Choir overwhelmed with reaction to unique re-imagining of local ballad for St. Patrick’s Day - but sadness amongst the joy
An updated recording of the century-old ballad ‘My Home in Fermoy’ by the Fermoy International Choir, has gone viral - but its success coincided with the news that one of the contributors passed away on the afternoon the song was released online.
Tommy Baker was one of 32-people living in the town to contribute to the production with his voice and image used throughout, but on Friday afternoon just hours after the song was released, news filtered through that the hugely popular and universally-loved Fermoy-native had passed away.
“A cloud of sadness descended over the town on Friday evening. It hung in the air. Tommy was very much-loved in Fermoy and he was a regular fixture walking along the banks of the river Blackwater. His gentle smile illuminated the town. We were shocked to hear that he had passed away and we send our love, sympathy and best wishes to his family and huge pool of friends,” said Graham Clifford, who founded the Fermoy International Choir as part of the Together Ireland Community Integration Project.
The ‘My Home in Fermoy’ recording was produced especially for St Patrick’s Day and put together by choir conductor, Lisa Dunphy.
It also incorporates the singing of Dave Roche who recorded the ballad in recent years - Dave, himself another local legend, passed away last November at the age of 98. The song is dedicated to both Dave Roche and Tommy Baker.
“We have a wonderfully diverse community in Fermoy, around a quarter of the town’s population were born outside of Ireland and as a community we’re very close. And nothing says integration and respect more than embracing a local ballad and showering it with focus, love and attention as all of our contributors did with this work. It’s beautiful from start-to-finish, a timeless classic, and the magical combination of voices and accents work so well against the backdrop of stunning pictures from local photographer George O’Keefe – coincidentally, a son-in-law of Tommy Baker’s,” said Graham Clifford.
He added: “And it was the parting contribution of both Dave and Tommy, two giants in a town they loved..... and which loved them right back.”
Amongst the nationalities that took part in the production were locals originally from the Netherlands, Poland, Brazil, South Africa, Italy, Germany, French Polynesia, Lithuania and France.
To hear or reproduce the recording go to: https://youtu.be/MzA87uSrA6c