical community here in Sligo. An online concert, which was the brainchild of Seamie O’Dowd, saw the coming together of our local musicians, playing exceptional music throughout the day, live on Facebook from their sitting rooms.
It brought glee and harmony at a time of uncertainty and fear.
Titled The St Patrick’s Day Online Festival, the musicians were not only filling quiet homes with tunes, but also urging people, if they could, to donate to the World Health Organisation’s fund for research into the Covid-19 outbreak.
Starting at 1pm with Seamie himself, it was quickly clear from the large numbers of people commenting, just how special the concert meant to them.
In a matter of minutes, there was over a thousand people tuning in and the numbers kept growing throughout the afternoon and late into the evening.
It wasn’t solely Sligo either who was listening, people from Australia, America and Asia were also enjoying the music in a time of solidarity as the world tries to tackle the spread of Covid-19.
After Seamie’s spectacular opener, it was onto his son Stephen, who expertly followed suit. Then Eoin Troy, Dean Mahon and Georgie Gorman keeping the beat going. Felip Carbonell brought some Mallorcan vibes while his daughters Deia and Maria joined in for an Elvis number. It was then onto Dervish’s Cathy Jordan her usual excellent self before Kieran Quinn, accompanied by his wife Sinead, daughter Nixie, son Tom and not forgetting the dog brought some much-needed cheer into our homes. The banter between Gerry Grennan and his daughter Aoife with Mo doing the filming brightened up the day, amid of course their exceptional music.
Jamie Callaghan rocked the blues away, while Rory O’Dowd was his brilliant self. It was then into the Houston home, with mum Anna and son Cillian entertaining as dad Ciaran held the camera as Collette Sheerin then brought what was such a joyous show, on a particularly heart-wrenching day to a close. Seamie did the wrap on what was a truly momentous concert.
He said it was nice to be a part of Sligo rising once more and paid special thanks to all of the musicians who contributed and special guests who made an appearance.
Seamie told the Sligo Champion the idea came about when he was chatting to his partner, Sally about doing something on St Patrick’s Day. “Initially we were only going to do a wee broadcast but then we said when don’t we take it that bit farther.
“We spent half the night contacting people and in typical Sligo fashion, everyone came back and it really took off from there.
“I was amazed by the reaction to it and the numbers watching. The videos will be kept up on the page and people can still donate too.”
Seamie added: “Thanks also to Sally, Ciaran, Connor and anyone else who held a camera or a mic for any of the performers.
“And thanks of course to all that looked in, donated, shared or commented during the seven hours of pretty continuous music.
“The page will remain online and pretty much all of the performances will be viewable.
“The donation links will also be useable for anyone that’s inclined to do so.
“Take care of yourselves over the coming weeks,” he added.
In the midst of all the dread, it was Sligo and its musicians that stood tall.
If you would like to watch the videos or donate, look for Sligo Musicians Online Festival Community on Facebook where the videos are there for people to watch.